New Zealand based singer/songwriter HERA has been living, writing and performing for 12 years now whilst carving out a very successful career in her native country of Iceland. Not an easy task given the global separation, but one that was richly rewarded in 2003 when she was named Best Female Artist at that year’s Icelandic Music Awards, a category dominated for the previous 10 years by global superstar Bjork! Hera’s Icelandic debut album also delivered her a Gold Record there being backed up by 37 live concerts in two months, the most extensive Icelandic tour ever undertaken by a solo female artist...A prodigious talent from an early age, Hera began playing classical guitar in Reykjavik at the age of 8 building an impressive collection of her own self-penned songs by 13… In 1994 her family moved to New Zealand where she started playing her own shows building her a small but very dedicated fan base.
In 2002, one of Hera’s tracks from those early recordings, “Itchy Palms”, was fortunately spotted by the producer of a planned Icelandic film production “Hafid (The Sea)” and was chosen as the film’s title song with Hera being invited to perform it live at the Icelandic Premiere. The film eventually went on to win eight Edda Awards (Iceland’s Oscar equivalent) being distributed in over 30 countries worldwide. Hera moved back to Reykjavik…A recording deal was secured with Skifan Records and her career was launched!
Live shows continued through 2004 & 2005 with supporting slots for both Nick Cave and Joe Cocker in Reykjavik’s biggest concert arena. She also performed shows in Belgium, Holland, Italy and UK including a slot at the famous (and rain-soaked) Glastonbury Festival, ending off that year with a concert in one of the most remote places on the planet, Ammassalik in Greenland!
In 2007, after her return from the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin USA. Hera was awarded a New Recording Artist Grant from NZ On Air. The result was the delightful uplifting debut NZ single “Feels So Good”! The music video, which was a huge success on the internet with over 100,000 You Tube views!
Now 25, Hera has returned to her “other home”, after an extensive tour of Iceland, and playing once again at the Glastonbury festival 08, and two shows in Denmark, promoting her new Live album ‘Live at AL’s’ which was recorded May 16th this year in Christchurch, NZ.
Iceland has given the musical world some diverse and wonderful musical success stories in Bjork, Mezzaforte and Sigur Ros to name a few. HERA is the next in a very talented and uniquely gifted line of artists from the Opposite Side of the World.
If this is your first time, be prepared to be charmed, intrigued, moved & occasionally shocked by the music of HERA!
For a sneak peak at HERA visit www.youtube.com/herasings
