Guðrið Hansdóttir is a singer and songwriter from the Faroe Islands. She grew up in Argir and her father Carl Hansen is actually a well-known musician in the Faroe Islands himself. He has previously performed in two Faroese bands, Straight Ahead and Streingjaspan. When Guðrið was 14 years old, he taught her to play the guitar, and ever since then she has been creating her own music and songs. Soon enough, she rose to prominence as a popular singer/songwriter in the Faroe Islands.
Hansdóttir has received the Faroese music award known as the Planet Awards twice since she became well-known. She won the Best Female Singer award in 2007 and the Best Faroese Album of the Year award in 2009 for her album The Sky is Opening. After releasing her third album Beyond the Grey in June 2011, she relocated to Reykjavík, Iceland, where she focused solely on her music. Subsequently, she started playing all around Iceland and went on tour in the USA and Europe. She has claimed that everything from Swedish pop music to 1970s rock like Jethro Tull and 80s icon Kate Bush serves as inspiration.
In 2012, her music career changed when she met Janus Rasmussen, a fellow musician from the Faroe Islands who had been a longtime part of the Icelandic/Faroese electro band Bloodgroup. When the two realized that their talents worked well together, they began to make music together.
She and Janus worked to create a new album during the months they spent working on these new tracks. Janus performed all the instruments and later produced the record; while she wrote the lyrics and created the music. They have since formed a new group, known as Byrta and in May 2013, the self-titled album BYRTA was made available. Their genre is electro pop. Below is one of their most popular music videos.
Hansdóttir is a Faroese icon, and actually just released a new solo album after a six-year hiatus, it is titled Gult Myrkur, go give it a listen! Here is the music video for the first single on the album.
Discography
Solo albums
With Byrta