Eivør comes from one of the smallest places on the planet. She grew up in a village of 400 people, tucked away among the Faroe Islands. But her music, which is shaped by the natural wonders of her homeland, has brought her all over the world. She’s performed at Europe’s biggest festivals and co-composed the soundtracks to Netflix’s hit series The Last Kingdom and the award-winning video game God of War: Ragnarök.
Today, Eivør is making the next leap in her musical journey by announcing her new album. ENN ties back to her Nordic roots. All eight songs are sung in Faroese and most of the lyrics were written with the island’s esteemed poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. But even though it translates in English as “Still”, ENN stands out amid her two decades-long discography as a bold new venture. The album leans heavier into dark electronics and cosmic orchestration, all while reconnecting our hearts’ desires with the primal beauty of the earth.
“ENN is the most nuanced and experimental album that I’ve created to date”, Eivør says. “The songs range from symphonic space opera vibes to more beat-driven and dark electronic moods. I wanted to explore the links between humanity and nature; the primal urges of the heart, the undying desires of the human flesh and the endless struggle we choose to endure in order to achieve our goals. All of this goes on while our planet hurtles through space, setting the stage for our battlegrounds, but also our sanctuaries. Because even though there is an unyielding tide of destruction at the core of this journey, there are also oases of hope and comfort lingering within its blue embrace. The earth speaks out, and the heart listens”.
Watch the video for lead single “Jarðartrá”
ENN comes out June 14 on Season of Mist.
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“Jarðartrá” is an especially fitting first single. Just like the extreme contrasts that define life on the Faroe Islands, the song is dark yet glistening, swirling but propulsive. It’s also one of the very first songs that Eivør wrote for ENN.
“Back in 2021, I went to Tjørnuvík, a tiny village in the Faroe Islands”, Eivør says. Though arriving with no plans other than to entertain the thought of a possible side project, she realized that her ventures into classical music and beatmaking were actually the start of her new album.
“Jarðartrá” is one of the most beat-oriented songs on ENN. But as the video subtly suggests with the thump of Eivør’s hand drum, its steady electronic pulse stems from more ancient origins. “When I wrote this song, I envisioned the earth in its rawest elements: oceans, volcanoes, storms, soil”, remembers Eivør. “We all have echoes of these elements within us, but maybe we tend to forget that we are part of nature and its endless circle of decay and growth”.
The video’s laser light show glistens like a pearl necklace, but “Jarðartrá” beckons us away from our own greed and destruction and back into the warm embrace of mother nature. In English, the title translates as “Death Lust”, a primordial desire to return to the earth. The deep swells of strings and gently turning piano are rooted in an old Faroese folk melody.
“Come lie down in my blue embrace”, Eivør sings, reaching into her operatic register, as if beckoning us toward the light. Her voice sails so high and with such ease that it sends a shiver of astonishment up the spine once you realize that what we’re hearing is from her earliest demos.
“I recorded the vocals for ““Jarðartrá” in an old abandoned Tjørnuvík school during the middle of the night”, Eivør says. “I tried to re-do them later, but I couldn’t capture the same feeling”.
The video for “Jarðartrá” was directed by Einar Egils (www.einaregils.com)
Additional credits
DOP – Anton Smári Gunnarsson
Producer – Eydís Evensen
Executive Producer – Einar Egilsson
Prod Co. – Indy Productions
AC – Sigfús Heiðar
Gaffer – Óttar Andri Óttarsson
Grip – Gústaf Evensen
Wardrobe – Diana Breckmann
Makeup – Sigrún Sig
Hair stylist – Ásgeir Hjartarson
Set builder – Þorvaldur Betri & Gústaf Evensen
Laser operator – Gabríel Brynjar Bjarkason
Post – Einar Egilsson
Media rental – Kukl
Special thanks: Geir Bjarnason, Úlfur Grönvold
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