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As long as I can remember, I've always had this burning desire to travel the world; especially to those places that are often overlooked by North Americans. I am primarily fascinated with the rocky terrain and friendly culture of Scandinavia.

If this were the 15th Century, I'd love to be a hired cartographer for travellers and explorers seeking new and unexplored territory. In modern times, of course, there are few places in the world that are "unexplored," this being the age of high definition satellite imagery. But now in the 21st Century, virtually every place that exists in the world, habitable or uninhabitable, is literally at one's fingertips. People can Google a country they've never heard of, and then sometimes they eventually decide they want to live there. The Faeroe Islands is one of those places that captures my imagination, as small island nations tend to do.

The Dutch archipelago is by no means obscure, although they have a relatively tiny population of only just under 50 000 people. But the islands are often forgotten or overshadowed; just a tiny and peaceful nation protruding modestly from the Norwegian Sea. A shame, as the music the Faeroese people create has a character all its own. Often, their songs are written in their native tongue, a Norse language which has been handed down through the generations by spoken word, and hadn't been written down until the 1800s. They have a very active music scene, and Faeroese musicians tend to create a sound which is quite dark and ethereal, which seems to be a common characteristic of Nordic music. There are also some excellent vocalists who call the Faeroe Islands home.

HEIDRIK

One such vocalist is the popular singer and songwriter Heiðrik. He's a very dynamic and dramatic singer, with an aptitude for creating a theatrical atmosphere in his music. Heiðrik is a dreamer and a poet; reflective and introspective, with a kind of novel charm in his theatricality and idealistic longing. I really enjoy the use of string instruments in his work, which combine nicely with his vocal style and use of electronic basslines; much like the musical dynamics of Homogenic. I don't often listen to Heiðrik's music, since it can come off as a little bit too over-the-top and dramatic; but when I'm in the mood to travel off to the foggy, cliff-lined shores of the Faeroe Islands, he offers up an interesting, somewhat escapist perspective to the music scene there.



ORKA

Another popular Faeroese act is ORKA; an electronic industrial quintet that was inspired by the use of farm equipment to create musical textures, taking industrial music with folk elements to a different place altogether.

Their music can be menacing and mechanical, but it's also catchy, singable and stunningly beautiful in its dramatically stark instrumentation. The harsh mechanical sounds all seem to have a definite place, and it ends up sounding like organized chaos; working like an efficient machine.

As a pop enthusiast, I like my industrial music to be hummable and melodious, but also to possess that harsh metallic sound that provides a deep and resonant feeling. I like to stand on that bridge between the experimental clangs of industrial music and the accessible musical structure of more commercially viable pop. They manage to bring both sides together successfully.

ORKA, like most Faeroese acts it seems, are renowned for their originality and inventiveness. And the fact that they choose to sing in their mother tongue just adds even more interest as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, they are still technically a folk group, and therefore they have also produced some lovely tunes that contribute to the wealth of traditional string music from the Faeroe Islands, like "Hon leitar." But the overall mystery and character of the Islands remains in tact in every one of their songs.



Here is one of their industrial works; just blows me away with the musical environment they are able to create.



EIVØR PÁLSDÓTTIR

It's a wow moment when you find a talent like Eivør. It seems that versatility is one of the things the Faeroese have a propensity for. Eivør is a formally trained artist who sings everything from traditional folk music to jazz to pop to classical. Basically, this was the girl all the other singers on the archipelago would have been jealous of. A true performer, Eivør not only knows how to sing basically anything on the planet you could throw her way; but she's not so intellectual about it that her performance quality suffers. Case in point, she dropped out of formal training early; likely because she realized she had already learned everything she needed to know to start a highly successful career.

I am frequently awed by her vocal prowess and personal magnetism. In this traditional song, entitled Trøllabundin, Eivør demonstrates a stellar vocal range, as well as what sounds like Inuit throat singing, which doesn't sound at all out of place. The magical and mysterious feel of Faeroese music endures.



To give an idea of her versatility, check out this lovely and luxurious jazz number, Rósufarið.



TIETUR

Tietur creates some quality folk pop tunes. He creates that "daydreaming on a rainy day" feeling on every album he releases, and his songs are very domestic and subdued, with lyrics that paint beautiful pictures of everyday life and relationships.

Tietur has won over his homeland and many fans around the world with his charm and wit; but also his ability to make folk pop that's smart and well produced. I would say h's something like Jack Johnson, if he was less generic and wrote nicer melodies.

It really seems like Faroese artists take singing more seriously than most Canadian or American artists do, since they all seem to do it really well. One of Tietur's most winning qualities is his pleasant tenor voice.



And of course, you can't really talk about Scandinavian music without metal. One of the more popular acts from the Faroese Islands is Týr, a viking metal band. If you're interested in that kind of thing, metal fans seem to think they're something special, so they might be worth checking out.


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