Icelandic songstress, Elíza Geirsdóttir Newman, made her first solo album debut in Iceland last week. The album, Empire Fall, will hit the international music scene on 1st October. Newman is planning to promote the new release with an international tour and with concerts at home.
The new album has 11 tracks, all written and arranged by Newman. Accompanying the singer on bass and guitar is Gudmundur Pétursson, on drums are Helgi Svavar Helgason and Birgir Baldursson. Newman also plays the piano and violin in several tracks in addition to lending her voice to the songs.
Empire Fall was produced by the singer’s own label, Lavaland Records. The songs on the album mainly deal with themes of independence, loss and homesickness. Newman’s music has been inspired by Blondie and Kate Bush and has sometimes been compared to the music of singer Nico.
Elíza Newman made her debut on the Icelandic music scene at age 16 as the lead singer of Kolrassa Krókrídandi. In 1992, she and her classmates won the young talent competition Músíktilraunir.
The group stayed together and renamed themselves Bellatrix in 1998. They recorded two albums in France and opened for Coldplay.
More recently, Newman went back to school in London, doing a postgraduate course in operatic singing. Her most recent rock band was named Skandinavia and is heavily influenced by her studies. The group has one album and two singles.