Kim Hiorthøy

Kim Hiorthøy (born 17 March 1973) is a Norwegian electronic musician, graphic designer, illustrator, filmmaker, and writer. Hiorthøy was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. He studied at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art from 1991 to 1996 and at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1999 and 2000. During his tenure at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, Hiorthøy spent a year abroad in 1994, attending the School of Visual Arts in New York. There, he worked extensively with Cinematographer Mott Hupfel. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany. A fictionalized version of Hiorthøy is a character in Erlend Loe's novel L. Hiorthøy began making music while attending the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art; he worked in the academy's sound studio until he left school and purchased his own equipment. After various "collaborations and accidents", his music was eventually introduced to Joakim Haugland of the Smalltown Supersound record label. Haugland asked Hiorthøy to work with the label, and in 2001 Hiorthøy released his debut album, "Hei". He has subsequently released several albums, EPs, and 7-inch records with Smalltown Supersound. Hiorthøy's musical style is difficult to classify; the Smalltown Supersound website offers the following description: "On his records Kim Hiorthøy combines weird beats, lo-fi/leftfield electronics, field recordings, electro-acoustic sounds and samples, resulting in a sound all his own." His live sets, however, differ from his recordings, with louder, faster beats and a techno undertone. While exploring music at the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, Hiorthøy also began working in graphic design. He started publishing fanzines and designing record sleeves for local bands, and over time, he began working more seriously across a variety of creative media. To date, Hiorthøy has released several collections of photography, drawing, and design, and has provided cover artworks for such record labels as Rune Grammofon, Smalltown Supersound, Smalltown Superjazzz, and the rock group Motorpsycho. He is represented by STANDARD, an Oslo-based gallery that promotes contemporary Norwegian artists. Some of his other creative achievements include film directing, film photography, and illustration for children's books. In a 2004 interview with KultureFlash.com, Hiorthøy described the relationship between graphic design and music: "I regard them as very different things, even though the place in my head that decides if something works or not is the same for both". "Tree Weekend", 2000, Die Gestalten Verlag "Alt Fins", 2001, self-published "Du kan ikke svikte din beste venn og bli god til å synge samtidig", 2002, Oktober "Katalog", 2003, Smalltown Superbooks "Alt Fins" (Japanese edition), 2006, Afterhours "Tago Mago", 2007, Bergen Kunsthall on the occasion of the exhibition Erlend Loe – Fisken, 1994 Motorpsycho – Timothy's Monster, 1994 Sissel Lie – Pusegutten en en drittsekk!, 1995 Erlend Loe – Kurt blir grusom, 1995 Sissel Lie – Pusegutten og den lille gule, 1996 Erlend Loe – Den store røde hunden, 1996 Motorpsycho – Blissard, 1996 Sissel Lie – Pusegutten er eldst og tykkest, 1997 Bjørn Sortland – Den solbrente mammaen som blei bytta mot ti kamelar, 1997 Motorpsycho – Angels and Daemons at Play, 1997 Erlend Loe – Kurt for alle, 1998 Erlend Loe – Kurt quo vadis?, 1998 Lunde, Stein Erik – Eggg, 1998 Motorpsycho – Trust Us, 1998 Sissel Lie – Pusegutter tåler nesten alt, 1999 Tore Renberg – Hando Kjendo : søndag, 1999 Bjørn Sortland – Den solbrente mammaen som kledde seg naken for å bli kunst, 1999 Kim Fupz Aakeson – Da gud fikk en hobby, 1999 Tore Renberg – Hando Kjendo : torsdag, 2000 Motorpsycho – Let Them Eat Cake, 2000 Erlend Loe – Kurt 3, 2001 Motorpsycho – Phanerothyme, 2001 Motorpsycho – It's a Love Cult, 2002 Erlend Loe – Kurt koker hodet, 2003 Jaga Jazzist – What We Must, 2005 Motorpsycho – Black Hole/Blank Canvas, 2006 Motorpsycho – Little Lucid Moments, 2008 Motorpsycho – Child of the Future, 2009 Motorpsycho – Heavy Metal Fruit, 2010 Motorpsycho – The Death Defying Unicorn, 2012 Motorpsycho – Still Life with Eggplant, 2013 Motorpsycho – Behind the Sun, 2014 Motorpsycho – Here Be Monsters, 2016 Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too, 2008 Hei, 2000 (CD), Smalltown Supersound Melke (compilation), 2001 (CD), Smalltown Supersound For the Ladies, 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound My Last Day, 2007 (CD), Smalltown Supersound Dogs, 2014 (CD, 12"), Smalltown Supersound Ghost Note, 2025 (12"), Blickwinkel Hopeness [EP], 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound Live Shet [EP], 2004 (CD), Smalltown Supersound "This Record Can Not Set Me on Fire", 2006 (12"), Smalltown Supersound "I'm This, I'm That", 2006 (7"), Smalltown Supersound "Kim Hiorthøy Biography". Standardoslo.no. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007. "The Milk Factory Interview with Kim Hiorthøy". Themilkfactory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007. "Smalltown Supersound Artists". Smalltownsupersound.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007. "Artworker of the Week 37, Kim Hiorthøy". Kultureflash.net. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007. Gallery of most of his work for Rune Grammofon