IN CONVERSATION WITH EIVØR
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Romantic and luminary Faroese musician and poet Eivør is about to release her new album ‘Tungl’. The album has a classic and dramatic praise for the sounds and landscape of nature, focusing on the Moon (Tungl is the Faroese word for Moon), that views all of the cycles and contrasts in life. ‘Tungl’ delivers a totally engaging cathartic sonic world of ten songs that balances: the dark and light, heat and cold, love and loss, and those things that divide and unite us in humanity.
“Having the album out soon is wonderful,” stated Eivør. “I am coming down the other side of the mountain. I have given the album some time to breathe. But I always like working to deadlines, so I had it finished and waited. I wanted time to do that. The album is more romantic and dramatic than my previous albums. I like the darkness, it tickles my heart, and I like the painfully beautiful. I guess we wanted an album that had nature drawn into it in metaphors and a soundscape with a colour, and icy blue is it.”
Eivør has little interest in making the same record twice.
“Every time I make a new album, it has to be different, because otherwise I wouldn’t be bothered,” she said. “I was writing these songs when I was writing ‘Enn’. I had already started, but I thought the songs belonged on a different album. So, I let them rest. Then, I went back to them when I had time to zoom in on them.”
“Every album should be different,” mused Eivør. “Different is good. It’s like a rebirth, new songs are a new version of yourself. A new start, it’s an endless universe to create, as one song leads to another song. Then, there are many songs. What is vital and important is to finish them and move on. For example, the song ‘The Other Side’ it was written over three years before ‘Enn’. It just needed its place, and now it has it on ‘Tungl.’”
“What has been great has been to play music with my sister Elinborg,” explained Eivør. “My sister is 13 years younger than me. Now that we are older, we are best friends. It’s great to have a sister. It has been exciting to record ‘Fangað’ (Trapped) together because we never really get the chance to write and record music together. We are always touring or busy…So, when we get together, we just try and relax and do silly stuff. But she came over to the house, and I was cooking, and she started playing on my piano, and the melody was beautiful. I was like, “that’s so cool”, so we went straight into the studio and recorded it. It was our first co-write. I think dinner was cold by the next morning when we came out.”
“I have been so lucky to have amazing musicians like Mattias (Mattias Kapnas) and Danny (Danny Saul) help me realise my sound for ‘Tungl’. The intense and melancholic soundscapes,” clarified Eivør. “My band are always wonderful and help me get the sonics right, but there is something special in the piano and synths this time that take you far away. I like drums, bass and percussion, of course. But I think there is a richness here that hopefully people will love.”
I have to agree. ‘Tungl’ is a shadowy and ethereal listening experience. The dance between dark and light, with shades of classic romanticism, metaphors and contrasts running thematically through the lyricism and the sonic atmosphere, is stunning.
Eivør’s schedule over the next few months is intense.
“Yes. I have a few busy months ahead. I am going on tour with my fabulous band in October and November around the US. Then, home and off on tour again in Europe in February. That’s 2027?!” she exclaimed. “It looks so far away, but it isn’t. We want to come back to Australia. We had such a wonderful time. Hopefully soon.”
Until then, Eivør’s new album is sure to give fans, and people who appreciate fine music, a lot of listening joy. Its out on vinyl soon. If you are a collector, there is an iMusic exclusive with Nuclear Blast Records vinyl version in Black and White Marble.
Eivør’s latest studio album ‘Tungl’ is out on 16 October 2026 through Nuclear Blast Records.
