Saturday, 09.03.2019
Today is the big day! This evening the prices will be awarded. But first there is still some musical program for us. The first station is the record store Tutl in the pedestrian area in Tórshavn. Immediately after I received the invitation I expected this to be one of the program points. But it’s really worth it. Tutl means “whisper, mumble, twaddle” and it sounds like the sound of waves dancing over rocks. Tutl is the name of the record store of the islands. It is not the only one, there are one or two other shops that sell CDs as well, but Tutl is THE record store. And Tutl is the Faroese label. It was founded already back in the 70s by Kristian Blak, the father of the Faroese music, of whom all Faroese musicians speak with respect although they of course do some nicely meant jokes about him.
Kristian is telling us about the history of the label and the record store (more about that can soon be read at Neckbreaker), spiced with funny episodes like “and then they didn’t want us anymore in the shopping mall because we had long hair”. As a bonus we are allowed to take a whole lot of Vinyls and records with us. Kristian Blak explains that they work with a partner where it costs the same, no matter if they order 300 or 1000 CDs. So they order 1000 most of the time. Which also explains the many, many CDs Rógvi á Rógvu was complaining about (see Thursday). Kristian is a natural born entertainer and although we surely are 45 minutes or even longer in the store we still feel that we didn’t hear everything. By far. In the end, everybody is also buying a few albums of his/her own choice but our next guide is already there and hurries us to the bus. We are late, once again.
Now we head to Klaksvík, the second largest city and fishing capital of the Faroes. We choose the more scenic route along the old island road. On the highest point there is still snow on the road (they do not clear the road up here). Along the way our guide tells us what we see left and right of the road. Above the former NATO station, that now is a prison, we stop to take some pictures. Who is planning to become a criminal anyways should do so on the Faroes (but only minor crimes, dangerous criminals are sent to Denmark). The jail here has no fence (where would you go anyways?), but a mini golf course and one of the most beautiful views of the islands.
Today we are not lucky with the weather. The further north we get, the more it rains and when we arrive in Klaksvík it’s even snowing. We drive to the Spaniastova, one of the oldest buildings of the town. Once there was a grocery store in the building and a lot of the furniture from that time is preserved. At the same time it is a modern cultural centre where they organize – among others – concerts. And so today there is a concert for us.
But first we are greeted by the mayor of the city who tells us about the history of the city as well as the history of the Summar Festivalur which takes place every year in August. Many of my colleagues have heard of it before but when he asks who has been there I am one of only a few who raises her hand. It’s interesting that the festival origins in a sporting event, that is to say a rowing competition. The responsible people of the city thought it was a pity that the people went home right after the competition and didn’t stay to celebrate. So what was needed was an idea to keep the people in the city. And thus, the idea for the festival was born.
In the beginning, they had to fight pretty trivial problems like the traffic jam in Leirvík because the subsea tunnel to Klaksvík didn’t exist back then and everybody had to take the ferry. And also Germans had been indirectly involved in the evolution of the festival. The SCORPIONS only agreed to play on a stage of international scale. So they build a stage of international scale back in 2007 – and it got destroyed at the last day of the festival by a storm. But Faroese people don’t let a storm stop them and the festival kept growing. Every year big international names like WESTLIFE, CLIFF RICHARD, TOTO or ROXETTE play here. This year the festival will take place from the 08.-10. August. So who is going to travel to the islands around this time should consider attending the festival as well. With a smile they answer the question, if the festival has brought any changes for the locals: There is a significant rise of the birth rate every year 9 months after the festival.
Regarding the music we now listen to Rani Nolsøe, brother of Eyðun Nolsøe, whom we saw Thursday. As well as Eyðun he became known as a member of the band FRÆNDAR. He plays three songs for us, one of them about the Faroe Islands, one about the summer and another one. Rani sings and accompanies himself on guitar. He plays beautiful singer/songwriter music, but I have to admit he doesn’t leave a permanent impression.
Second comes Hans Andrias Jacobsen. He as well is not unknown on the Faroes. Back in 2012 he won the Planet Awards for best new solo artist. Hans Andrias impresses with his beautiful, smoky voice. He is presenting Songs from his still current album “Vision” from 2016. In „Haze“ his voice stands out extraordinarily. He finishes „Wasteland“ with an end that will be remembered for quite some time. He leaves, still singing and playing harmonica, the room. In the beginning we thought he will come back to receive the applause – but no. He stays hidden. The mayor comments with “Elvis has left the building!”.
Bu we will not yet leave the building. Now we’re going to hear a (more or less) acoustic version of DANNY & THE VEETOS. Slowly we get the feeling that they especially want to – for whatever reason – sell this band to us. And I mean – they are all nice people, but the music really isn’t that thrilling. At least there is some musical variety. Yesterday they played only new songs; today it will be old ones as well. Among them a song with Faroese lyrics, named „Stúr Ei Meir“ from their latest album “Hint Of Melancholy”. And to “Why Am I Running?” (I guess that’s the name of the song), we all have to sing along the chorus. Well, it is fun – but they couldn’t convince me with this gig neither.
After a short snack – fish soup again – we head back to Tórshavn, this time on the fast route through the tunnel. A few hours remain to eat a bit and to prepare for the Faroese Music Awards. What it was like to be there you will read in a separate article. (Anne)
