Siri Nilsen

Siri Nilsen was born in Oslo, Norway where she grew up in the borough of Sagene.[4] As a child she appeared in two Norwegian films, one of which, Maja Steinansikt (1996), she co-starred in.[5]

Before deciding to devote herself to music as a career at around the age of twenty, Nilsen was a ballet dancer.[6] At that time she turned to a "secret notebook full of songs that she had been compiling since her early teens" to express herself as an artist.[2] Nilsen first performed publicly at Den Gode Kafe (The Good Cafe) in Oslo, April 2007.[7]

In October 2008, Nilsen won a competition among new artists sponsored by the Norwegian record label, Grappa. In awarding Nilsen the prize for best debut artist, the jury described her as having "the courage to write simple, personal and intimate lyrics in Norwegian".[8] As part of the award, Nilsen received a record contract which produced 2009's Vi som ser i mørket (We Who See in the Dark).

As a voice actress in Norwegian-version feature films and television, Nilsen played Carmen Cortez in Småspioner 2 (Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams), Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons Movie, Haru in Katteprinsen (猫の恩返し Neko no Ongaeshi/The Cat Returns), among others.[5]

Siri Nilsen with ukulele performing at the annual Øyafestivalen (Island festival) in Oslo, 10 August 2012. One writer described Nilsen's style as "a fascinating hybrid of melancholy, vulnerable sweetness and inner strength..."[23]

In addition to her solo career, Nilsen is part of the Oslo-based musician and poet community, "Blues Run The Game," together with musicians Arild Hammerø and Jens Carelius, among others.[4]

Nilsen sometimes incorporates effects pedals as part of her singing. The pedals enable her to sample elements of her singing which she then loops as a backing track while singing lead.[4]

On 15 December 2011 it was announced that Siri Nilsen had been nominated for a Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) in the category of Best Female Artist for her album, Alle snakker sant – with the award ceremony being conducted at the National Theatre in Oslo on 14 January 2012.[24]

Nilsen performed at the annual Øyafestivalen (Island festival) on 10 August 2012. The music festival is held at Middelalderparken (Medieval park) in Nilsen's hometown of Oslo, Norway. Nilsen had previously performed there as a backing singer for Jens Carelius.[25] The festival features four stages, and during Nilsen's opening song, "Ta meg med" (Take me with you), it was possible to hear the soundcheck of the black metal band, Nekromantheon, but Nilsen seemed unaffected.[23][26] Among concert reviews, Nilsen was described by one writer as "a fascinating hybrid of melancholy, vulnerable sweetness and inner strength..."[23] This was Nilsen's first concert since the Rockefeller in March 2012, and since giving birth to a daughter two months previous. Commenting on the most recent phase of her life, Nilsen said, "Now I've also got a million new things to write about, there's so much I want to say."[25]

Nilsen is described as having a "strong artistic presence"[11] and a voice which has a "large register", which is "comfortably clear" with a "steady top and powerful down."[10] Concert reviews of Nilsen's live performances note the clear softness of her voice juxtaposed against her vocal power;[27] and that she can convey more dimensionality with her voice live than what comes across on digitized recordings.[28]

Nilsen performed at the SPOT music festival in Århus, Denmark on 3 May 2013 backed by an orchestra of 30–40 musicians performing some of Nilsen's music such as "Brev" and "Snu, Ikke Snu."[29][30]

As the daughter of folksingers, Nilsen grew up around music.[2] Her father is Lillebjørn Nilsen (born 1950 Oslo, Norway) who first came to prominence in Norway in the early 1970s after the release of his first albums,[32] and her mother is Shari Nilsen, who is American.[2][6] Siri Nilsen first wrote a song when she was six years old,[8] but grew up sheltered from the different aspects of the music industry. Lillebjørn tells an anecdote illustrating this point: one day Siri and her sister came home from school and sang a song to their father that they had learned that day, never realizing that it was he who had written it.[33] (Lillebjørn Nilsen wrote a popular song/guitar book that has been in print for decades).

In November 2011, Nilsen performed with her father on the Norwegian late-night talk show, Senkveld med Thomas og Harald (Late Night with Thomas and Harald). She sang the single Alle snakker sant and played the ukulele while Lillebjørn accompanied on ukulele.[34]

In June 2012, Siri Nilsen gave birth to a daughter with Norwegian actor and comedian Anders Bye, with whom she has been in a relationship for several years.[35]

• 2014: Spellemannprisen in the class best lyricist, for the album Skyggebokser

live acting role in feature film *

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siri Nilsen.

• Official website (in Norwegian)
• Siri Nilsen video for Passasjer from the 2014 album, Skyggebokser