Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir

A charming documentary, mostly shot on nostalgic Super-8, about the grand old lady of Icelandic music, Sigrídur Níelsdóttir. She released her first album in 2001 at the age of 71 and became a cult phenomenon. She had made music all her life but never recorded any of it. When she finally started doing so on a cassette recorder in her kitchen, playing keyboard and any household appliances that made weird sounds, she couldn’t stop. Since then, she has recorded over 600 homemade songs and made 59 albums.

Níelsdóttir was quickly noticed in the independent music scene in Iceland, with artists like Björk and members of Sigur Rós and Múm praising her music in interviews. In 2003, Slowblow used two of her tracks on their soundtrack for the film Nói Albínói, which screened in the Tiger Competition.

The Danish/Icelandic lo-fi grandmother’s life story, which is just as rich in peculiarities and unforeseen coincidences as her music, is unveiled in animations, old photographs and her own words. –Rotterdam