ELIN LAUNCHES A CROWDFUNDING PROJECT
During the corona lockdown many musicians were stuck in their homes. In order to entertain themselves and others, many of them offered live performances online – including Elin. Among other songs she did a live version of her song Sóleyan that she had composed to lyrics by her father, the late author Jens Pauli Heinesen.
She shared the song on facebook, and to her surprise it went kind of viral in the Faroe Islands. After a couple of days thousands of people had seen it and many commented that they really liked the song.
Here is the performance that went ‘viral’.
Among the people that made comments to the song, there was a guy, Høgni Rasmussen, who asked Elin why she didn’t start a crowfunding campaign to get funding so she could make a professional recording of this song. And not only that – why not do a symphonic recording of this song, he asked – just like she did with the song Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð she recorded with a czech symphony orchestra almost 20 years earlier.
Elin got inspired by these positive reactions to initiate her next big music project. She got the idea that she wanted to honour her father, the author Jens Pauli Heinesen, who would have had his 90th birthday November 12th, 2022, by publishing an album with songs she had composed to his poems – and, if possible, have a big honor concert for him on his birthday with the Faroe Islands Symphony Orchestra and a choir.
But to be able to do this she needed money. Lots of money. She wanted first to see if it would be possible to finance a symphonic recording of one of the songs, she made to lyrics by her father – the song Sóleyan that went viral on facebook. So she launched a crowdfunding project on a newly opened Faroese crowdfunding page – hopfigging.fo – for this song only.
Her crowdfunding campaign was the first one for a music project on this crowdfunding page. The guy who had suggested to her to do this campaign, helped her recording a short video asking people to contribute – seen here:
Translation of what Elin Brimheim Heinesen says in the video above:
“Hey, I need your help! I am dreaming of recording the song “Sóleyan” (The Buttercup) by my father, Jens Pauli Heinesen, and me with a symphony orchestra – just like the song “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” (A Chasm og Precious Time). Please help me make this dream come true.”
On the crowdfunding webpage she wrote:
“It would just be great if a symphonic recording of Sóleyan could be done and released preferably well in advance, but at the latest at my father’s 90th birthday in 2022, and in that way be able to honor his memory. Therefore, I sincerely hope that many people will help support this project so that the dream can come true.”
Read more about the crowdfunding project HERE.
Here is an interview (in Faroese) with Elin on the radio station R7 about the crowdfunding – and how it went:
“Sóleyan” was released as a single and a music video on Elin’s father’s 89 birthday – November 12th 2021.
Watch the music video here:
The song was very well received, which prompted the Italian composer and arranger, Enzo De Rosa, to ask Elin if she could write more music to poems by her father they could collaborate on. She was encouraged by this and quickly composed four other songs to lyrics by her father, which Enzo then started to make symphonic arrangements to.
But first they needed to secure the financing of the project, so that the songs could be recorded by a real symphony orchestra. So Elin launched another crowdfunding campaign, not expecting, but hoping that this new crowdfunding would help her record the songs and – not least – perform them at an honorary concert in the Nordic House on her fathers 90th birthday.
This new crowdfunding campaign also went very well. When it ended Elin had 175 % of the amount she applied for. This was a huge help. But this was not enough to finance the whole project, so she also applied for grants from culture funds, public institutions, municipalities and private companies.
With a big chunk of her own savings also, she managed to get enough money to be able to record four more songs arranged by Enzo De Rosa, and recorded with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Faroese choir Tarira and in addition to prepare a big concert and honorary event for her father at his 90th birthday.
Elin was extremely proud when the honor concert finally came true. The event took place in the Nordic House in Tórshavn for a full house – around 450 people – on November 12th, 2022, on her father’s birthday, where she was able to perform six songs with the Faroe Islands Symphony Orchestra and the choirs Tarira and Tórshavnar Manskór – and with herself as the lead vocalist. In addition to the music there were also several interviews with different people about her father as well as readings of excerpts from her father’s literature in between the music performances.
When this exciting evening ended all the participants on the stage got a standing ovation from the audience. Elin could not be happier.
Her are small excerpts from the concert:
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Kringvarp Føroya, the National TV & Radio recorded the whole event on video. And at easter in the spring of 2023, Kringvarp Føroya, the Public National TV, broadcasted the honor concert for Jens Pauli Heinesen – in two parts on April 6th and April 7th, 2023.
