Eivør, a native of the Faroe Islands is a prolific artist having released eleven albums to date, with her debut solo album at the young age of sixteen. I personally became aware of her music when I reviewed her Live in Tórshavn album for TPA (which was excellent by the way), her song-writing and voice captivated my interest and caused me to investigate further by purchasing her acclaimed album Slør.
Her home of the Faroe Islands has had a significant influence on her music, Eivør has been quoted as saying it is “a landscape of extremes”. This is reflected within her music, but it also blends traditional Faroese music with more modern stylings of experimentation and electronics, indeed she has cited such influences as Radiohead, Portishead, Massive Attack and Sigur Rós.
Her recent immersion into production and beat making has been a building block for Enn. She and her classical composer partner Tróndur Bogason went to a tiny village in the mountains called Tjørnuvik to begin to write freely. The first from her pen was the album closer Gaia, and all appeared to flow from there.
Eivør up until recently has released her music independently but for Enn she signed to Seasons of Mist, a well known metal label, and this release will be her first with them. The album has a running time of forty minutes with eight tracks spread across that time, tracks recorded at Studio Bloch on the Faroe Islands, Hljóõrito in Iceland, Jardin Acoustique in France, and also in Eivør’s portable studio which was used in various corners of the world.
The album opens with Ein Klóta (A Planet), a beautiful piano-led song with Eivør’s voice drawing you in to this track, and into the album as a whole. The production, mixing and mastering is excellent and was handled by Eivør & Tróndur, Theodor Kappas, and Robin Schmidt respectively. This is followed up by the lead promotional track Jaröartrá, and here we are treated to an almost Krautrock/Kraftwerk feel to the throbbing keyboards which are joined by tribal-like drums. This creates the melody and main body of the song supporting her voice.
The attention to detail, melody and rhythm is evident throughout the album, each song infused with an energy which ebbs and flows holding the listener’s attention. The title track Enn (Still) begins with Eivør’s voice soaring alone before atmospheric keyboards join more tribal-like Nordic drums to fill out the sound. Over this Eivør’s vocals continue to shine as the drums continue to keep the rhythm and the keyboards settle into an electronic style beat, and at just over seven minutes it is a perfectly paced song.
The track Upp Ur Øskuni (Rise from the Ashes) throws in the album’s curve ball, a more forceful song with Eivør’s throat singing added at times to the pulsating track. This in contrast is followed by the closer Gaia, a beautiful song with Eivør demonstrating the range of her vocal talents, a fitting conclusion to a wonderful album. The album is sung in her native Faroese language, but this does not distract in any way, in fact in my opinion it enhances the listening pleasure as everything sits together beautifully. The lyrics were penned in collaboration with Faroese poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. Indeed the review copy came with copies of the lyrics in their original form and an English version and I hope this is the case with the hard copy releases as it gives an insight into the songs’ meanings. I have not delved into song meanings as I believe everyone interprets lyrics in their own personal way, which is one of the joys of listening to music.
Eivør has created a wonderful album, which demonstrates her ability to continually evolve her music making, blending in different styles to help bring her vision to life. Couple this with working alongside talented musicians, and you have an enjoyable and classy album. The album will be available on three different coloured versions of vinyl, and on CD, and digital download, give it a listen I think there is much to enjoy within its many layers.
TRACK LISTING
01. Ein Klóta (5:44)
02. Jardartrá (4:47)
03. Hugsi Bertum Teg (3:25)
04. Purpurhjarta (4:27)
05. ENN (7:11)
06. Lívsandin (4:35)
07. Upp Úr Øskuni (5:01)
08. Gaia (5:10)
Total Time – 40:24
MUSICIANS
Eivør – Vocals, Guitar
Mattias Kappas – Piano, Rhodes, Synths
Mikael Blak – Bass, Synths & Guitar (7)
Per I Højgaard Petersen – Drums, Soundscaping
Strings – Performed by Lýra
Sigrún Harõardóttir – 1st Violin
Sigrún Kristbjörg Jónsdóttir – 2nd Violin
James Pestka – Viola
Unnar Jónsdóttir – Cello
Eivør, Tróndur, Hans Mols Mortensen, Greta Svabo Beck, Fred Ruddick – Choir (1)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Season of Mist
Country of Origin: Faroe Islands
Date of Release: 14th June 2024
LINKS
Eivør – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X