Altmusic is proud to present Hildur Guðnadóttir (pronounced Hill-dur Guth-nah-door-tier) as part of Altmusic’s programme of exciting & innovative international musicians touring New Zealand in 2011.

Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (b. 1982) is a cellist and composer based in Iceland. Best known for her collaborations with múm and guest appearances with Pan Sonic, she has a rich catalogue of collaborations and varied projects behind her, the most recent being the critically acclaimed Mount A (Touch 2010).

“Her themes and melodies are simple, rarely more than a few bars, but the way she overlaps and combines them or pits them against long held tones, gives her music a tension between restless activity and quiet stasis, as well as an intuitive, almost improvised feel” – Dusted magazine

Guðnadóttir likes to explore the nature and movement of sound, and often turns her experiments into sound and visual installations. She recently co-composed a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman’s 1980 film In The Shadow of The Sun with legends Throbbing Gristle, arranged choir for performances by them in Austria and London. Guðnadóttir is also a member of Storsveit Nix Noltes (The Nix Noltes Big Band), a rotating cast of 7 to 10 Icelanders playing traditional Bulgarian and Greek dance music. The group has toured the US twice supporting Animal Collective.

Guðnadóttir has collaborated, played and recorded with other artists such as Skúli Sverrisson, Hilmar Jensson, Hafler trio, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Angel, SchneiderTM, Ben Frost and Stilluppsteypa. As a composer she has written music for plays, dance performances and films, pieces for chamber orchestras, various instruments, voices and electronics.

Tour dates are as follows:

Auckland – August 19th at Kenneth Myers Centre with Forgotten Guests, 8pm.
Wellington – August 20th at Adam Art Gallery with Nether Dawn and Seth Frightening, 8pm.
Dunedin – August 25th at Dunedin Public Art Gallery with Mela (Chch), 8.30pm.
Christchurch – August 27th with Seht at Chambers@241gallery, 8pm.