The recordings of the four new songs by Elin and with lyrics by her father were made in the summer of 2022. The plan was to release the album with these four songs, as well as Sóleyan and Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð, on the same day as the honor concert took place, but the failed. It took much longer to work on the mixing of the recordings than Elin had anticipated. To be exact almost a whole year longer. So Elin postponed the release to the year after – to her father’s 91st birthday on November 12th, 2023.
Read more about the album HERE.
LIVING ROOM CONCERTS WITH EYÐUN MOHR HANSEN
In the summer of 2023 Elin played more than 20 living room concerts for tourists together with guitarist Eyðun Mohr Hansen at home in her own living room under the title F’LJÓÐ Living Room Concerts & Literary Evenings. Read more about these concerts HERE.
In addition, Elin and Eyðun also played two living room concerts for full houses at the event called “Húsagongd” that took place in the village of Sandavágur on May 6.
Her are some photos from the living room concert at the Húsagongd event in Sandavágur May 6, 2023:
CONCERTS WITH EBH BAND
In the summer 2023 Elin also played several concerts with a whole band consisting of Eyðun Mohr Hansen on guitar, Edvard Nyholm Debess on bass and Rógvi á Rógvu on drums. Two of the concerts were part of the Summartónar 2023 program.
Here is a video recording from the concert in Café Eðge in Mikladalur on June 8th:
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Here is an video recording from the concert in SALT in Tvøroyri on June 9th made by a person in the audience, Rúni Thomsen:
Elin Brimheim Heinesen Trio in Café Maggie’s in Nólsoy Saturday evening September 2023:
THE ALBUM EITT DÝPI AV DÝRARI TÍÐ / A CHASM OF PRECIOUS TIME IS RELEASED
It’s not every day that new Faroese symphonic music is released on an album. But on Saturday evening, December 2, 2023, at 8:00 PM, Elin Brimheim Heinesen presented her new album, created in collaboration with her late father, the author Jens Pauli Heinesen, at a reception and cozy evening at Perlan, Tórsgøta 3 in Tórshavn. The album is titled “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” (A Chasm of Precious Time) and was released on vinyl, CD, and digital platforms by the record label TUTL.
Elin also had something extra exciting in store for the evening.
This was the program for the event:
- Elin presented the album and explained the process of creating the 12 tracks on the album.
- Conversations with various people who made this grand musical project possible.
- Live music was, of course, part of the program.
- The music video for “Sóleyan” was shown on the big screen.
- Elin revealed an additional Christmas surprise!
- Attendees could purchase the album at a special price that evening, with Elin’s signature included.
Snacks were served, and the bar remained open until 11:30 PM.
More information about the album can be found HERE.
And here you can listen to the entire album:
Interview
Interview – in English – with Elin Brimheim Heinesen about her latest album “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð / A Chasm of Precious Time” that was released December 1st, 2023. In the interview she speaks about her father, the late author Jens Pauli Heinesen, who wrote the lyrics to the song on the album, and about his life and literature.
Listen to the podcast episode HERE.
NEW CHRISTMAS SONG
In December 2024, an unexpected and unannounced symphonic song was released, performed by Elin Brimheim Heinesen. On December 1, 2023, Elin had just released the symphonic album “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” (A Chasm of Precious Time), featuring songs she composed using poems by her father, Jens Pauli Heinesen. But now, an additional symphonic song was released, sung by Elin, which no one had known about. This time, it was a Christmas song titled “Jólafriður á jørð” (Christmas Peace on Earth), composed by the Italian composer Enzo De Rosa.
Elin Brimheim Heinesen had previously collaborated with Enzo De Rosa on her album “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð”. Enzo composed this new Christmas song, which was also recorded with a symphony orchestra and featured Elin as the vocal soloist, along with eight young girls – all around 10–11 years old – from the Eysturskúlin Girls’ Choir, conducted by Joanna Johansen. Elin herself adapted the original English lyrics for the song.
“My son, Leonardo, was born on November 11, 2011. In celebration of this joyful event, I asked my good friend and songwriter, Paul Oxley, if he would help me write the lyrics for a Christmas song I had just composed for my newborn son, to honor his birth. The purpose of writing the song was to highlight what I believe should be the deeper meaning of the upcoming holiday. Christmas is a time when people should remember that we are all, in reality, united. When the snow covers houses, cities, and countries, hiding the borders between us, it should remind us that, in truth, these borders are merely a construct—something we invented to separate ourselves as humans. In reality, there is so much more that unites us than divides us. That is the message I wanted to convey with this song. I am so delighted that Elin was willing to adapt the song into Faroese.”
