Emiliana Torrini biography

Iceland – ‘a country rich in contradictions - where volcanoes and glaciers clash, where the sun illuminates the Midnight sky in summer, or scarcely shines in winter’.

Emiliana Torrini - a 23 year old romantic - is as riddled with contradictions as her homeland. Half Icelandic and half Italian, her clash of cultures has made her a melting-pot of diva and dilettante, minx and moralist, realist and idealist.

A rare mix of passion and poignancy, Emiliana’s debut signals the emergence of a bold new talent. She signed to One Little Indian in 2000 releasing her first single ‘To Be Free’, soon after. ‘Love In The Time Of Science’ was recorded utilizing the production skills of Tears For Fears' Roland Orzabal. They met through a mutual friend at One Little Indian and the resulting album sounds startlingly mature for a first outing.

Curiously enough, Emiliana had barely known of Tears For Fears ("I had heard, like, one song," she admits,) but, although an initial attempt at writing together didn't work, the decision to have him produce was clearly the right one.

Throughout the record, lush, magnificent soundscapes roll effortlessly into jazzy grooves, and the songs have an epic quality, without being bombastic or overblown. Most importantly, the music's dramatic twists perfectly compliment Emiliana's unique vocal histrionics.

‘Music should be intimidating and beautiful at the same time,' says Emiliana. 'It should be like falling down on your bum, and not knowing if you should laugh or cry.'

With its unusual mix of the cerebral and visceral, the extraordinary and everyday, Emiliana manages to do just that. Blissful one moment, bereft the next, she playfully combines cinematic melodrama with moments of the whimsical, all filtered through Emiliana's own unique perspective.

Emiliana's growing popularity is momentous - already 60,000 converts cherish a copy of ‘Love In The Time Of Science’. Similarly, her live performances are always captivating and invariably sold-out affairs. In fact, on her recent European tour hundreds of fans had to be turned away, every night, from her French and German gigs.

Emiliana's endearing personality has evoked an equally positive response from the media. She's graced countless magazine covers and is a firm favorite of Dutch, French, German, Italian and Scandinavian radio, who've all play-listed her singles.

The result of her strong convictions can be heard to startling affect on ‘Love In the Time of Science’. It's one of the most beguiling debuts in recent memory and confirms Emiliana Torrini as a gifted song stress, rather than just another run-of-the mill, female vocalist. It's also an album that never fails to surprise and delight.

Emiliana Torrini wrote Kylie Minogue’s ‘Slow’ in 2003.