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Of Monsters and Men

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Of Monsters and Men
Of Monsters and Men playing in New York City on 5 April 2012
Background information
OriginKeflavík/Garðabær, Iceland
GenresIndie pop, indie folk, indie rock
Years active2010–present
LabelsRecord Records, Universal Republic, Republic[1]
MembersNanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir
Ragnar Þórhallsson
Brynjar Leifsson
Kristján Páll Kristjánsson
Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson
Past membersÁrni Guðjónsson
Websitehttp://ofmonstersandmen.is

Of Monsters and Men is a six-piece, English-language,[2] indie folk/pop band from Iceland, formed in 2010. The members are lead singer/guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, co-singer/guitarist Ragnar "Raggi" Þórhallsson, guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson.[3][4] The band won the Músíktilraunir in 2010, an annual battle of the bands competition in Iceland.[5] In 2011, Of Monsters and Men released an EP titled Into the Woods. The band's debut album My Head Is an Animal (2011), reached the No.1 position in Australia, Iceland, Ireland and the US Rock and Alternative Charts, while peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, No. 3 in the UK, and Top 20 of most European charts and Canada. Its lead single "Little Talks" was an international success, reaching the Top 10 in most music charts in Europe, including No.1 in Ireland and Iceland, and No. 1 on US Alternative Songs.

Of Monsters and Men is a winner of the 2013 European Border Breakers Awards. The European Border Breakers Awards honour the best new music acts in Europe. The award ceremony takes place at the Dutch Eurosonic Noorderslag music festival in Groningen.

History

Formation and early work (2009–2010)

Of Monsters and Men performing in October, 2011.

The band's origins began in 2009 when Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir decided to add to her solo project, Songbird. Of Monsters and Men entered 2010's Músíktilraunir as a quartet with members Nanna (co lead vocals, guitar), Raggi (co lead vocals, guitar, melodica, glockenspiel), Brynjar (guitar, melodica, backing vocals), and Arnar (drums, percussion, melodica, glockenspiel, accordion, backing vocals). Raggi came up with the band name, Of Monsters and Men, and everyone else liked it, so it stuck.[6]

Following Músiktilraunir, the quartet added two more members, Árni (accordion/keys, backing vocals) and Kristján (bass, backing vocals), and continued to tour venues in Iceland and work on new songs.[7] They were invited to perform at the 2010 Iceland Airwaves festival, and it is there that the Seattle-based radio station KEXP recorded the band performing "Little Talks" from a Living Room Session.[8]

My Head Is an Animal (2011–present)

The band signed with Republic Records in February 2011 for the release of their debut album in Iceland.[9] In August 2011, Philadelphia's Radio 104.5 began playing "Little Talks" and propelled the band to nationwide popularity.[10] Their debut album My Head Is an Animal was released in Iceland in September 2011 with both it and "Little Talks" hitting No. 1.[3]

With success in Iceland, and growing popularity in the USA, the band was signed to Universal for a worldwide release of their debut album.[11] The band released its Into the Woods EP on 20 December 2011, which features four songs from their debut album, and later released My Head Is an Animal in the United States on 3 April 2012.[12]

The band performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island on July 29, 2012, Osheaga Festival in Montreal on August 3, 2012, and then at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 5, 2012. In recent weeks, they have toured in several European countries including Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.[13] Of Monsters and Men also appeared October 5, 2012 on the new PBS music show, "Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders," performing "Mountain Sound." [14] Later Arni Guojonson left the band to go back to school.

Trumpeter, Ragnhildur Gunnarsdóttir, joined in the 2012 tour, and is simply a session player. The band has not commented on interest to eventually bring her into the band.[15]

The band performed "Little Talks" and "Mountain Sound" on the May 4, 2013 episode of Saturday Night Live.[16]

The band performed in the 1st Annual Boston Calling Music Festival on May 26, 2013.[17]

The band will play T in the Park in July 2013, the biggest music festival in Scotland. They played on both Lollapalooza Brazil and Chile. They are also scheduled to play at Coachella, on April 12 and 19. On January 26, 2013, Little Talks was voted into the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2012 at number two, a prestigious musical honour in Australia. They will appear at Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June 2013. They have also been scheduled to play the other stage at Glastonbury Festival in that same month.

