Eivor's Enduring Evolution

Eivor Palsdottir keeps putting out inspiring music.

MUSICSCANDINAVIA

8/27/20242 min read

The village of Syđrugøta is a place in the Faroe Islands and is also birthplace of Eivor Palsdottir.
The village of Syđrugøta is a place in the Faroe Islands and is also birthplace of Eivor Palsdottir.

Syðrugøta is Eivør's hometown. It is situated on the island of Eysturoy within the Faroe Islands.

Who Is Eivør Pálsdóttir?

Eivør was born in 1983 in the tiny town of Syðrugøta, located in the Faroe Islands. Her first musical experience was singing in church choirs on the tiny island, but at age 13, Eivør became a Faroe Island singing TV star. At age 15, Eivør became lead singer for the rock band, Clickhaze. A year later, the talented young lady released her first album of folk songs. Then at age 19, she moved to Reykjavík, where she studied music (opera singing). A year later in 2003, Eivør recorded Trollabundin, her first hit to gain serious attention outside of Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

Since her early years in the Old Norse country (both Iceland and the Faroe Islands speak languages closely kin to Old Norse), Eivør has continued to develop her musical talents. Her recent success includes a tight collection of contemporary songs, recorded in English, plus some major songwriting credits for the soundtrack of the Last Kingdom, a British historical drama, based on a series of Saxon stories. Today, Eivør still lives in the Faroe Islands, but he music career takes to such far off places as the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Featured below are two recordings that help define her musical evolution.

TRØLLABUNDIN

Perhaps no other song better defines Eivør Pálsdóttir, than her 2003 hit, Trøllabundin. A song title that literally translates as "spellbound", this simple tune, which just features voice and hand drum, splendidly captures the remoteness of Eivør's windswept North Atlantic home. Her rhythmic inhaling and exhaling gives the haunting tune, a special quality, which just might explain how this wizard's tale has remained so popular for so many years.

Falling Free

In a more contemporary mode, we have featured below, Eivør's more recent performance of "Falling Free". Her operatic training is plenty evident here, as her remarkable voice shows incredible range throughout the song. Typically, Eivør now writes most of her lyrics in English, thus providing a much larger audience for her mesmerizing talent. Listen to the YouTube recording below, and relish on how her captivating voice helps transport the listener to that strange state, expressed in the title.