Hildur Guðnadóttir (b. 1982) began playing cello as a child, entered the Reykjavík Music Academy and then moved on to musical studies/composition and new media at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and Universitat der Künste in Berlin. Back in Iceland, she became very active in the nu-Iceland scene as a member of Kitchen Motors, a Reykjavík based think tank, record label and art collective along with internationally renowned composer Johann Johannsson. In 2004, Guðnadóttir played several performances with Angel, including CTM.05, later becoming the third member of the group. She made an album with Schneider TM, and went on to play live with Pan Sonic, later collaborating on their album Cathodephase.
 
She released her first solo album, Mount A, under the artist name Lost in the Hilderness, on the Reykjavík based label 12 Tónar in 2006. The album was recorded both in New York City and at 'Hólar in Hjaltadalur', a historic spot in Iceland with a house named Auðunarstofa. Guðnadóttir played all the instruments on the album – vibraphone, viola da gamba, harp and vocals.
 
Guðnadóttir is a member of Storsveit Nix Noltes (The Nix Noltes Big Band), a rotating cast of seven to ten Icelanders playing traditional Bulgarian and Greek dance music. The group has toured the US twice supporting Animal Collective.
 
She has also played frequently with field recording artist and performer BJ Nielsen. They play delicate duets and conjure the somber rapture of multi-tracked cello as Guðnadóttir’s live playing augmented by laptop loops. Guðnadóttir has collaborated, played and recorded with other artists such as Skull Sverrisson, Hilmar Jensson, Hafler trio, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Ben Frost and Stilluppsteypa. Her solo productions link baroque elements with a contemporary timbre to create poignant divinity.
 
As a composer she has written music for plays, dance performances and films, pieces for chamber orchestras, various instruments, voices and electronics; she has written a score for the play Sumardagur (Summer Day) performed at Iceland's National Theatre. Guðnadóttir has made sound and visual installations and she co-composed a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's 1980 film In The Shadow of The Sun with legends Throbbing Gristle, as well as arranging choir for performances by them in Austria and London.
 
› myspace.com/hildurness
› hildurness.com
 

Appearances:
› CTM.12 › TOUCH.30: SPIRE
› CTM.11 › PALAIS WITTGENSTEIN
› CTM.10 › MONADIC ZERO
› CTM.08 › TUNED SPACE