Armi Millare

Millare’s solo work bears the signature atmospherics—fused with a deep understanding of hooks—that mark the hits of her internationally acclaimed indie band UDD (Up Dharma Down). The vocals that every UDD fan has come to know bear a lilting and almost spiritual, churchy approach to melodic runs. Born Armi Olbes Millare in 1984 to a family who frowned on what might be a frivolous and frankly fated-for-poverty career in music, Millare was a shy kid who tinkered with the family piano before learning to play the violin, guitar and drums. She branched out to master the kulintang gongs and the Japanese koto before going on to earn a degree in music. Taking meandering turns and risks in the fusing of genres, her solo records retain a quality of strange, undeniably sweet beauty—making for utterly earnest aural poetry. Collaborating with Norwegian band D’Sound on “Two Worlds”, the cadences of world music fuse with electronica, while the folksy and bare bones storytelling of "Tao" written for 2015 movie Honor Thy Father was an award-winning breakthrough in her creative process. Millare may be shy and uncomfortable with the spotlight, but her exceptional talents have made her a sought-after songwriter and collaborator.