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Track 1 - Astarstund Composer:
Tutl is a Faroese record company collectively owned by musicians and composers. What? You're not sure what is meant by Faroese?
Tutl records music and musicians from the Faroe Islands.
This small Nordic country, with its 47,000 people and 18 islands, is situated in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The Faroes have a rich oral tradition, dating back hundreds of years. The inhabitants have managed to preserve, to this day, some 80,000 verses of ballads and other types of traditional songs. This creative base is the foundation upon which the tremendous artistic activty of the current Faroese is built.
A wide range of musical genres - ethnic, folk, jazz, pop, rock, classical, choral, children's music, country and gospel - have been released on the Tutl label, original compositions comprising the greater part of the production. Tutl emerged in 1977 from recordings made by the Faroese folk group Spælimenninir and by musicians appearing regularly in the Tórshavn Jazz Club. A creative force within Faroese music, Tutl has since its inception been an important catalyst for international collaboration involving musicians, composers and producers. Musicians and composers from abroad have come to the Faroes and worked with Faroese artists, providing creative inspiration and growth for all involved. These musical encounters develop windows onto the Faroe Islands, allowing the outside world to learn about many facets of Faroese culture and at the same time bringing new impulses into the Faroese musical arena. Musicians and groups from Tutl tour widely abroad, particularly in Europe and in North and South America. Tutl releases are available worldwide, both through local Tutl distributors as far away as Japan and through internet sale. Recent years have shown growing artistic activity in the Faroe Islands. Tutl now releases approximately 15 new CDs each year, in addition to reissues of CDs from its back catalogue. The Tutl catalogue comprises over 200 releases, most of which have received national as well as international acclaim.
This particular disc proves how vibrant and engaging these Faroese artists can be. One of the brightest stars on the Faroese musical horizon, Eivør Pálsdóttir grew up in the village of Gøta. She began performing locally at an early age and made her first appearance on Faroese television when she was thirteen. At the age of sixteen she made the decision to devote her time and energy to working seriously on music and, together with three other young talented Faroese musicians (Mikael Blak, Búi Dam and Brandur Jacobsen), formed her quartet Ivory. With the subsequent release of this disc (her first successful first CD) in November 2000, Eivør firmly established herself on the Faroese music scene. Her clear soprano renditions of original songs as well as her powerful interpretations of traditional material in the ethnic jazz/world music style soon endeared her to Faroese audiences of all ages and musical preferences. In March 2001, Ivory toured abroad for the first time, in Paris. During the summer of 2000 Ivory worked with American saxophonist John Purcell. This resulted in the group’s tour in April, 2001 to the USA. Later that year Eivør and the quartet toured abroad in Denmark and Austria. In January 2002, Kristian Blak produced the album ”Yggdrasil” (released May, 2002) featuring Eivør as vocalist together with Blak’s Scandinavian jazz group Yggdrasil (Kristian Blak, Anders Hagberg, Tore Brunborg, Anders Jormin and Brandur Jacobsen). She also performs as a singer with the Faroese rock group Clickhaze. She has founded a quartet with musicians based in Reykjavík, working with her own original material. Eivør continues to perform with Clickhaze and Yggdrasil and participates as a vocalist in numerous projects involving music ranging from traditional Faroese Kingo hymns to innovative rock and jazz. Her trademarks are the intensity and honesty of her performances as well as the breadth of vocal styles - from resonant operatic to clean folk, from raw, open throat ethnic to husky jazz - that she so skillfully uses in her sublimely personal musical expression. With her roots firmly planted in her native Faroese tradition, Eivør Pálsdóttir creates music that reaches out to enthral listeners all over the world. Despite the fact that the selections on this disc are sungin the Faroese language, Eivør Pálsdóttir's artistry and vocal talent will move all those that give the recording a listen