Of Monsters and Men - A biography
Of Monsters and Men are five friends from Iceland (Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir [co-singer, guitar], Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson [co-singer, guitar], Brynjar Leifsson [guitar], Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson [drums], and Kristján Páll Kristjánsson [bass]) who got together in 2010 to enter a local music competition called Músiktilraunir. They won.
"We just kind of... won!" affirms Nanna. "We weren't expecting to win at all."
"Iceland can be a very isolated country and that translates to the music," she goes on. "We get stuck in our little world and did our own thing sonically. As long as you can sing along to it, that's the most important thing."
With the same humble mindset and tireless work ethic, the group continued on together and fashioned an irresistible pop sound punctuated by flourishes of folk and alternative music. This ethereal, engaging, and enigmatic sound is why their debut single "Little Talks" resounded so loudly.
A rumination on loneliness whose infectiousness belies its heavy subject matter, "Little Talks" quickly became a No. 1 hit in Iceland. Simultaneously, Seattle's influential KEXP was sharing a video online of "Little Talks" that they had recorded in the band's living room during Iceland Airwaves. As 2012 began, the song had made it's mark Stateside and has since spread across oceans and continents, continuing to fill the global airwaves.
The band signed to Republic Records in late 2011 and released their debut album "My Head Is An Animal" which hit #1 on Billboard's Alternative Albums chart, #6 on the Billboard Top 200, and #2 on the Overall Digital Albums Chart, surpassing sales of 55,000 during release week.
"Little Talks" became a phenomenon. The song sold over two million digital downloads in the U.S. alone, racked up over 42 million YouTube/VEVO views, and reached the status of a bona fide radio hit. By 2013, worldwide sales of the album exceeded 1.3 million, and "Little Talks" had moved more than 3.5 million downloads. The album proved to be a worldwide sensation too as it hit #1 on iTunes in the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, and Estonia. It also landed in the top 5 in 17 countries and top 10 in 15 countries. 2012 also saw them claim the prestigious EBBA -- European Border Breakers Award, following with a Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Rock Album in 2013.
Of Monsters and Men's second single "Mountain Sound" is now enjoying a similar success at radio. The next single, "King and Lionheart" is currently entering the airwaves following the release of the video directed by collaborators WeWereMonkeys. "Six Weeks" draws inspiration from the true tale of American frontiersman Hugh Glass who was left for dead after killing a bear that attacked him. Then, there's the dreamy "From Finner". Raggi reveals, "It's about a whale that has a house on its back on which people travel across the ocean, exploring different places and having adventures."
Their adventures have brought them everywhere. They've performed on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" multiple times as well as "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," while internationally appearing on Graham Norton in the UK among many other high-profile programs. Critically, they garnered acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Paste Magazine, Huffington Post, Nylon and more. Their U.S. headline tours have sold out almost instantly, and they performed at a myriad of festivals from Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival to Reading and Leeds, Pukkelpop, and Laneway.
Of Monsters and Men's story is one worth sharing.
Of Monsters and Men are five friends from Iceland (Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir [co-singer, guitar], Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson [co-singer, guitar], Brynjar Leifsson [guitar], Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson [drums], and Kristján Páll Kristjánsson [bass]) who got together in 2010 to enter a local music competition called Músiktilraunir. They won.
"We just kind of... won!" affirms Nanna. "We weren't expecting to win at all."
"Iceland can be a very isolated country and that translates to the music," she goes on. "We get stuck in our little world and did our own thing sonically. As long as you can sing along to it, that's the most important thing."
With the same humble mindset and tireless work ethic, the group continued on together and fashioned an irresistible pop sound punctuated by flourishes of folk and alternative music. This ethereal, engaging, and enigmatic sound is why their debut single "Little Talks" resounded so loudly.
A rumination on loneliness whose infectiousness belies its heavy subject matter, "Little Talks" quickly became a No. 1 hit in Iceland. Simultaneously, Seattle's influential KEXP was sharing a video online of "Little Talks" that they had recorded in the band's living room during Iceland Airwaves. As 2012 began, the song had made it's mark Stateside and has since spread across oceans and continents, continuing to fill the global airwaves.
The band signed to Republic Records in late 2011 and released their debut album "My Head Is An Animal" which hit #1 on Billboard's Alternative Albums chart, #6 on the Billboard Top 200, and #2 on the Overall Digital Albums Chart, surpassing sales of 55,000 during release week.
"Little Talks" became a phenomenon. The song sold over two million digital downloads in the U.S. alone, racked up over 42 million YouTube/VEVO views, and reached the status of a bona fide radio hit. By 2013, worldwide sales of the album exceeded 1.3 million, and "Little Talks" had moved more than 3.5 million downloads. The album proved to be a worldwide sensation too as it hit #1 on iTunes in the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, and Estonia. It also landed in the top 5 in 17 countries and top 10 in 15 countries. 2012 also saw them claim the prestigious EBBA -- European Border Breakers Award, following with a Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Rock Album in 2013.
Of Monsters and Men's second single "Mountain Sound" is now enjoying a similar success at radio. The next single, "King and Lionheart" is currently entering the airwaves following the release of the video directed by collaborators WeWereMonkeys. "Six Weeks" draws inspiration from the true tale of American frontiersman Hugh Glass who was left for dead after killing a bear that attacked him. Then, there's the dreamy "From Finner". Raggi reveals, "It's about a whale that has a house on its back on which people travel across the ocean, exploring different places and having adventures."
Their adventures have brought them everywhere. They've performed on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" multiple times as well as "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," while internationally appearing on Graham Norton in the UK among many other high-profile programs. Critically, they garnered acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Paste Magazine, Huffington Post, Nylon and more. Their U.S. headline tours have sold out almost instantly, and they performed at a myriad of festivals from Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival to Reading and Leeds, Pukkelpop, and Laneway.
Of Monsters and Men's story is one worth sharing.
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