Lena Anderssen

This article is about the singer-songwriter Lena Anderssen. For other people see Lena Andersson .

Lena Anderssen

Lena Anderssen , generally just Lena , (born September 26, 1974 in Tórshavn , Faroe Islands ) is a Faroese- Canadian singer-songwriter . She lives in Tórshavn and, along with Teitur Lassen and Høgni Lisberg, is one of the most internationally successful Faroese representatives of her genre.

Lena was born in the Faroe Islands. Her mother is Faro and her father is Canadian of Norwegian descent. At the age of 2 she moved to Canada with her parents, where she grew up in Victoria , Vancouver , Thunder Bay , Port Dover and Montreal . Here she laid her musical foundation. Lena returned to the Faroe Islands at the age of 17.

Lena's songs are in English. She is also fluent in Faroese and Danish.

Career

In 1996 Lena was discovered by the Norwegian drummer Remi Fagereng, who happened to meet her in a Tórshavn café where she was working and singing to himself. A short time later she was the singer of his cover band Next Step .

In 1997 Lena played in the Faroese musical Skeyk , which Niclas Johannesen wrote. Since then, the two have formed a team. In 1998 her debut album Long Distance came out. In 2000 Lena and Niclas wrote three songs with Óli Poulsen , Lena's producer at the time. I Still Love You became a hit in the Faroe Islands. In 2004 Poulsen produced her album Can't Erase It , which was released in 2005 in an improved version as an international edition in Denmark. The title song (“I can't erase it”) deals with their binational identity.

As early as 2002, Lena and Niclas wrote the hit Waiting In The Moonlight for the then 14-year-old Brandur Enni , which suddenly made Brandur known beyond the borders of the Faroe Islands. In October 2002 the two wrote 10 songs for the Christmas radio play Stjørnan ið Hvarv by Útvarp Føroya , which was released as a Christmas album the following year.

Concerts with Eivør Pálsdóttir and Guðrun Sólja Jacobsen , who together are considered the three best contemporary singers in the Faroe Islands, can be mentioned as live performances . In June 2005 Lena opened the big Roxy Music concert in Denmark. In April 2006 Lena made her debut in Iceland, where she has been heard on the radio several times a day since then.

Lena's manager is Richard Ogde , who already had Paul McCartney under contract. In 2006 Niclas Johannesen's new Lena album will be produced in Abbey Road Studios and Faroese JakZac Studios . It should appear in the fall of the year. It was mixed by Ryan Hewitt (currently known for the top album Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers). But since there were artistic disagreements between the two sides, Óli Petersen produced the final version of the album, which is now due to appear in 2007.

Even before the new album was released, the song Can't erase it was featured in the well-known TV series Scrubs .

In September 2007 Lena and the band will be opening up for Xavier Rudd (Australia) on a European tour and will also play several concerts in Germany.

Influences

On her MySpace.com page, Lena names the following influences on her music: The Smiths , Stone Roses , Neil Young , The Police , The Beatles , REM , Joni Mitchell , Bob Dylan , Red Hot Chili Peppers , Beastie Boys , Suzanne Vega , Nirvana , Tracy Chapman , Alanis Morissette , Elvis Costello , Beth Hart , Led Zeppelin , The Cure , Dead Kennedys , U2 , Roy Orbison , Juliana Hatfield , Lisa Loeb , Billie Holiday , David Gray , Depeche Mode , Coldplay , Crowded House , Midnight Oil , ...

Miscellaneous

• While recording the new CD in 2006, Lena met Paul McCartney in a café, but did not dare to speak to him.
• When Sarah Brendel played in the Tórshavner Domkirche in 2006 , Lena suddenly appeared as a surprise guest and joined the stage to play two pieces - the two had known each other before.
• When Lena and Niclas were almost finished with the recordings for the new album in 2006, they thought that Ryan Hewitt should be arranged as a mixer and contacted his manager. The asking price was far too high and so there was no agreement. A few days later, Hewitt happened upon his manager's office, who was listening to her music on Lena's MySpace page. Hewitt wanted to know who that is. When he found out that it was the woman he had just turned away, he changed his mind and decided to mix Lena himself.

Discography

• 1998 - Long Distance
• 2004/2005 - Can't Erase It
• November 2006 - My Microphone
• 2007 - Let Your Scars Dance

Web links

• LenaMusic.com - Official Homepage (English)
• MySpace.com - Lena Andersen (with four full-length songs)

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1. ↑ Portal.fo, January 30, 2007 ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.