Hera

基督城的歌手/作曲家HERA在新西兰一直生活、创作和表演了12年，但在她的祖国冰岛拥有着非常成功的职业生涯。在地球的另一端生活并不容易，但在2003年她获得了冰岛音乐最佳女歌手奖并颇受好评，这一奖项在过去10年一直被全球巨星比约克所占有。Hera首张冰岛专辑在她2个月内完成37个演出后成为了金唱片，而这个独唱女歌手也完成了冰岛面积最广的巡演。
幼小的年纪里Hera就展示了惊人的天赋，8岁开始在雷克雅未克（冰岛城市）演奏古典吉他，13岁她就完成了一张令人印象深刻的专辑，里面的歌曲都是她自己写的……
1994年Hera全家移居新西兰，在那里她开始在基督城里或附近举办自己的演出，通过巡演她得到了Goldenhorse和Glenn Tilbrook的支持。Hera在新西兰发行的前两张专辑都是她独立制作、出版和宣传的，慢慢地建立起了小却至关重要的粉丝基础。
2002年她的年龄只有18，早期录音作品的曲目之一"Itchy Palms"被在冰岛电台的一个电话采访节目中播出，并幸运地被电影制作公司"Hafid （The Sea）"的制作人发现了，他到新西兰找到了Hera，"Itchy Palms"被选为电影的主题曲，Hera也被邀请在冰岛的电影首映式中现场演唱了这首歌。电影最终赢得八个Edda奖（相当于冰岛的奥斯卡奖），并在全球30个国家上映。带有电影片段的音乐视频在全球DVD发行中也占有相当重的分量。音乐出现在电影的高潮部分，这使得Hera得到了来自传媒的支持和关注，并推动她站到了冰岛传媒圈的聚光灯下。这一切使她返回祖国冰岛成为首要需求，所以在2002年年底Hera搬回到雷克雅未克……
和Skifan Records签约了唱片录制后，她的生涯正式开始了！2004年和2005年，在Nick Cave和Joe Cocker支持下，她在雷克雅未克最大的体育场里举办了演唱会。在2005年年中，冰岛音乐网站www.tonlist.is的播放榜单前十名中，她的歌曲同时出现了8首之多！在多日全国巡演的支持下，她发布了接下来的一张专辑"Don’t Play This"。她还到比利时、荷兰、意大利和英国进行演出，包括在著名的（也是大雨倾盆的）Glastonbury（英国城市）音乐节演出。作为一个天赋异禀而又热爱冒险的歌手，Hera以此结束这一年：在地球最遥远的地方之一——格陵兰的Ammassalik演出，创造了又一独特的里程碑。
在2007年，她从美国奥斯汀市的西南音乐会返回后。Hera被新西兰电台授予了新晋艺术家称号。去年九月Hera和惠灵顿的制作人David Long （Fur Patrol, Lucid 3）在Roundhouse录音室合作录制了一个全新的歌曲"Feels So Good"。结果是一个愉快的令人振奋的新西兰首张单曲！之后她又和导演Andie Spargo合作制作了的MV，在网络上大获成功，全球最著名的博客之一"Cute Overload"也写了评论。现在Hera已经25岁，在一次冰岛巡回演出后，回到了她的第二家乡，并再次参加了08年的Glastonbury音乐节和丹麦的两个演出，宣传她的新现场专辑"Live at AL’s"，这是5月16日在基督城的AL录制的。
冰岛为世界音乐产业贡献了风格迥异但杰出的成功音乐人，如 Bjork, Mezzaforte和Sigur Ros等。HERA是这个来自世界彼端天资聪颖而独特的艺人队伍中的下一个璀璨的明星。这就是迄今为止Hera的故事，2008年更多精彩将会继续。如果这是您第一次聆听，做好被迷住、被吸引、被感动、被震撼的准备吧，Hera的音乐即将呈现！
Christchurch based singer/songwriter HERA has been living, writing and performing in New Zealand for 12 years now whilst carving out a very successful career in her native country of Iceland. Not an easy task given the global separation, but one that was richly rewarded in 2003 when she was named Best Female Artist at that year’s Icelandic Music Awards, a category dominated for the previous 10 years by global superstar Bjork! Hera’s Icelandic debut album also delivered her a Gold Record there being backed up by 37 live concerts in two months, the most extensive Icelandic tour ever undertaken by a solo female artist... A prodigious talent from an early age, Hera began playing classical guitar in Reykjavik at the age of 8 building an impressive collection of her own self-penned songs by 13… In 1994 her family moved to New Zealand where she started playing her own shows in and around Christchurch, grabbing some key support slots on visiting tours including Goldenhorse & Glenn Tilbrook. Hera’s first two albums were independently produced, published and distributed in New Zealand, slowly helping to build her a small but very dedicated fan base. In 2002 aged just 18, one of Hera’s tracks from those early recordings, “Itchy Palms”, was performed as part of a live-to-air phone interview on Icelandic radio and fortunately spotted by the producer of a planned Icelandic film production “Hafid (The Sea)”. He tracked Hera down in NZ and “Itchy Palms” was chosen as the film’s title song with Hera being invited to perform it live at the Icelandic Premiere. The film eventually went on to win eight Edda Awards (Iceland’s Oscar equivalent) being distributed in over 30 countries worldwide.The music video with clips from the movie was also featured on the global DVD release. With the track appearing at a very poignant part in the film, it quickly gained strong radio and TV support propelling Hera into the Icelandic media limelight. With all this media activity, relocation to her native Iceland became essential, so at the end of 2002 Hera moved back to Reykjavik…A recording deal was secured with Skifan Records and her career was launched! Live shows continued through 2004 & 2005 with supporting slots for both Nick Cave and Joe Cocker in Reykjavik’s biggest concert arena. Her next album “Don’t Play This” released mid 2005 was supported by another multi-date national tour with the Icelandic music website - www.tonlist.is - featuring 8 of Hera’s songs on their Top 10 Most Played List simultaneously! She also performed shows in Belgium, Holland, Italy and UK including a slot at the famous (and rain-soaked) Glastonbury Festival. Hera ended off that year with a concert in one of the most remote places on the planet, Ammassalik in Greenland, creating yet another unique milestone for this talented and adventurous performer. In 2007, after her return from the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin USA. Hera was awarded a New Recording Artist Grant from NZ On Air. Last September Hera teamed up in the Roundhouse studio with Wellington producer David Long (Fur Patrol, Lucid 3) to record a brand new song “Feels So Good”. The result is a delightful uplifting debut NZ single! She then teamed up with Director Andie Spargo making the music video, which was a huge success on the internet, and has been featured on one of the worlds most popular blogs ‘Cute Overload’ Now 25, Hera has returned to her her “other home”, after an extensive tour of Iceland, and playing once again at the Glastonbury festival 08, and two shows in Denmark, promoting her new Live album ‘Live at AL’s’ which was recorded May 16th this year at AL’s in Christchurch. Iceland has given the musical world some diverse and wonderful musical success stories in Bjork, Mezzaforte and Sigur Ros to name a few. HERA is the next in a very talented and uniquely gifted line of artists from the Opposite Side of the World. That’s the story so far. In 2008 it seems there is a lot more to come… If this is your first time, be prepared to be charmed, intrigued, moved & occasionally shocked by the music of HERA! for further information visit www.herasings.com