Copenhagen-based Faroese talent Eivør is will be releasing her latest album Slør on May 26 through A&G Records.
Already a well-known recording artist of over 16 years’ prolific output in her native Scandinavia, Eivør has worked on a host of collaborative projects since releasing her debut solo album aged just 16. Aside from scoring the current series of BBC’s The Last Kingdom, her music has been synced on Martin Scorsese’s Silence, Game Of Thrones and Homeland.
Slør is Eivør’s first commercial release in the UK. Originally written in Faroese, the upcoming release is a re-imagining of her 2015 album of the same title.
We caught up with the vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter for a chat about the upcoming album.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Hi there.
Well I got back home yesterday from touring and this is my first day off in quite some time.
So right at this very moment I am taking it easy while sipping on a good home brewed cup of coffee in my apartment in Copenhagen. Later today I will start preparing for my upcoming shows in the UK, which I am very excited about.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
Some have called my music folktronica or electro-folk, but I feel this explanation is quite insufficient.
I think my sound is inspired by the untamed landscape of the Faroe Islands, and electronic elements as well. It is embroidered with many microelements, which I have explored along the way on my musical journey. I like to combine very rough and organic sounds with industrial sounds, and to see what happens when elements from different worlds meet.
What are the 5 albums that have influenced you the most?
So hard to pick five albums but I think these are worthy contenders:
1. Jeff Buckley – Grace
2. Bjork – Homogenic
3. Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
4. Joni Mitchell – Ladies Of The Canyon
5. Marie Boine – Goaskinviellja
Which other artists are you into at the moment and why?
I have been obsessed with the Swedish band AMASON for quite some time now. I love their vibe.
I have also been listening a lot to Ólafur Arnalds’ new stuff lately- I love his music!
Are there any key pieces of equipment that you are using to define your sound?
My shamanic hand drum has defined my sound over the years. I like to use it in its pure form as well as sampling it and manipulating the sounds. Nearly all the beats on my previous albums are sampled and created from that little drum. And then there is the one instrument which I carry with me everywhere I go of course – my voice.
Where do you gather songwriting inspiration?
I gather inspiration from life and situations I find myself in, the people I meet along the way, and their stories as well as my own. Nature is my main force of inspirations and it always seems to open up the channels within me.
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting your music together?
The process of working on my songs often has many phases. When I write my songs they often start out as an abstract thing at the beginning; a feeling or a sound that I try to put into a melody or into words.
I don’t always know whether my ideas are something worth working on until after I finish them. I try to finish the songs I start working on in order to understand them and see what they are all about.
I keep investigating the particular idea and sometimes I tear it apart and put it back together many times before I feel it´s right. I feel it is necessary to filter away everything that makes the song unclear or worse. It´s a pain sometimes, but in the end it’s worth the struggle, because you have to live with the songs for the rest of your life. It often happens that I end up not using the songs I write, but if I don´t finish writing them they will haunt me forever like little ghosts,
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
Oh it´s so hard to say because I have had so many good experiences and special moments during the years on the road. One of the most recent shows that stands out right now though is the SLØR concerts I did in the Faroe Islands in the beginning of this year. It was such an amazing experience to come back to my home base – to the place where my musical journey started. It was a very touching experience because my new album, SLØR, is very much about the place I come from, the untamed nature, and the people who are dear to me. So it just felt very right and very emotional to play three sold out shows there at the beginning of the year. These shows were all recorded and my plan is to do a live album at one point.
And the worst?
I recently had a gig where two drunk ladies kept talking right in front of me while I was singing a very quiet song. I got really frustrated so I stopped singing and I asked them to be quiet, and then I stepped on my ukulele and it broke (laughs).
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
Wow, good question. I would probably be a painter or an actor or something. Or maybe a chef in a cool restaurant.
If you could perform alongside any other band or artist, living or dead, who would it be?
I would love to do a track with MASSIVE ATTACK, and I always dreamt of singing with Leonard Cohen.
Watch the video for ‘Eivør – In My Shoes’ below:
Upcoming tour dates:
25 May 2017 – Schanzanzelt – Hamburg, Germany
26 May 2017 – Kulturkeller – Fulda, Germany
27 May 2017 – Musiktheater Rex – Bensheim, Germany
28 May 2017 – Tollhaus – Karlsruhe, Germany
1 June 2017 – Louisiana – Bristol, United Kingdom
2 June 2017 – The Islington, London, United Kingdom
3 June 2017 – The Castle, Manchester, United Kingdom
4 June 2017 – Glasgow, United Kingdom
7 June 2017 – Rockhal Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
8 June 2017 – Bitterzoet, Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
9 June 2017 – Rotown, Rotterdam, Netherlands
10 June 2017 – Zeche Carl, Essen, Germany
