“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. It is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven

My relationship with music may have started with the alluring sound of a neighbour’s piano when I was around seven or eight. That was when I composed my first melody.

I got my first keyboard in my teens and picked up the guitar at twenty. I later attended music, dance and drama school in Ålesund, and around that time I began writing songs seriously. A few live performances followed, including a concert at the legendary Smuget in Oslo.

I was fortunate to be accepted into LIPA – the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded by Paul McCartney. In the years that followed, I recorded demos in my little home studio and began collaborating with musicians and producers around the world via the internet — long before remote collaboration became commonplace. Some of those connections even started through MySpace.

A major highlight came in 2006, when one of my songs won 2nd place in the International Songwriting Competition, with artists including Tom Waits and Steve Vai among the judges.

Over the years, I have experimented with different sounds, textures and atmospheric landscapes while searching for my own musical expression. I am particularly interested in finding a balance between organic and electronic elements — between the human, imperfect and tactile, and the possibilities offered by technology.

My music moves somewhere between indie, pop, electronica, chillout, jazz, ambient, trip-hop and classical. I have never been particularly interested in staying inside just one genre.

I have also composed music for film and television, something I would love to explore much further. I have always been fascinated by the relationship between sound and imagery — how music can completely alter the emotional meaning of a scene, create atmosphere, or reveal something that isn't visible on screen. Sound design and field recordings are part of that curiosity too. Sometimes the world itself is the most interesting instrument.

Collaborations & New Directions

In 2021, I signed with Timewarp Music / Kraak Records for projects with the London-based electronic duo OR https://www.kraakrecords.com/krk140.html.

Around the same time, I taught myself video editing and began creating my own music videos, the first one got complimented by one of Norways most famous film directors, Harald Zwart!

I later experimenting with both conventional filmmaking and emerging AI tools. I became an early adopter of generative AI in music video production in Norway (possibly the first music video), and the meeting point between music, visual art and technology has since become an increasingly important part of my creative work.

Later that year, I appeared as a guest artist on “Shelter” by Norwegian Giants, a song I wrote and performed as a duet, released on the album Fasan. The collaboration also involved members of Electro Spectre. A review in Disharmoni: https://www.disharmoni.no/videopremiere-shelter-med-norwegian-giants-feat-manuela-hofer-electro-spectre/

In 2024, I released my first song in Norwegian: a modern interpretation of Erik Bye’s beloved “Vår Beste Dag.”

Some of the artists, musicians and producers I have collaborated with over the years include:

Sternklang, Reigo, Peter Larsen, Joar Renolen, Gurumunk, Massdriver, Norwegian Giants, Simone Eriksrud, Jahn Teigen, Tarjei Krogh, Carl Jurgens, OR and Alexander Björneboe/Electro Spectre, HP Gundersen and Ørjan Liavåg.

My first album, Reflections, is available on Spotify, Amazon and other streaming platforms.

Some of my music has also found its way into international film and television, including:

Amreeka

International feature film

Everybody Hates Chris

US television series

For me, music has never been only about songs. It is about atmosphere, storytelling, emotion and experimentation — and about discovering what can happen when sound, images, technology and imagination meet.

I am still exploring.

‍My first album Reflections you can find on Spotify, Amazon and other platforms.

https://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Manuela-Hofer/dp/B002U20ZBU

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Xj5gUsA034NNMdIdhzwzt

Facebook Music page:

https://www.facebook.com/manuelasmusic

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ManuelaHoferchannel

Some of my music has been featured in film & TV:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190858/soundtrack (AMREEKA)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460637/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 (Everybody hates Chris)

The first EVER AI generated music video in Norway was made by me. This was for my version of Leonard Cohen’s song “Avalanche”.

My second self made AI generated music video. Inspired by “Alice in Wonderland”. I wrote the song, sing and co-produce, as with all my songs.

My third self made AI generated music video, for my version of Oasis’s “Wonderwall”.

This was my very first self-made music video. The song was a collab with Norwegian Giants.

Three of my songs are featured in this film:

My second self made music video, for a collab with the London-based duo “OR”. I wrote the song.

This is “I Surrender” a song I wrote for my album (Reflections). The video is edited by me.

My first song in Norwegian - a modernized version of “Vår Beste Dag”, by Erik Bye.

My version of “House Of The Rising Sun”. Video edited by me.

This is my version of A-ha’s “Summer Moved On”. Video edited by me.

“The Sea” - another of my songs, from the album. I wrote the song and edited the video.

My version of Coldplay’s “FIX YOU”. Video edited by me.

Another of my songs - Video by me, inspired by The Antarctic.