Gudrid Hansdottir

© Gwenaël Akira Helmsdal Carré

Five years after the release of her last album “Painted Fire”, the “Faroese folk fairy” Guðrið Hansdóttir returns with her new longplayer “Gult Myrkur” (Yellow Darkness). Emotional and very personal: Guðrið, who has been going her own way as a musician for more than 20 years, convinces here again with her warm, expressive voice and, for all her love of soft acoustic sounds, with her openness to electronic sounds. In her home country, Guðrið Hansdóttir is a local superstar: her second album “The Sky Is Opening” was the best-selling album on the Faroe Islands so far. Her other releases have also received awards. “It’s a very quiet place here,” Guðrið Hansdóttir says of her hometown Tórshavn. “I guess nature influences every musician here on the islands. I get inspired when I just look out at the sea, when I notice the silence.”
She made her breakthrough in Germany with her third album, Beyond the Grey.
Guðrið Hansdóttir collaborated for the first time on “Gult Myrkur” with Lív María Róadóttir Jæger, a leading Faroese poet. Liv wrote the lyrics for all nine album songs. “I’m happy to have Lív on board. She understands my ideas, listens, reflects and writes the most beautiful poems,” Guðrið Hansdóttir looks back on the collaboration. “Gult Myrkur” is a “ray of light in the darkness” for her in difficult times after her father’s death: with songs about daily life, about grief and loss, but also about young love and about happiness.

Guðrið has been able to win numerous prominent Faroese musicians as co-musicians on “Gult Myrkur”. Among the best known are Eivør Pálsdóttir, Greta Sabvo Bech and Marius Ziska, who have already had successful albums of their own.

Guðrið came into contact with Faroese folk music at an early age. In search of her other musical influences, it is worth taking a look at the record cupboard of her father, a professional guitarist: there you will find Kate Bush next to Jimi Hendrix and Dolly Parton next to Jethro Tull. She counts The Cardigans, PJ Harvey and Ane Brun among her other musical idols.

The single “Blátt Myrkur” (blue darkness) is about the colour blue, the colour of trust, which has a calming effect on our psyche. For the musician, blue is an honest colour associated with sensitivity. The song “Blátt Myrkur” is also honest and sensitive, says Guðrið. It is about feelings of vulnerability, about dysfunctional relationships, about feeling stuck, maybe even sinking. The single was produced by top Faroese producers Janus Rasmussen and Sakaris Joensen.

The song “Træ” (Tree) is about obstacles and how to overcome them. “Imagine you’re sitting high up on a tree that keeps growing. When you finally see the horizon, the tree suddenly falls and you fall with it,” Guðrið explains the background of the song. “Træ” explores themes of strife, disagreement, love and hate, and wonders why sometimes for every step forward you take two steps back. The voice of the wonderful Eivør Pálsdóttir can be heard here. The track convinces with relaxed beats and was inspired by artists like Lana Del Rey and Weyes Blood.

The single “Hús” (House) is about grief. The loss of a loved one leaves a huge void, an empty house, full of things that remind us of the one we lost. The song is melancholic and soulful, accompanied by the bright voices of the Faroese vocal quartet Kata and an Icelandic string quartet. This is the most personal song on the album: the melody was written after Guðrið’s father died in 2020. Lív, who wrote the lyrics, manages to perfectly capture the mood of the grieving daughter after a late-night conversation.

Discography

  • Painted Fire

    Painted Fire

    Year of Release: 2016

    Catalogue-Number: BU075 / BU075LP

  • Living with you is lot like dying

    Living with you is lot like dying

    Year of Release: 2015

    Catalogue-Number: BU063

  • Beyond the grey

    Beyond the grey

    Year of Release: 2011

    Catalogue-Number: BU011 / BU011LP

  • A Faroese Fisherman speaks of Drowning

    A Faroese Fisherman speaks of Drowning

    Year of Release: 2013

    Catalogue-Number: BU034

© 2005 – 2024 CPL-Notes | Imprint | Data Protection