Lena Anderssen
Encyclopedia
Lena Anderssen is a Faroese
-Canadian singer-songwriter
best known for her award winning album "Let Your Scars Dance." Although the lyrics to her songs are all written in English, she is also fluent in both Faroese and Danish
.
to a Canadian-Norwegian
father and a Faroese mother but moved to Canada when she was 2 years old. Her family relocated numerous times in the following years to Victoria
and Vancouver
in British Columbia
; Thunder Bay
, Ontario
; and Montreal
, Quebec
. As a young teenager, she moved back to the land of her birth. Norwegian drummer Remi Fagereng was visiting a coffee shop in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn
, where Anderssen worked, when he overheard her singing to herself and realized her talent. Weeks later, she joined his cover band, Next Step.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Anderssen and Johannesen partnered with Danish Grammy Award
-winning producer, Óli Poulsen, to produce three songs. One song, "I Still Love You," became a hit when it was released as a radio single in the Faroe Islands.
in 2002. That same year they wrote 10 songs for the Faroese National Radio for use in a Christmas radio play entitled "Stjørnan í Hvarv." The songs were later included in an album of the program, which was released during the Christmas season of 2003.
She also sang on singer-songwriter Teitur Lassen
's Faroese album Sólin og Regnið, which was exclusively released in the Faroe Islands in 2002 and produced by Johannesen.
and was a guest singer with the Tórshavn Big Band when American composer
/arranger
Butch Lacey was guest conductor.
. The album has been chosen as Album of the Week on Danmarks Radio
's Programme 4 (P4) as well as on the commercial station Sky Radio
. Anderssen promoted the album while touring with American
singer-songwriter Beth Hart
. Notably, the title track was offered as a free MP3
download on a music website
sponsored by Coca-Cola
and Paste Magazine. It was one of ten songs in the "European Beats" category of a joint-venture podcast
program called "For the Love of Music".
in London
, England
, to record a live performance of the song "Stones in My Pocket" and put finishing touches on several other tracks. The album was released in the Faroe Islands on April 30, 2007 and in Denmark on October 27, 2008. Let Your Scars Dance was chosen as Album Of The Year at the Planet Awards in December 2007. In February 2008, readers of Dimmalætting
, the oldest and most acclaimed newspaper of the Faroe Islands, voted Let Your Scars Dance as Album of The Year.
Faroese people
The Faroese or Faroe Islanders are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins.About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway....
-Canadian singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
best known for her award winning album "Let Your Scars Dance." Although the lyrics to her songs are all written in English, she is also fluent in both Faroese and Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Early career
Anderssen was born in the Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
to a Canadian-Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
father and a Faroese mother but moved to Canada when she was 2 years old. Her family relocated numerous times in the following years to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
; Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. As a young teenager, she moved back to the land of her birth. Norwegian drummer Remi Fagereng was visiting a coffee shop in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
, where Anderssen worked, when he overheard her singing to herself and realized her talent. Weeks later, she joined his cover band, Next Step.
First Album
After playing one of the main characters in the successful Faroese musical "Skeyk," Anderssen began collaborating with its musical composer, Niclas Johannesen. Together, they wrote the songs that comprised her debut album Long Distance, which was produced by Johannesen and released in the Faroe Islands only.At the beginning of the new millennium, Anderssen and Johannesen partnered with Danish Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning producer, Óli Poulsen, to produce three songs. One song, "I Still Love You," became a hit when it was released as a radio single in the Faroe Islands.
Songwriting
During their first three years of collaborative work, the songwriting team of Anderssen and Johannesen penned more than 100 songs, including "Waiting In The Moonlight," which became a breakthrough hit for Faroese vocalist Brandur EnniBrandur Enni
Brandur Helgason Enni , is a singer and songwriter, he also plays guitar, trumpet, piano and flugelhorn. In August 2006 Brandur moved to Sweden, where he studied music for two years at the Music Production Academy "Musikmakarna"...
in 2002. That same year they wrote 10 songs for the Faroese National Radio for use in a Christmas radio play entitled "Stjørnan í Hvarv." The songs were later included in an album of the program, which was released during the Christmas season of 2003.
She also sang on singer-songwriter Teitur Lassen
Teitur Lassen
Teitur is a Faroese singer-songwriter. On 3 March 2007, he was awarded Best Male Singer at the Danish Music Awards.The word teitur is Old Norse and means happy. In Modern Faroese, it is archaic but used as a male given name....
's Faroese album Sólin og Regnið, which was exclusively released in the Faroe Islands in 2002 and produced by Johannesen.
Jazz work
Throughout her successful songwriting career, Anderssen, also an accomplished jazz singer, performed regularly at the Tórshavn Jazz FestivalTórshavn Jazz Festival
The Tórshavn Jazz Festival or the Torshavn Jazz, Folk, and Blues Festival is an annual music festival held in the month of August in the city of Tórshavn, capital of the Faroe Islands....
and was a guest singer with the Tórshavn Big Band when American composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
/arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
Butch Lacey was guest conductor.
Can't Erase It
Anderssen worked with Johannesen and Poulsen again on her next album, Can't Erase It, which was released in Denmark under Danish independent label ArtPeopleArtPeople
ArtPeople is a Danish arts and entertainment company specializing in book and music publishing and also acting as a booking agency.-Operations:*ArtPeople Musik & DVD department - Publishes and releases recordings through the ArtPeople Record label...
. The album has been chosen as Album of the Week on Danmarks Radio
Danmarks Radio
DR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...
's Programme 4 (P4) as well as on the commercial station Sky Radio
SKY Radio
Sky Radio is a Russian-language radio station in Estonia. Launched in 1995, Sky Radio is the oldest radio station owned by Sky Media Group. Its sister station in Estonian language is Sky Plus....
. Anderssen promoted the album while touring with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter Beth Hart
Beth Hart
Beth Hart is an American singer who became famous with the hit , which aired during Episode 17 of the 10th and final season of Beverly Hills, 90210.Her musical influences include rock, blues and gospel.-Musical career:...
. Notably, the title track was offered as a free MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
download on a music website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
sponsored by Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
and Paste Magazine. It was one of ten songs in the "European Beats" category of a joint-venture podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
program called "For the Love of Music".
Let Your Scars Dance
In 2006, Anderssen began work on her third album, Let Your Scars Dance. She traveled to the famous Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to record a live performance of the song "Stones in My Pocket" and put finishing touches on several other tracks. The album was released in the Faroe Islands on April 30, 2007 and in Denmark on October 27, 2008. Let Your Scars Dance was chosen as Album Of The Year at the Planet Awards in December 2007. In February 2008, readers of Dimmalætting
Dimmalætting
Dimmalætting is the oldest and largest newspaper of the Faroe Islands and is based in Tórshavn.The first edition of the Dimma, as it is commonly known, appeared on January 5, 1878. Today it has a print run of 8,500 copies and appears five days weekly...
, the oldest and most acclaimed newspaper of the Faroe Islands, voted Let Your Scars Dance as Album of The Year.
Current work
Anderssen continues to work on new material. She has plans to relocate to North America as well.Discography
- Long Distance (1998)
- Can't Erase It (2005)
- Let Your Scars Dance (2008)
- Letters From The Faroes (2011)
External links
- Lena Anderssen Official site
- Lena Music Room MySpace Music page
- ArtPeople Official site