Fanny "Faye" Matilda Dagmar Hamlin is a Swedish singer and model. Known professionally as Faye, she is one of the original members of the Swedish pop group Play.
Early Life[]
Faye grew up in Täby, a suburb outside of Stockholm with her parents, older sister, and older brother. As a child, Faye modeled and, when she was 11 years old, won a national singing contest.
Career[]
2001-2003: Play[]
- Main article: Play
In 2001, Faye auditioned for a part in a girl group that was being put together by Laila Bagge. Shortly after, Faye, along with friend Rosie Munter, was added to the group's lineup that already consisted of Anna Sundstrand and Anais Lameche. Play's first album Play was released in 2002, and the group went on tour around the world. In 2003 Play's second album, Replay, was released. Faye was considered the groups lead vocalist at this time. On December 15, 2003 an official press release informed fans that Faye had left the group to further her education and Play would continue with a new member, Janet Leon.
2004-2008: Time After Play[]
After leaving Play, Faye returned to college and modeling, attending the music school Rytmus and signing with Swedish modeling agency Synkcasting. Faye appeared in several photo shoots and runway shows. She also kept her foot in the music business, releasing occasional singles through modeling campaigns and providing background vocals.
In 2004 Faye performed a duet with Adam Appel titled Ready for Love that was featured on the soundtrack to the Swedish film Kärlekens Språk. Then, in 2006 Faye provided background vocals for Swedish artist Velvet’s album Finally, most notably on the track Mi Amore.
In February 2008, Faye appeared in commercials for Swedish clothing chain MQ. The commercials featured Faye performing the Fleetwood Mac hit Go Your Own Way in a style all her own. Behind the scene videos were posted to MQ’s website and the full song and music video were made available for download.
In November 2008, Faye was once again featured in an MQ campaign. This campaign saw Faye perform the Supertramp hit Give a Little Bit alongside some of Sweden’s most popular stars including Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Darin and Marie Serneholt. The full version of the song was made available for purchase and proceeds benefited The Red Cross.
2009-2010: Play's Reunion[]
In 2009, Faye and Anais Lameche contacted their previous manager Laila to talk about a Play comeback. Anaïs, Fanny, and new member Sanne Karlsson were then featured on the second season of Made in Sweden. Play's first single in five years, Famous, reached #1 in the Swedish charts, and the new album, Under My Skin , was a top ten hit. The trio toured Sweden during the summer, playing at festivals like Love Stockholm and Sommarkrysset. Eventually, the girls set their eyes on breaking into the United States, and flew to the US to present their music during showcases for labels and other important people in the music business.
In late 2010, for an unknown reason, Anais and Sanne reported in their blog that Faye would not be making appearances with Play and was "taking a break". Eventually, after solo material by Faye surfaced online, Play released a statement saying that she had left the group again and was being replaced by a friend of the girls, Emelie Norenberg.
2010-2014: Solo Career[]
Faye first signed with Scandinavian record label Hybris in January 2012, and later with UK based Best Fit Recordings in May 2012.
Faye has wrote and recorded a complete album with Swedish composer duo Montauk. To date she has released three official singles; Come To Me, Water Against The Rocks, and Breathe Out. The album is rumored to be titled Progress and was originally set for release in 2013, but was pushed back when major US record labels expressed their interest in Faye's music.
Along with official singles, Faye has released “teaser tracks”, including Silent and Mad Dog. The purpose of these songs were to keep listeners interested, or "hype songs".
Faye has played numerous live shows is many locations, such as her homeland of Sweden, the United Kingdom, and in the United States. Most notably, she opened for a sold out show as support for Jesse Ware at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City in January 2013. Then, in March 2013, Faye performed a set of shows at South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Her experience at SXSW was featured in an episode of the American late night television program Last Call with Carson Daly, marking her debut on US television as a solo artist
On March 9, 2014, Faye announced via a Facebook post that she has signed to Capitol Records and has been working with producers Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (Mary J. Blige, Natasha Bedingfield, Janet Jackson) and Daniel Heath (Lana del Ray).
It seems things did not go as planned, however, because Faye has not released anything music related since 2013.
2015-Present[]
Currently, Faye is working as a stylist for Plaza Interiör Magazine.
Trivia[]
- Fanny and previous Play member Rosanna were friends before being chosen to be in the group.
- She had braces very early on in Play.
- She won a national talent contest when she was 11.
- She sings background vocals in the song Mi Amore by Velvet.
- She is left handed.