In the autumn, Enzo De Rosa decided to create a symphonic recording of the Christmas song with Elin as the vocal soloist.
He asked her if she could write lyrics for the song in Faroese because he is very fond of the Faroese language and thinks it sounds beautiful. As Enzo puts it: “It sounds like an ancient echo from the past.” Elin explains:
“Enzo De Rosa is an exceptionally talented musician and composer who has worked with countless musicians and singers around the world over the past 40 years. So, I feel it is a great honor that Enzo asked me and entrusted me with both writing the lyrics and singing the Christmas song he composed for his son. It means a lot to me.”
Elin contacted Joanna Johansen to get the Eysturskúlin Girls’ Choir to sing along with her on the recording. The vocal and orchestral recordings took place at the end of November this year. Enzo himself arranged and mixed the orchestral music, while the Faroese music producer Bárður Háberg recorded and mixed the vocals of Elin and the girls’ choir. The orchestral part was recorded by the Moscow Metropolitan Session Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Podgoretsky. The mastering was done by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios.
The following contributed to the production of “Jólafriður á jørð”:
Music and orchestral arrangement: Enzo De Rosa
Faroese lyrics: Elin Brimheim Heinese
Original lyrics: Paul Oxley
Orchestral recording: Bow Tie Remote Recordings
Orchestra: Moscow Metropolitan Session Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Podgoretsky
Orchestral recordings: Alexandr Serenko
Orchestral mixing: Enzo De Rosa
Lead vocalist: Elin Brimheim Heinesen
Choir: Eysturskúlin Girls’ Choir (Aleksandra Glerfoss, Anna Sára Pætursdóttir, Eyðdis Iversen, Gloria Schmidt, Jóna Bjørg Berg, Maibritt Trondesen, Mira Absalonsen, and Tórgerð Lamhauge – all aged 10–11), directed by Joanna Johansen
Vocal recording and mixing: Bárður Háberg
Mastering: Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios
Faroese Lyrics: Jólafriður á jørð
Flykrurnar dala av himmali hátt,
sum gimsteinar glampa og dansa í nátt.
Gøturnar tómar, frystar í snjó.
Kvirra nú ræður, alt hvílir í ró,
tí at nú fjalir kavin hvørt stríð og hvørt sár,
fjalir øll landamørk, líðing og tár.
Her á jørð valdar friður,
nú vit øll halda jól.
Jólini breiða seg um allan heim.
Fólk smílast fegin, og øll halda gleim,
syngja av hjarta eitt blítt takkarljóð.
Tónleikur, látur, øll eru so góð,
tí nú savnast vit saman eitt bil, knýta bond,
dansa um træið so fitt hond í hond.
Her á jørð valdar friður,
nú vit øll halda jól.
Lalala…
Her á jørð valdar friður,
nú vit øll halda jól,
tí vit halda jól.
Tí halda vit øll nú jól.
Original English lyrics; The World Comes Together
Snow flakes are falling, down from the skies.
swirling and dancing, like jewels in the night.
The cold streets are empty, frozen in time.
The world for a moment is peaceful and calm.
and soon, under the blanket, the roads disappear.
Countries and borders and suffering and tears
and the world comes together for one more Christmas time…
Christmas is coming all over the world.
People are smiling and joy is the word
and we sing from our hearts to show that we care
music and laughter and love fills the air and
for one precious moment I take your hand and we’ll
dance by the fireside we’ll dance through the night.
and the world comes together for one more Christmas time….
For one more Christmas time
For one more Christmas time
Lyrics: Paul Oxley
Translation: Elin Brimheim Heinesen
Music: Enzo de Rosa
Enzo De Rosa’s song “Jólafriður á jørð” is available on digital platforms HERE.
ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF FMX
In January 2024, the new board of FMX – Faroe Music Export – was formed. The Minister of Culture, Høgni Hoydal, chose Mikael Blak as chair. He continued on the board along with Gunn Hernes. Newly elected members were Elin Brimheim Heinesen and Leivur Thomsen.Í januar 2024 var nýggja stýrið fyri FMX – Faroe Music Export – samansett. Høgni Hoydal, landsstýrismaður, valdi Mikael Blak til formann. Hann helt fram í stýrinum eins og Gunn Hernes. Nývald vóru Elin Brimheim Heinesen og Leivur Thomsen.
THE SONG EYDNAN PERFORMED AT BYRTA CONCERT
In February 2024, the band BYRTA gave a very successful concert at the Old Theatre in Tórshavn, where they among other things performed the song “Eydnan”, for which Elin wrote the lyrics.
