Eydís Evensen

Years active2008–presentMusical careerGenresInstrument(s)Labels Websitewww.eydis-evensen.com

Eydís Evensen is an Icelandic composer, pianist, vocalist, and former model.^{[1] [2]} Her 2021 album, Bylur, charted at #23 on the UK Classical Artist Albums Chart and she was listed on The Line of Best Fit's 2021 Artists on the Rise as well as on Classic FM's 30 under 30 stars on the Rise list.^[3][4][5]

Evensen has performed at The Royal Albert Hall, SXSW, the Nobel Prize Museum, and the ESNS Festival, among others, and has been a twice featured performer on KEXP.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Early life and education

Eydís Evensen was born in Blönduós, Iceland.^[11] She began taking flute lessons at five years of age and then moved onto piano lessons when she was six years old. She recorded her first album when she was thirteen years old at her local school. As a teenager, Evensen played professional volleyball but sustained a serious knee injury which led her to focus solely on her music education.^[12] After graduating from Reykjavík College of Music, she was accepted into the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where she continued her studies in classical music and composition.^[13][14][11]

Career

Music

Evensen is a classically trained pianist and post-classical composer. Her music has been described as blended elements of classical music with contemporary and ambient sounds. She composes music for string instruments, brass, woodwind and vocals, as well.^[6][15] Among her musical influences are classical composers such as Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, and Ólafur Arnalds, and contemporary artists such as Philip Glass, Sigur Rós and Björk.^[11][16]

Her debut performance at Iceland Airwaves Festival in 2018 caught the attention of Sony Masterworks, and she was signed to the label in November 2019.^[17][18] Evensen's album, Bylur, charted at #23 on the UK Classical Artist Albums Chart in 2021 and her album, The Light, peaked at #5 on the UK Specialist Classical Chart in 2023.^[3] She sold out her first headline show in the Elgar Room at London's Royal Albert Hall and her 2021 "Live On KEXP At Home" performance is one of the most viewed sessions in KEXP history, with 5 million YouTube streams in 2024.^[19][20][10]

The Line of Best Fit wrote, "Evensen is hugely influenced by nature, her post-classical compositions have grown into works that are immersive, delicate and intensely emotive…she’s able to mould them into a sonic journey that’ll stick with you long after the last note is played" and Wonderland Magazine said, "Few artists are so effortlessly able to twist your heartstrings into a contortion of joy, sorrow and despair like Eydís Evensen”.^[21]

Eydís’ brother, Gústaf Evensen, is the former guitarist of the metal band, Svartidauði (2017–2022).^[22][23]

Modeling

Evensen worked as a model while she was living in New York in her early 20's, represented by Elite Model Management.^[2][24][25] She has modeled for clothing lines such as Urban Outfitters and has been featured in the fashion magazine, Schön!, among others.^[26][27] In 2013, she was a runway model on Season 1 of New York Fashion Week (Fall Winter/2013), which aired on Fashion News Live on 23 June 2016.^[28][29]

References