Olivia Pedroli was born in 1982 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. At the age of 5, she showed a keen interest in learning a musical instrument and began studying the violin at the conservatory of music in her hometown. She left 13 years later with a degree under her belt. She shares her passion for music with her brother, a professional jazz musician.
After having traveled and worked abroad for more than two years (New Zealand, Asia, Canada, Australia) she started writing her own music.
In December 2003, she was noticed by several people in the music industry and was asked to play at a number of festivals throughout the summer of 2004. After meeting Simon Gerber, a talented Swiss musician and singer, who offered to share his experience with her, a project for a first album began taking shape. This album, “The Smell of Wait”, was released onto the Swiss market in April 2005, under the name Lole. Despite being self-produced on a shoestring budget, the album quickly became a success and was widely lauded by the press and music industry as being a “real find”.
On stage, the talented young artist’s performances, blending both softness and sensuality with electric sounds, were soon being described as mesmerizing. From this point on she started playing to sold-out audiences from Geneva to Zürich.
Hot on the heels of this success, Olivia headed back into the studio in the fall of 2006, once again collaborating with Simon Gerber. She recorded her second album between Carpentras (Vega Studio), Lausanne and New York. As many had predicted, the success of “Sugary and Dry”, released in the spring of 2007, allowed her to take her particular brand of folk music to France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Scandinavia, both as a headliner and as an opening act for renowned artists such as Marianne Faithfull, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Alain Bashung, Nouvelle Vague, etc.and led to her making many new and enriching encounters.
Amongst these was Valgeir Sigurðsson, the Icelandic producer and founder of the Bedroom Community record label, well-known for his collaborations with Björk, Camille, CocoRosie, Bonnie Prince Billy, Kronos Quartet, etc. Valgeir and Olivia decided to work together on her 3rd album in Reykjavik. During a collaboration that lasted almost an entire year, the intriguing universe of “The Den” was born.
This third album, at the crossroads between classical, folk and experimental music, was released on September 27th, 2010 under the musician’s real name, Olivia Pedroli. It shows the evolution of her compositions and voice towards more personal and enchanting horizons.
