Of Monsters and Men is one of most well-known Icelandic bands today. These masters of indie folk formed in 2010 and include two vocalists - Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Tórhallsson, and musicians Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Brynjar Leifsson, Kristján Páll Kristjánsson.
Once upon a time Nanna tired of working solo and invited the rest of crew to music competition. They did good there and decided to enlarge even further, inviting two more people. Somehow, produces from American radio station KEXP were present at Iceland Airwaves festival, where they performed next, and they brokered a deal between band and Record Records. Still, they decided to record first album “My Head Is an Animal” at home in Iceland and it proved to be wise decision. Album opened at spot number 6 in Billboards’ chart which was a record for any musician from Iceland, as even Bjork’s debut settled only for spot number 9. Band then toured across Europe and North America and contributed some content to Hollywood movies and TV shows. Second album “Beneath the Skin” enjoyed similar acclaim on both artistic and technical side. Grammy Awards nominated it in Best Limited Edition category for its amazing exclusive content. Continuing with Hollywood cooperation, in 2016 they appeared in two episodes of “Game of Thrones” as stage musicians.
