Eydís Evensen

Eydís Helena Evensen (born 5 February 1994), is an Icelandic pianist, vocalist, and former model. Her 2021 debut 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.

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.

Early life and education

Eydís Evensen was born in Blönduós, Iceland. She began taking flute lessons at five years of age and then moved onto piano lessons when she was six years old. To cope with the harsh Icelandic winters, Evensen and her four older siblings practiced musical instruments and listened to their parents' record collection, which included jazz and Led Zeppelin. She recorded her first album, of six songs she composed, when she was thirteen years old at her local school. The album was funded by her parents and was not commercially released. Instead, Evensen sold the CDs door-to-door, with profits going a local children's charity called ABC. As a teenager, Evensen played professional volleyball but sustained a serious knee injury which led her to focus solely on her music education. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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”.

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

Modeling

Evensen worked as a model while she was living in New York in her early 20s, represented by Elite Model Management. She has modeled for clothing lines such as Urban Outfitters and has been featured in the fashion magazine, Schön!, among others. 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. Evensen later stated in a 2020 interview that she did not like the industry's emphasis on body image or the competitive nature required to book jobs.

Discography

Music Videos

* ''Brotin'' (2021)
* ''Wandering II'' (2021)
* ''Dagdrumur'' (2021)
* ''Midnight Moon'' (featuring GDRN)
* ''Bylur'' (2021)
* ''Fyrir Mikael'' (2021)
* ''Dawn is Near'' (2022)
* ''Tephra Horizon'' (2023)
* ''Anna's Theme'' (2023)
* ''Tranquillant'' (2023)
* ''Dreaming of Light'' (2023)

Personal life

Evensen lived in New York City for five years while working as a model. She moved back to Iceland, settling in Reykjavik, in 2020 due to the mandatory COVID-19 lockdowns in New York. She originally intended to return to New York City to continue modelling but due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, she quit modelling and instead recorded material for her debut studio album. She has written poetry since she was 14 years old, which she considers private and is reluctant to share publicly. Two compositions (''The Light II'' and ''Dreaming of Light),'' which appeared on her second studio album, ''The Light'', include lyrics inspired by her poetry. Her romantic partner and frequent collaborator of several years is Icelandic film director, Einar Egils, whom she lives with in Reykjavik.

Evensen enjoys watercolour painting in her spare time. She has four older brothers and sisters. She attended Hamrahlíð College in Reykjavik, where she sang in the choir as a teenager. Evensen is a vegan. Her mother is a surgical nurse; Evensen showed an interest in biology and mathematics for an early age, intending to become a surgeon, if she had not pursued a career in music. She is a fan of Radiohead and fellow Icelandic composer, Hildur Guðnadóttir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evensen, Eydís
Icelandic classical composers
Icelandic classical musicians
Icelandic pianists
Icelandic women pianists
Living people
People from Blönduós
Reykjavík College of Music alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)