Emiliana Torrini

Hailing from Iceland, indie folk songstress Emiliana Torrini makes sweet music that evokes hypnotic childhood memories. Backed by a delicate mix of acoustic guitar and sparse drum rhythms, Torrini's breathless vocal delivery is reminiscent of fellow Icelander Bjork. Raised in the town of Kopavogur, Torrini worked in her father's Italian restaurant and attended opera school during her teenage years. In 1999, she released her debut album, Love in the Time of Science, produced by Tears For Fears' Roland Orzabal. In 2002, famed Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson asked Torrini to voice the final music for The Two Towers (a gig that Bjork was set to do before backing out due to pregnancy). Three years later, Torrini released Fisherman's Woman. Moving away from the trip-hop beats of her debut, the album showcases her otherworldly vocals in soft layers of downtempo folk, a style she continued to work with on 2008's Me and Armini.