Eivør Enchants at The Cedar
The Minnesota chill has been creeping around more and more lately as some folks embrace the shift while others are beginning to succumb to the throes of winter. The scene was set as a thick blanket of freshly fallen snow covered the Twin Cities as the doors at the Cedar Cultural Center began to open in Minneapolis for two ethereal signers from Europe's cold and frozen North.
The drone of an organ resonated across the Cedar Cultural Center as Sylvaine stood with clasped hands and began to chant along to the organ’s notes as they slowly progressed. Her hands drifted freely from one another and back again as her arms gently flowed along to the rhythm of the song. The enchanting vocals take a pause as the descending notes of a harp cascade across the room. Sylvaine falls back to become fully immersed in dance and begins to gracefully float as she sways from side to side. This opening song, “Dagsens Auga Sloknar Ut”, is found on her latest collection of songs on the album Eg Er Framand. Released in 2024, the influences of her youth are captured and processed through her interpretations of three traditional Norwegian folk songs and three original pieces.
Kathrine Shepard, who performs under the moniker of Sylvaine, was born in San Diego, CA and soon after her family moved to her mother’s homeland of Norway. Shepard was raised in the small yet bustling city of Oslo where the forests were close and meditative peace can be found in the surrounding nature under the canopy of trees. Now residing in Paris, France she takes on a whole new set of inspirations that reflect back through her music.
Sylvaine takes a pause between songs to comment that this is only her second time performing in the US. She then informs the audience that the next song is “L'appel Du Vide” which in French translates to the call of the void. The song begins with the sonically bright sounds of an electric guitar drenched in reverb. Yet the chords are somber while a slow steady beat of drums propel the song forward. The live solo performance of this song benefited from some backing tracks. The last half of the song is instrumental only where a dense mix of guitar riffs and melodies coalesce. A guitar chord is strummed which is followed by two notes that are plucked. The sustain rings out and fills the space with tension before resolving to the next chord. This creates a lonely sense of longing as you hear the echo of the void where the notes slowly fade away. There is fast tremolo picking of a melody that modulates slowly on an electric guitar as the warmth of distant distorted guitar that is filled out on the low end with a bass guitar. The wall of sounds slowly builds to its apex and fills the room with lush tones before fading away and back to the longing guitar melody that came before this great crescendo.
Sylvaine shared her fifth and final song of her 30 minute set. She introduced the title song of her new album, Eg Er Framand by saying “there is lots of Scandinavian heritage here, and here is a little gift from my country. A folk song recorded by many, this is my version of I know the place beyond or light beyond.” She stood with her guitar at her feet as beams of white light shone down upon her from both sides. Sylvaine sang accapella as she harnessed her voice in a very soothing way and lulled the audience to a peaceful state just before closing out her wonderful set. It was amazing to hear stripped down versions of “Mørklagt” and “I Close My Eyes So I Can See” with their cathartic primal screams as the songwriting quality can be witnessed as they are on full display in their bare bones state. Looking forward to catching Sylvaine once again, whether that be as a solo performance or backed by a full band. Regardless of the setup, it will certainly be a mystical musical experience to remember.
The room went dark as Eivør and her bandmates came out to take their positions on the stage. A steady rhythm of piano chords for the song “Ein Klóta” were struck, providing the foundation for Eivør’s voice to gently swoon over. More strings and soundscapes start to fill in as Eivør hits the higher notes displaying her wide vocal range. The audience is mesmerized from this point onward as the song continues through the next sections. The buzz of a bowed upright bass begins to vibrate the room as the song comes to a close.
The ominous and repetitive drone of a bass note wavers in timbre is played out on a synthesizer that is entangled with a pulsating kick drum. Setting the tone for a mystical and hypnotic song that is “Jarðartrá” which translates from Faroese to “Dust to Dust.” Another song that highlights the enchanting vocalizations created by Eivør.
“Hugsi Bert Um Teg” lifted the mood up a bit with its dancy chorus synthesized bass lines. Eivør then took a moment to welcome the crowd and speak about her amazing new album, Enn. The opening three songs to the setlist followed the tracklist of the new album and she commented that we would continue onto the fourth one before heading off into the wild. “Purpurhjarta” was introduced as a song about reaching for the sun when you’re in the shadows.”
