Eydís Evensen
Eydís Helena Evensen (born 5 February 1994) is an Icelandic composer, pianist, and singer who makes post-classical music that blends traditional piano and strings with ambient sounds. She grew up in Blönduós, Iceland, and started music early—flute at five and piano at six. Her family exposed her to a wide range of music, from jazz to Led Zeppelin. At thirteen she recorded her first six-song album at school, funded by her parents, but it wasn’t released commercially. She even sold those CDs door-to-door to raise money for a local children’s charity.
After finishing at the Reykjavík College of Music, Eydís studied classical music and composition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. She is a classically trained pianist whose music often uses strings, brass, woodwinds, and voice. Her influences include Chopin, Debussy, Ólafur Arnalds, Philip Glass, Sigur Rós, and Björk.
Eydís’s break came after her 2018 Iceland Airwaves performance, which helped her sign with Sony Masterworks (XXIM Records) in 2019. Her debut album, Bylur (2021), reached number 23 on the UK Classical Artist Albums Chart. She was named among The Line of Best Fit’s 2021 Artists on the Rise and Classic FM’s 30 under 30 stars on the Rise. She has performed at major venues and festivals around the world, including the Royal Albert Hall in London, SXSW, the Nobel Prize Museum, and ESNS, and she has been a popular live feature on KEXP.
Her second album, The Light (2023), did well in the UK, peaking at number 5 on the UK Specialist Classical Chart. She has sold-out headline shows, including a performance in the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall. Her 2021 KEXP at Home session is one of the most viewed in KEXP history, with millions of YouTube streams.
A new album, Oceanic Mirror, is scheduled for release on 10 October 2025. Its first single, Helena’s Sunrise, came out on 9 June 2025, followed by Eternal on 27 June 2025. The video for Helena’s Sunrise was filmed in Portugal.
In her personal life, Eydís has worked as a model in New York City in her early 20s, including for Elite Model Management, Urban Outfitters, and Schön!. She lived in New York for five years before returning to Reykjavik in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and focused on her music. She lives in Reykjavik with her partner, director Einar Egils, with whom she collaborates often.
She has four older siblings; her brother Gústaf Evensen was the guitarist for the metal band Svartidauði from 2017 to 2022. She enjoys watercolor painting, is vegan, and attended Hamrahlíð College in Reykjavik, where she sang in the choir. She was interested in biology and mathematics as a child and even considered becoming a surgeon if she hadn’t pursued music. She is a fan of Radiohead and Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. She has also written poetry since age 14, and some of her lyrics on The Light II and Dreaming of Light are inspired by her poetry.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:29 (CET).