Band members

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUS
[18] 		AUT
[19] 		BEL (Fla)
[20] 		BEL (Wal)
[21] 		CAN
[22] 		GER
[23] 		IRE
[24] 		NL
[25] 		NZ
[26] 		US
[22] 		UK
[27]
My Head Is an Animal 1 17 14 45 4 4 1 5 4 6 3

Extended plays

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[22] 		US
Alt.
[22]
Into the Woods 108 18

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
ICE
[32] 		AUS
[18] 		AUT
[19] 		BEL (Fla)
[20] 		CAN
[22] 		GER
[23] 		ITA
[33] 		IRE
[34] 		NZ
[26] 		UK
[27] 		US
[22] 		US
Alt.
[22]
"Little Talks" 2011 1 7 9 3 55 5 3 1 4 12 20 1 My Head Is an Animal
"Dirty Paws" 2012 10 — — — — — — — 35 — — —
"Mountain Sound" — 29 — 53 69 — — 28 22 66 103[A] 2
"King and Lionheart" 2013 1 — — — — — — — — — — 24
"—" denotes singles that were not released, or did not chart.

Accolades

Year Organization Nominated Work Award Result
2012 MTV Video Music Awards "Little Talks" Best Art Direction Nominated
2012 MTV Europe Music Awards Themselves Best Push Act Nominated
2013 ECHO Awards My Head is an Animal Best International Newcomer Nominated
Best International Rock/Pop Group Nominated
2013 Juno Awards "Little Talks" Video of the Year Nominated
2013 Billboard Music Awards My Head is an Animal Top Rock Album Nominated

Notes

  • Arni has decided to leave the band and go back to school. They are all still close and the band says they are not looking to replace him. At the present time Steingrimur Karl Teague is touring with the band playing keyboards and accordion in his place.[43]

References

  1. ^ "Republic Records". Republic Records. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  2. ^ "PBS Arts: Of Monsters and Men - 'Little Talks'". PBS Arts. 2011. Retrieved April 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Of Monsters and Men Facebook Page". Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Of Monsters and Men in exultant Philadelphia debut". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Músíktilraunir – English". Musiktilraunir.is. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  6. ^ Chan, Tracie (1 March 2012). "An Interview with Of Monsters and Men: On Monsters, Jugglers, & Their First US Tour". Austinist. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Of Monsters and Men: Iceland's Folk-Pop Stars". Paste Magazine. Sept. 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks; KEXP". KEXP. 16 Oct 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Of Monsters and Men Sign with Record Records". Record Records. 3 Feb 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Best New Releases, April 3rd, Vol. I – Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, Max and the Moon, Lux, Black Mountain, Twin Steps | Best new indie rock music songs, albums, bands, artists and festivals". Indierockcafe.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  11. ^ "Universal Signs Icelandic Band Of Monsters and Men". Iceland Review. 23 Oct 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Friday on My Mind: KEXP's Most Viewed In-Studio Sessions". KEXP. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Nanna (nannabh89) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  14. ^ "Of Monsters and Men: Global Hit | Sound Tracks". PBS. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  15. ^ "Twitter / nannabh89: @DarkeningAbyss Ragga is a". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  16. ^ Wete, Brad (5 May 2013). "Of Monsters and Men Perform 'Little Talks' and 'Mountain Sound' on 'SNL'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Home » Boston Calling Music Festival". Bostoncalling.com#. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  18. ^ a b "ARIA Albums Charts". ARIA. Cite error: The named reference "aus" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b "Of Monsters And Men - Austrian Charts". austriancharts.at/ Hung Medien.
  20. ^ a b "Of Monsters And Men - Belgium (Flanders) Charts". ultratop.be/nl/ Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Of Monsters And Men - Belgium (Wallonia) Charts". ultratop.be/fr/ Hung Medien.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "Of Monsters and Men Album & Song Chart History". billboard.com/.
  23. ^ a b "Of Monsters And Men - German Charts". charts.de/ Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Individual Artist Albums - Week ending 30th August 2012". Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Of Monsters And Men - Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl/ Hung Medien.
  26. ^ a b "Of Monsters And Men - New Zealand Charts". charts.org.nz/ Hung Medien.
  27. ^ a b "Of Monsters and Men - UK Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  28. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is an Animal". Music Canada.
  29. ^ "Bundesverband Musikindustrie: Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  30. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart – 2 May 2013". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  31. ^ a b "Of Monsters and Men: Spring Tour, Platinum Single and More". Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  32. ^ Peak positions for singles in Iceland:
  33. ^ "Italy Charts: Top Digital Download". Federation of the Italian Music Industry. fimi.it. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  34. ^ "Of Monsters And Men - Irish Charts". irish-charts.com/ Hung Medien.
  35. ^ "Australian Charts". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  36. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart – 24 March 2013". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  37. ^ "Canadian digital download certifications – Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks". Music Canada.
  38. ^ "Certifications in Germany". 17 August 2012.
  39. ^ "Italy Certifications" (PDF). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. fimi.it. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  40. ^ "Week Ending Oct. 21, 2012. Songs: Rihanna Ties Whitney". Recording Industry Association of America. music.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  41. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart| Australia's Official Top 50 Songs". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  42. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart – 28 April 2013". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  43. ^ "Fuck Yeah! Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir!: Photo". Fuckyeahnannabh.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
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