Eivør Pálsdóttir is a singer-songwriter originally from the Faroe Islands, an autonomous Danish archipelago located between Norway and Iceland. The artist has her own following in Scandinavian countries and has received numerous awards at home.
“ENN” is the eleventh studio album by the Faroese artist. It debuted on the French record label Season of Mist mainly known for metal publications. This work presents all the characteristics the artist has accustomed us to since his self-titled debut in 2000. A refined blend of sounds and songs from his homeland with elements drawn from other cultures and musical genres. Together with gothic drifts of extreme interest. “ENN” also sees the collaboration with the poet Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs, who has added intensity to the meanings of each song.
The first track of EIVØR ‘s “ENN”
Indeed, “Ein Klóta” is the first of the eight tracks of this full length, and it opens with the notes of a piano soon along with the straight singing of the Faroese artist. An intimate, suspended atmosphere is created, reminiscent of the dilations of ambient music. The reverberations are then joined by a string section making the piece even more heavenly.
The different peculiarities of EIVØR ‘s “ENN”
Actually, the following “Jardartra” (Dust To Dust) is a testimony of how able is Eivør to change the register with each track. There is an electronic base not far from certain trip-hop sounds joined by a liturgical chant. It is almost as if the spirit wants to merge with the machine to send a message through time. “Hugsi Bert Um Teg” (Still Just You) is a pop song whose savvy combination of an electronic beat and a compelling melody make it irresistible.
Instead “Purpurhjarta” tugs at the heartstrings, with those piano notes and singing that transport us directly to another dimension.
The homage to Hildegard Von Bingen
“ENN”, the title track, opens with a clear homage to Hildegard Von Bingen‘s “O Euchari in leta vita.” Here the ancient chant melts together a carpet of sound. A subdued beat becomes an electronic cradle where a medieval cantilena underlies. It is the union of the sacred and the profane, a wide-open gaze into the deepest mysteries of the spirit.
The single “Upp Úr Øskuni”
Further, the pleasant “Lívsandin,” which again features the tried-and-true blend of electronics and ancient-flavored chanting, gives way to what is the most emblematic track on this latest Eivør effort: “Upp Úr Øskuni,”. In fact, we are catapulted into a kind of shamanic ritual, led by a series of vocal techniques such as growling beatboxing and other throat-produced sounds.
EIVØR ‘s “ENN” tribute to Mother Earth
Eivør‘s voice becomes a psychopomp that accompanies our souls to supernatural realms, opening the door to non-ordinary perception. Yet a spell that continues for the duration of the track and leaves us with a taste of the unknown in our mouths. Ultimately, the final track, “Gaia,” sounds like a prayer to our world, among an ocean of strings and many mysterious sounds. A return to Mother Earth, she who generated us. And to whom we too often turn our backs without listening to her suffering. A fitting conclusion to an ancestral journey that this wonderful artist has given us…once again.
Line Up
- Eivør: Vocals, Guitars
- Mattias Kapnas – Piano, Rhodes and Synths
- Mikael Blak – Bass & Synths, Guitars on ‘Upp úr øskuni’
- Per I Højgaard Petersen – Drums & Soundscaping
Tracklist
- Ein Klóta
- Jarðartrá
- Hugsi Bert Um Teg
- Purpurhjarta
- ENN
- Lívsandin
- Upp Úr Øskuni
- Gaia