Eivør today reveals details for a very special digital streamed concert on October 9, 2020 to celebrate the launch of her new album, ‘Segl’, out now and streaming on all platforms from here. The event - which will be broadcast from Nordic House in Torshavn, the tiny capital city of Eivør’s native Faroe Islands - will have a socially distanced audience of just 100 people in attendance, with a ticketed stream accessible worldwide. The full-band, extensively produced show will see Eivør play fan favourites alongside brand new material from ‘Segl’, which features co-production from Lana Del Rey collaborator Dan Heath & a guest appearance from Ásgeir. Tickets for the digital stream will be on sale at 10am BST on September from https://shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/eivor-live-stream.
Speaking about the forthcoming live-streamed event, Eivør says; “I have been so sad that I had to postpone my entire album tour to next year due to COVID and I know it must have been a huge disappointment for my fans too. One show that I AM able to play is this album release concert at Nordic House on the Faroe Islands. It’s a gorgeous venue and the government allows up to 100 people inside the auditorium. I thought I’d share this moment with the world so decided to get this show filmed.”
‘Segl’ is the follow-up to Copenhagen-based Eivør’s widely-praised 2017 release & UK commercial debut, ‘Slør’, which triggered her debut appearance on Later….With Jools Holland. Eivør soundtracks the current series of Netflix/BBC flagship The Last Kingdom (co-written with Ivor Novello/BAFTA-nominated John Lunn), and her music has previously been synched on Homeland & Game Of Thrones alongside hit video games Metal Gear Survive and God Of War. Eivør’s headline European tour in support of the release is now re-scheduled to 2021 - the string of three UK dates will include London’s Union Chapel on October 23, 2021.
Born & raised in Syðrugøta, a tiny community of just over 400 people on one of the northerly Faroe Islands, Eivør grew up surrounded by the windswept landscape of the North Atlantic, a backdrop that has deeply influenced the elemental electronica she creates. ‘Segl’ - Eivør’s ninth album, since releasing her debut at just 17 - builds on these motifs, exploring the journeys we undertake, both metaphorically and physically. The title – meaning ‘sail’ in Faroese – alludes to our desire for growth and direction, and the role of fate. “You have to hoist your own sail,” notes Eivør; “but you cannot control the wind.”
Eivør immersed herself in music from 13, fronting a trip-hop band after discovering seminal albums by Massive Attack and Portishead. Gigs soon followed, held afloat in rowing boats, in the darkness of a huge cave on the islands. At 16 Eivør quit school, moving alone to Reykjavik to release her debut album and pursue classical singing training. She has since won the Icelandic Music Prize, twice - the first non-Icelandic artist to do so. Such itinerant tendencies have bled into her music, ‘Segl’ no exception. “My creative process can be very chaotic and abstract, so I need to find the space to dive deeper into it and sculpt it,” she says. “After sitting on songs for a year or more, I’d go in and edit the melody or the lyrics. Sometimes the production too. The whole album is very much about change, so it’s quite apt.” Working closely again with composer/producer Tróndur Bogason (also her husband), the extra space allowed Eivør to explore programming and production more thoroughly. She focused on a free flow of ideas, and enriching collaborations with other writers and producers.
The impetus to seize control of life is writ large across ‘Segl’. ‘Sleep On It’ heads off insomnia with stabs of synthesiser and an exhortation for clear-sightedness, whilst ‘Let It Come’ harnesses inner power to deal with whatever life throws. Elsewhere, ‘Mánasegl’ counsels in clear terms, taking its title from a Faroese word for “moonsail”, the highest sail found on square rigged clippers, known as the hope sail. Eivør’s working partnership with Golden Globe nominee Heath brings ‘Segl’ to a spine-tingling conclusion on ‘Gullspunnin’ - with lyrics written by poet Marjun Syderbø Kjælnes and a title meaning ‘cocooned in gold’, it transmits the essence of the islands - as Eivør puts it; “The magic play of light, fog, and astonishing contrasts that are unique to The Faroes”. Other collaborations across ‘Segl’ see Ásgeir accompany on vocals, while Einar Selvik of Wardruna, adds sonorous depth to ‘Stirdur Saknur’. Says Eivør; “Something magical happens when two different worlds meet, it expands the space. And it’s full of contrast; that’s quite interesting to me.”