Eivør then played a couple more upbeat songs “Let It Come” and “Skyscrapers” before delving deep into the past and giving a moment for some of the band to step off stage for the next song. Lifting up her drum with a fur lined hide and mallet to create the pulsating rhythm that guides the song “Trøllabundin” along as well as her rhythmic throat singing. As the translation of this title is spellbound, it is easy to become captivated by this track. Drifting off while getting lost and entranced by the music as it takes hold. The rest of the band came back out for the song “True Love” which is a faster one that brought out a cheerful optimism.
It was time to return to a couple more songs from her latest album. Eivør spoke about how the word “enn” means yet or still and that being close to the heart during these crazy times in the world. Coming together with love and that is something we need when the world gets mad. With that they performed the title track, “Enn” followed by what I find to be one of her darker and more intense sounding songs,“Upp Úr Øskuni”, which translates to “Rise From The Ashes”. A song in which she honors all the strong women that supported and continue to lift her up and have guided her path along the years. The promotional video for this song is wonderfully and artistically done and is enthralling to take in.The song begins with four percussive strikes that are foreboding and produce a thunderous echo that leads well into the menacing and raspy spoken words, some of which is the phrase upp úr øskuni / rise from the ashes. Following up with a stoic and calm recitation of upp úr øskuni and then a distant joyful shout of it before the distorted guitar riff kicks in.Towards the end of the track there is a faint whisper of that phrase as well, I just love how she presented the title in four unique ways throughout the song. Like most of the lyrics on Enn, these words are collaborations with Eivør’s close friend and poet, Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs.
For the past eight years Eivør has been involved with writing music for the TV series The Last Kingdom; she performed “Hymn 49” which is taken from that score. It's a traditional Faroese hymn that she heard her great grandfather sing when she was a child. She mentioned that fishermen would sing this song when they headed out on their boats and fingers crossed that they’d return home.
Before performing a couple tracks from Slør, “Salt” and “Í Tokuni”, Eivør shared the story of how when she grew up in the Faroe Islands it would get really foggy and would easily get lost in the mist in the mountains. She would get scared of what was lurking behind the unknown as she tried to navigate her way through mist. She imagines the creatures that hid in the crevices and behind the jagged rocks sounded like the opening vocalisations to “Í Tokuni”, a raspy and menacing sound. Using her inhalation as a sound source as well as a short high pitched squeal to add to the sinister sounds. She demonstrated it to the crowd so they could join in on it but when she repeated it and held the mic out to the audience there was silence followed by a collective laughter. After some encouragement they broke out of their shell and were successful with take two.
Audible groans were heard as Eivør remarked that the end of the set had come but was eager to come back and see everyone again. She stated that “Gullspunnin” is a song for the lonely souls cocooned in gold. The live rendition of “Falling Free” is an epic and lush way to close out her wonderful set. A song that takes a dramatic journey from a soft and contemplative beginning that takes slow climb and builds up to a clamoring wall of sound and showcases her wide range of vocals once again as she gracefully hits some rather high notes at the end.
The music of Eivør has accompanied my life for some years now but with Enn I have quickly become more attached than ever before and intrigued by the direction her music is headed in. There was something fresh about it yet nostalgic. It finally occurred to me that the new yet familiar vibe I felt with a few tracks from Enn stems from listening to another Scandinavian outfit, Tactile Gemma. A side project from members of The 3rd & the Mortal and Atrox, which are a couple of integral pieces to my musical collection. This new album was conjuring up vibes I once felt nearly 25 years ago brought on by the voices of the Edvardsen sisters, Ann-Mari and Monika. With their distinct and unique vocalizations soaring over electronic music. Mixing the cold inorganic sounds from the digital realm with the warmth of their singing. Coincidentally, just as Eivør and Sylvaine had music released under the Season of Mist label, so did Tactile Gemma and Atrox. It all comes back full circle and such a wonderful collection of albums Season of Mist has helped curate. I yearn for the opportunity to partake in such wonderful music in a live setting again and eagerly await to hear where Eivør’s musical creation goes from here.