Merry X-mas from the Faroes

Music from the Faroe Islands wishes you all a merry Christmas & a sweet-song-dreamy 2012.

Check out some fresh news from the Faroes below - a little teaser from our newsletter no.1:

G! Festival Dates Confirmed

The dates of next year’s G! Festival have been set for July 19-21, 2012. The tickets are already available out and the organisers are booking the program as we speak, with a plan to announce the first acts in January, 2012.

2011 was the 10th annual edition of the G! Festival and featured international bands such Travis (Sco), Blind Boys of Alabama (US), Meshuggah (SE), Fallulah (DK), Mugison (IS), Faroese acts such as Orka, Budam, Týr, Hamferð, Benjamin, Guðrið, Gipsy Train and many others.

 The organisers have spent the last two years re-shaping the organization, taking it from a private company to a charity, exempt from VAT and taxes. All profits from G! now go to setting up a music centre in Göta, a place with facilities for bands to practice, hold concerts and record music etc. Check out www.gfestival.com

Snapshot: Teitur

Teitur has been a busy bee lately, premiering his new collection of music, "Weekdays" (written for Choir and Ensemble) at sold out shows in the Faroes (October 2011) and Copenhagen (November, 2011) where he had no less than 74 people onstage, including the DR Girls Choir, Tarira and Aldubaran. The well-known Faroese contemporary composer fmr. Sunleif Rasmussen was the special guest, playing solo, on Teitur’s Throwing Muses European tour in Holland, Germany, Spain, the UK and Ireland during November, and the singer also managed a short Dutch solo tour (in October, 2011).                                                                                                                                Teitur’s upcoming events include shows in Aarhus (Denmark), Oslo (Norway) and a performance on the DR (Danish BBC) Christmas show in Denmark, and he has also notched up a co-writing credit on the Marit Larsen album, which is No.2 in Norway at the moment.  http://www.myspace.com/teitur

Album Spotlight: Russ Taff “Faroe Islands”

One of the most respected vocalists in Christian music, Russ Taff has enjoyed critical acclaim, garnered numerous awards and appealed to a wide variety of musical tastes ranging from Christian rock and inspirational to southern Gospel, country and blues. The soulful croonings of this vocal master have defied boundaries for years, and his lyrical interpretations and passionate deliveries have set new precedents that remains benchmarks in the Gospel music industry. Faroe Islands finds Russ "away from it all," approximately halfway between Great Britain and Ireland, reflecting on his life, his relationship with Jesus and God's grace and love to all. Russ teamed up with longtime friends to create a release that is organic, "raw" vocally and as always, heartfelt. He speaks of lessons gleaned from years of walking with the Savior, rejoices in the beauty of life and anticipates a future filled with hope because of God's love. [Review from Amazon]. Faroe Islands was released on August 23 2011 on Spring Hill Records. The record was recorded in the Faroes, Denmark and USA and of the album’s16 songs, 11have been written by Faroese songwriters. You can read some reviews of the album here: http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/Russ_Taff/Faroe_Islands/113451/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/reviews/2011/faroeislands-mini.html

http://absolutelygospel.com/index/content/articles/russ-taff-faroe-islands/

http://www.russtaff.com/

Doom-metal: Hamferd On Tour

Doom metal heroes Hamferd are currently on tour! The band, formed in 2008 by guitarist John Egholm, first shot to fame at The Global Battle Of The Bands in the Faroe Islands at the end of 2008, making it to the final with their track Ódn. During the summer of 2009 Hamferd wrote and arranged what would become their first demo, which was recorded during fall of 2009, and in early 2010 won the music competition Sement, bagging the title of Best new Faroese band 2010.

Hamferd have performed large shows at G! Festival, Summarfestivalurin and several other gigs and have garnered rave reviews for their performances, including a 4* review from Kerrang! (for the G! Festival show) and kudos as one of the three best bands on G! 2010 in the Faroese press by Jón Tyril, organiser of G! Festival. 

In early July 2010 Hamferd began recording their debut release, Vilst er síðsta fet, which was promoted with a mini-tour of The Faroe Islands in January of 2011 and a tour of Iceland and The Faroe Islands with Icelandic band Skálmöld. Now the band is currently on the road opening for Týr, Moonsorrow and Crimfall on their European tour.

Click here to view the tour poster [http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/385439_10150413464238119_164261863118_8120527_1559621531_n.jpg]

and/or read about the tour here: http://hamferd.blogspot.com/2011/11/toulouse.html.

http://www.myspace.com/hamferd

More news to follow...

Newsworthy Music from the Faroes

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