Emilíana Torrini

Emilíana Torrini. Born in 1977 in Kópavogur, Iceland, to an Italian father from Naples and an Icelandic mother. She sang in a choir from seven and went to opera school at fifteen. She was singing in an Icelandic restaurant when One Little Indian's Derek Birkett discovered her and flew her to London. Her records run from the electronic Love in the Time of Science (1999) to the hushed, almost entirely acoustic Fisherman's Woman (2005), then Me and Armini (2008), where 'Birds' sits, Tookah (2013) and Miss Flower (2024). She has a habit of turning up inside other people's landmark work. She sang 'Gollum's Song' over the end credits of The Two Towers after Björk, then pregnant, turned down the invitation, and she co-wrote and co-produced Kylie Minogue's 'Slow,' which earned her a Grammy nomination. In May 2026 her home town named her Town Artist of Kópavogur for 2026.

From the notes for Episode 07 · fact-checked Sep 24, 2026.