Hera Hjartardóttir

Biography

Hera (born 1 April 1983 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a singer-songwriter from Iceland who now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She divides her time between her home in New Zealand and a regular European touring schedule. In 2002, she was named Best Female Singer at the Icelandic Music Awards.
A unique physical characteristic is the varying facial art she applies before appearances. She says it is "inspired by moko and also by Celtic warrior paint". It is intended to represent both her Icelandic and New Zealand heritage. The symbols represent aspects of her life and family, but she keeps most of their meanings private.

Biography

Hera was born in Reykjavík, Iceland and her family moved to Christchurch, New Zealand when she was 13. She started learning classical guitar at the age of eight, and then jazz guitar after a neighbour taught her how to play The Girl From Ipanema. Once she learned how to play and sing at the same time, she began writing her own songs. At 16 she released her first album Homemade, so named because it was recorded at home.
Two years later, Hera released her second independently produced album Not So Sweet×Not So Sweet2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks1Water Me More...3:162Dirty Lingerie2:493Sunday Morning2:294One of Those Days3:155Broke the Glass...2:476Naughts and Crosses2:567If I Confessed...3:108Morning Song3:109Suffer From You3:2310Precious Girl2:4711Doctor Doctor2:4912Suits Me2:3013Forbidden Fruit2:2114You Don't3:2115Should I Stay or Should I Go...2:4516Itchy Palms2:5017Beautiful Face4:1118Snowman3:46 and her career started to take off after a track from it, Itchy Palms, was chosen as the title track for the award winning Icelandic film Hafið (The Sea). The song resulted in her being nominated for two awards at the 2002 Icelandic Music Awards. She won for 'Best Female Singer', a category that had only ever been won by Björk or Emilíana Torrini in the ten-year history of the awards.
Her song Makebelieve from her third album Not Your Type!×Not Your Type!2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Not Your Type!4:202Naughts and Crosses2:533Chamelion Girl4:4744bidden Fruit3:205Itchy Palms2:516Suits Me3:027Sleepyhead5:118John2:599Makebelieve3:4110Suffer From You4:0111Precious Girl2:5912I Wanna Run2:29 was a finalist in the 2002 USA Songwriting Competition, and became the third most played song on Icelandic National Radio in 2003. Her third and subsequent studio albums have been released on Icelandic record label Sena.
The year 2003 saw the release of her fourth studio album (and first Icelandic language recording) Hafið þennan dag×Hafið þennan dag2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Hafið þennan dag3:252Sit og vaki3:203Sönglausi næturgalinn2:564Myndin af þér3:175Eyrarröst3:036Kysstu mig gosi2:557Stúlkan sem starir á hafið4:518Vegbúinn3:139Dararamm3:4310Talað við gluggann4:1211Dimmalimm6:19. Since that time she has toured Iceland and Europe extensively and has opened for artists such as Nick Cave and Joe Cocker.
Her fifth album Don't Play This×Don't Play This2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Feathers in a Bag2:532The Devil and Me3:173Chocolate4:424Muddy Shoes4:235Deja Vu3:186Adrian3:557Don't Play This2:328Wings3:509You Make Me Angry3:1610Where Is Your Baby2:1911To My Guitar7:07 was released in 2005 and the same year, she played at the Glastonbury Music Festival. In 2007, she played her first gigs in the United States including a performance at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Hera released her first live album in 2008 titled Live at AL's×Live at AL'sAlbum · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Soundcheck Song2:232Believe Me4:113Upside Down2:524Sorry2:275The Day Before2:476Cause of My Pain2:097Angel by Her Side4:268Nothing New2:429Ofie..4:3210Hafid Thennan Dag3:2511Raking Leaves3:1512Sleepyhead4:3713Itchy Palms3:4114Feels So Good5:54, recorded on 16 May 2008 at Christchurch music venue Al's Bar. In June of that same year, she began her 2008 European tour with a repeat trip to perform at Glastonbury. Hera's latest album, Rattle My Bones×Rattle My Bones1 June 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Litre of Me3:572Nothing But Time3:123Paris4:454Maybe Logical3:525Slap Me2:576Vertu Ekki Hissa2:537Somebody4:068Bite Me In the Ass2:269Scarecrow2:3310Rattle My Bones2:4611In the Dress4:0812Now That I'm Gone2:5413Abba Labba Lá2:1014It's A Funeral Thing3:37, was released on 15 June 2011.
Her song Feels So Good features on the Yike Bike promotional video.

Studio albums

Homemade (1999)
Not So Sweet (2001)
Not Your Type! (2002)
Hafið þennan dag (2003). Achieved Gold status in Iceland in 2005.
Don't Play This (2005)
Rattle My Bones (2011)
Hera (2020)

Live albums

Live at AL's (2008)
Live at York St. (With Jed Parsons) (2013)

Singles

Talað við gluggann (2003 – Iceland)
I Wanna Run (Live) (2004 – Iceland)
Feathers in a Bag (2005 – Iceland)
Feels So Good (2007 – Iceland)
Issues (with Jed Parsons) (2013)

Compilations

Ljósalagið (2003)
Íslensk ástarljóð (2003)
Stóra stundin okkar (2004)
Svona er sumarið 2005 (2005)
Svona er sumarið 2006 (2006)
Bubbi Morthens – 06.06.06 (2006)
Pældu í því sem pælandi er í (2006)
Óskalögin 10 (2006)
Ballöður (2007)
Ýmsir – 100 íslensk barnalög (2007)
100 íslenskar ballöður (2009)
100 íslensk í ferðalagið (2009)
100 íslensk lög í fríið (2010)
100 vinsæl barnalög (2010)
Það er bara þú (2011)

Facial artwork

Here are some variations of the facial art:

2001 Painting the clouds
2008 Iceland
2004 without facial art Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
Video of Makebelieve Girl recording session in Iceland without facial art