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THE CHOIR XPERIMENT SINGS THE SONG EITT DÝPI AV DÝRARI TÍÐ
In March 2024, the choir XPERIMENT released a full album. Henrik Birk Aaboe arranged the song “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” for the choir – a particularly beautiful arrangement, which can be heard here:
At their album release concert in Hátún on Tuesday 5 March 2024, the highly accomplished choir Xperiment performed a wonderful and deeply moving version of the song by Elin Brimheim Heinesen and Jens Pauli Heinesen, “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” (if the video does not appear, click “Video on Facebook”).
GERMAN REVIEW GAVE 8.5 OUT OF 10 STARS
In March 2024, for the first time ever, one of Elin’s music releases was reviewed in a foreign music magazine – and it even received 8.5 stars out of 10!
The release in question is the full album “Eitt dýpi av dýrari tíð” with symphonic pieces that Elin has composed to poems by her father, Jens Pauli Heinesen, and which Enzo De Rosa helped her arrange for orchestra and choir.
“ELIN BRIMHEIM HEINESEN has succeeded in creating a really fantastic album here that could also convince people who are usually not so much into classical music. Because although it is classical orchestral music, it is still contemporary. A really beautiful piece of music, but you have to take your time to listen, because this is something that can’t be listened to in a rush.” (Loosely translated with Google Translate.)
The review is otherwise in German and can be read HERE.
STOVETÓNAR IN NÓLSOY
Elin performed at StOVEtónar in Nólsoy on 30 March 2024 at the home of Maud Wang Hansen Fríårik SIvertsen.
THEME RECORD OF THE WEEK: ‘NALJA’
In connection with NALJA playing at 15:30 on Saturday 6 July 2024 at the GNÍST Festival in Nólsoy, it is interesting to listen to this programme by Jákup Magnussen about the NALJA release by Elin & Kári from 1988. Jákup Magnussen talked with Elin about the work, and the programme was broadcast on 9 March 2024. This is how it was presented on the website of Kringvarp Føroya:
“NALJA, the album, was very popular among people in the Faroe Islands at the end of the 80s – not only because it was a release with good, singable pop songs that people could dance to, but also because the album hit right into the spirit of the times back then. In those years, some revolutionary shifts were happening in the attitudes of young people – shifts that laid the foundation for the society as it is today, where people have more freedom to stand out from the crowd and can live more alternative lifestyles.
The NALJA album clearly had both a feminist and a ‘gay rights’ element in it, even though Elin and Kári said they did not have any political intentions with the release. But it can be stated that they stood completely alone and unique on the Faroese cultural scene as a woman and a gay man, where Elin was also a composer and producer on an equal footing with Kári and Óli Poulsen, who mixed the music and, for example, did the drum programming.
Both Kári and Elin themselves programmed and arranged most of the music before they went into the studio. It was definitely not common to see in the Faroe Islands at that time that women used computers to compose and arrange music, as Elin did.
The time and environment in the Faroe Islands back then was – seen through today’s lens – very male‑dominated and homophobic. So, without that necessarily being the intention, we cannot ignore that the NALJA album was also quite special in that respect.”
Elin Brimheim Heinesen and Kári Linderoth Jacobsen make up the Nalja duo, who in the late eighties created the concept album that was the most popular Faroese youth‑pop release of that decade. For example, Kári himself called another of the hits, “Ansa eftir”, “a disco track in an urban style”.
Among other things, there was influence from the English acts Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure, Howard Jones, and others, just as other styles such as rock, bossa nova, and jazz also influenced the work. The two of them wanted to make quality pop, as they have said later. The contemporary synthesizer sound marked the release – a lot, one might say – but at the same time it is very melodic communal singing, so it still lives on well today – and it also has something distinctly Faroese about it.
It was a cassette release, and the release date was 20 July 1988. Ten years later, Nalja was also available on CD with the bonus track “Heimlongsul”, which describes the situation of Faroese people abroad, who always feel a pull back towards the Faroe Islands, its people, culture, and nature.
Nine years ago, the album was the featured “Concept Album” in the programme Plátubarrin. Back then there was no guest interview, whereas this time the programme is a journey through the work and the era together with Elin Brimheim Heinesen. Plátubarrin, 9 March 2024.
NALJA AT THE MUSIC FESTVAL GNÍST Í NÓLSOY
6 July 2025, NALJA played at GNÍST in Nólsoy. Here the band is rehearsing before the performance:
And here NALJA are playing at GNÍST:
