The Faroe Islands

We take the ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark to Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands.  Most people on the Faroes seem to be musicians.  I suppose you have to entertain yourself somehow if you live on a group of rugged islands in the middle of the windswept North Atlantic.  Technically the Faroes form part of the kingdom of Denmark, but they enjoy a large degree of autonomy, although there is an active and large independence movement.  The Faroe Islands consist of 18 main islands connected through bridges and tunnels and 779 islets and skerries.

We start our musical journey with the Nordic ensemble Yggdrasil, who are based in the capital.  The band was formed in 1981 with members from various countries and changing personnel.  Yggdrasil in Nordic mythology is the World Tree.  Their style encompasses jazz and classical elements all with a Nordic flavour. Here are a few tunes from their 2021 album Porkerisvatn which is a concept album to provide musical accompaniment to a landscape painting from a collection by William Heinesen:

Folktronica band Valravn was actually based in Denmark, but at least 2 of their members were from the Faroes, including lead singer Anna Katrin Egilstrøð, who has more than a hint of Björk about her.  The band was active between 2005-2013 and released 3 1/2 albums during that time (the last one was published unfinished) and were inspired by the folk traditions of Denmark, the Faroes and Iceland with a dose of electronica.  This is a song from their 2009 album Koder på snor called Kelling:

Author and musician Høgni Reistrup was born in Tórshavn in 1984.  He's written a few books on the crisis of a decreasing population in the Faroes, despite one of the highest birth rates in Europe.  He has also been active in local politics.  His music is mostly electronica, sung in Faroese with some classical and jazz elements.  Here's a song from his 2013 album Áðrenn vit hvørva (Before we disappear) called Möðandi orka:

Folk metal band Týr formed in Tórshavn in 1998 and play some Nordic folk inspired heavy metal.  Here is a song from their 2019 album Hel called Ragnars Kvæði:

Singer/songwriter Guðrið Hansdóttir grew up in Argir, just south of Tórshavn.  She is the daughter another well-known musician Hans Carl Hansen.  Her music is influenced by Swedish pop as well as 70's rock such as Jethro Tull and Kate Bush.  She sings both in English and Faroese and also collaborates with partner Janus Rasmussen in the duo Byrta.  Here is a song from her forthcoming album Gult Myrkur called Blátt Myrkur:

 

Singer/songwriter Teitur Lassen was born in Hoyvik in 1977.  He has been on the international circuit for some years and has collaborated with the likes of Seal, Corinne Bailey Rae and others.  He writes and sings mostly in English, but has included some Faroese songs on his latest 2021 album Cazador de Ostras such as this one called Lær meg at dansa, which I presume means teach me to dance:

Finally I can't leave the Faroes without giving Eivør Pálsdóttir a mention.  She was my first introduction to Faroese music with her fabulous rendition of her song Tròdlabùndin on YouTube.  She was born in 1983 in Syðrugøta, a village on the island of Eysturoy, and generally just goes by her first name.  The song that made her famous appears on her 2004 self-titled album.  This is acoustically not the best version on the net, but I love the scenes of the spectacular Faroese landscape on this version. It never fails to give me goose bumps:

That's it from the Faroe Islands, next stop Iceland.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.