Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, the singer and guitar player of the popular band Of Monsters and Men, is ready to embark on the band’s next world tour, she told Fréttablaðið newspaper in an intimate interview published this Saturday.
Of Monster and Men’s second album, ‘Beneath the Skin’, is due out on June 9th via Republic Records, and its first track, entitled ‘Crystals’, was recently released online. Nanna Bryndís says she and her bandmates are more than ready to go on tour again.
“I really enjoy touring. It actually came as a surprise how much I liked it because I’ve always needed my own space and alone time. There are twenty of us that share a bus when on tour, but I find it cosy. And you can always go for a walk if you need time alone,” she said.
The 25-year old admits that the band’s success is already bigger than they had ever dreamt of achieving. She says spending time at home in Iceland keeps them grounded.
Read more: New single and video from Of Monsters and Men available online
“We’ve been home in Iceland for two years now. It was great to come home and it does us good to just be normal. The hardest part about touring is when you begin to lose touch with every-day life and start to believe the rock star life is normal.”
Branded a tomboy for being in a band
The talented musician has been in a steady relationship for seven years. Her boyfriend studies computer science and they have managed to maintain the relationship via Skype and the occasional visits.
“Of course it’s very difficult spending all this time apart. As soon as I’m home I realise how good it is to be with the one you love. Skype has kept the relationship alive and he’ll occasionally visit me while I’m on tour, which is very exciting. And the fact that he’s not in music is also good. I live and breathe music all day and it can consume you completely, so having something different in your life is a good thing.”
Read more: The story of Iceland's two biggest bands
Nanna Bryndís’s four bandmates are all male and she is frequently asked what it is like to be the only girl in the band, a question she never quite knows how to answer.
“I never know how to answer this question. When I was growing up in Garður (Reykjanes peninsula) many of my friends were boys and I used be called a tomboy. My mum sometimes tried to get me to wear dresses, but I wouldn’t. I thought it was the worst! I just wanted to hang out with the boys because it seemed like they were allowed more freedom than the girls. They got to do all the fun stuff, like ride skateboards, play computer games and be in bands. So, yeah – in that sense I’m a tomboy. But it’s ridiculous being branded a tomboy for being in a band and riding skateboards. Why are those specifically “boy things”? We need to change this way of thinking,” she said punctuating the sentence with a laugh.
Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, the singer and guitar player of the popular band Of Monsters and Men, is ready to embark on the band’s next world tour, she told Fréttablaðið newspaper in an intimate interview published this Saturday.
Of Monster and Men’s second album, ‘Beneath the Skin’, is due out on June 9th via Republic Records, and its first track, entitled ‘Crystals’, was recently released online. Nanna Bryndís says she and her bandmates are more than ready to go on tour again.
“I really enjoy touring. It actually came as a surprise how much I liked it because I’ve always needed my own space and alone time. There are twenty of us that share a bus when on tour, but I find it cosy. And you can always go for a walk if you need time alone,” she said.
The 25-year old admits that the band’s success is already bigger than they had ever dreamt of achieving. She says spending time at home in Iceland keeps them grounded.
Read more: New single and video from Of Monsters and Men available online
“We’ve been home in Iceland for two years now. It was great to come home and it does us good to just be normal. The hardest part about touring is when you begin to lose touch with every-day life and start to believe the rock star life is normal.”
Branded a tomboy for being in a band
The talented musician has been in a steady relationship for seven years. Her boyfriend studies computer science and they have managed to maintain the relationship via Skype and the occasional visits.
“Of course it’s very difficult spending all this time apart. As soon as I’m home I realise how good it is to be with the one you love. Skype has kept the relationship alive and he’ll occasionally visit me while I’m on tour, which is very exciting. And the fact that he’s not in music is also good. I live and breathe music all day and it can consume you completely, so having something different in your life is a good thing.”
Read more: The story of Iceland's two biggest bands
Nanna Bryndís’s four bandmates are all male and she is frequently asked what it is like to be the only girl in the band, a question she never quite knows how to answer.
“I never know how to answer this question. When I was growing up in Garður (Reykjanes peninsula) many of my friends were boys and I used be called a tomboy. My mum sometimes tried to get me to wear dresses, but I wouldn’t. I thought it was the worst! I just wanted to hang out with the boys because it seemed like they were allowed more freedom than the girls. They got to do all the fun stuff, like ride skateboards, play computer games and be in bands. So, yeah – in that sense I’m a tomboy. But it’s ridiculous being branded a tomboy for being in a band and riding skateboards. Why are those specifically “boy things”? We need to change this way of thinking,” she said punctuating the sentence with a laugh.
