"I love these speakers": Why Synthpop Artist Daði Freyr Trusts HEDD

It was Daði Freyr's father, an audio engineer for film, who first recommended he check out HEDD Audio. After getting a pair of TYPE 20 MK2 monitors for his studio, the Icelandic synthpop musician discovered a new level of clarity that has changed the way he works.

Daði Freyr's distinctive brand of pop music is rooted in the pop frameworks and melodic hooks he grew up listening to, from his dad's record collection to the nu-metal and electronic music that helped shape his teenage identity. His debut album, 2023's I Made An Album, is a warm, loving collection of electropop that cemented the young singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist as a force for good, already evidenced by his 2020 Eurovision adventure which helped propel his fame. Today, the Iceland-born unwitting pop star lives in Berlin where he originally came to study music production and audio engineering, then decided to stay because “the weather is better!” and the atmosphere is much more chill, less competitive.

HEDD visited Daði in his Berlin studio to learn more about his early beginnings, his first music loves, and why he chose Berlin as his base. We also discussed how his song "Think About Things", performed with his band Gagnamagnið helped launch his career thanks to a viral video during lockdown and association with the Eurovision song contest. Watch the video of our visit below.

Speaking about the HEDD TYPE 20 MK2, Daði explained that it has helped change the way he hears the music he makes and loves. "With them I can hear how wrong my setup was before," he explains. "If I get something to sound nice in the studio now and then I go home and test it on the computer or headphones it sounds the ways it's supposed to."

Alongside the TYPE 20 MK2, Daði's cosy Berlin studio features the following key pieces of equipment:

• Ableton as the Digital Audio Workstation
• Moog Grandmother, Prophet 08, Moog Minitaur, and Arturia Polybrute synthesizers
• Neuman i87 and Sure SM7DB microphones

Music:

• Daði Freyr - Moves To Make (Instr.)
• Daði Freyr (Daði & Gagnamagnið) – Think About Things
• Daði Freyr - If You Want To (Instr.)

Filming and Editing: Felix Zimmermann. Audio mix: Robert Hauspurg.