| Ingrid Olava | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ingrid Olava Brænd Eriksen |
| Born | 18 March 1981 |
| Genres | Pop , Indie |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Associated acts | Madrugada |
Ingrid Olava Brænd Eriksen (known as Ingrid Olava, born 18 March 1981) is a Norwegian musician and singer and musician, best known for her debut single "Only Just Begun" from 2007 and as a backup singer for Madrugada. After hearing her live performance, EMI Music Norway invited her to play in a studio, and later signed her.[1]
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Brænd Eriksen grew up in Lillehammer, where she began to play on a piano in the neighbor's basement, eventually teaching herself the song "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music.[1] She names Trond-Viggo Torgersen and Billy Joel as some of her first musical influences.[1] She went on to play with the local Ten Sing, and became a regular performer at the Felix rock cafe in Lillehammer, where she was subjected to alternative rock and punk. At 21, she landed a major role in the NRK television drama series Det Tredje Tegnet.[2]
Brænd Eriksen was 20 years old before she began singing seriously.[1] Her first gig was at Utøya, at a youth camp, but the first breakthrough was at a concert at the John Dee Live Club & Pub, in November 2004, where she warmed up for Vidar Vang.[1] "I'm pretty shy, have never asked to be booked, always invited. Vidar asked me if I could play some tunes, but I did not have many. "How many do you want me to play?" "Five or six pieces," was the reply. It was about what I had, so I went home and wrote the sixth just before the concert", Brænd Eriksen said.[1]
In the summer of 2006 Ingrid Olava played on several festivals, including the Quart Festival, the Slottsfjell Festival, Træna and KlubbØya, and was praised for several of her concerts.[3] In the fall of 2006 Sivert Høyem and Frode Jacobsen attended one of her concerts in Oslo, the result of which was that she joined a two-month tour as supporting artist for Sivert Høyem.[4]
Brænd Eriksen was also a member of the Lillehammer-based band Shit City, but left them in the 2007.[5] In the summer of 2008, she played on the Hove Festival, Træna, and Øyafestivalen[6] where she surprised with her interpretation of Leonard Cohen's classic "Take This Waltz". She has also accompanied several other Norwegian artists, such as El Cuero.[7]
After the record company EMI Music Norway heard her at a concert, they invited her to a studio with a giant grand piano, and told her to play. "At first, I played several of my own [songs]. Then I asked if they wanted to hear more. Which they did, so I continued with both my own and others' [songs]."[1] The session resulted in a record contract and the debut album Juliet's Wishes, produced among others by Frode Jacobsen of Madrugada.[8] Brænd Eriksen received two Spellemannprisen-nominations for the album, Newcomer of the Year and Best Pop Composition, for the song "Back to Love".[9] The single "Only Just Begun" was first played at by:Larm in 2007, and received acclaim from both audiences and critics.[8] According to herself, the song is inspired by "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde".[1]
In 2008, she recorded a version of "Her kommer vinteren" ("Here Comes the Winter"), originally written by Joachim Nielsen and performed by Jokke & Valentinerne. The song was an unexpected success, and was put into heavy rotation on NRK P3.[10] Brænd Eriksen subsequently made an agreement with Christopher Nielsen that all proceeds from the sales of the song would go to the Rainforest Foundation Fund.[10]
Brænd Eriksen's second album, The Guest, produced by Frode Jacobsen and Alexander Kloster-Jensen, was released in February 2010.[11]
Ingrid Olava has collaborated with other artists in these albums:[7]