Why is it we get so much great music from Scandinavia?
I do not know the answer to that question, but I get that, for a certain kind of sound, that's where you'll go to find the best of it. Specifically Indie Pop and Dream Pop.
Featherfin is from Norway. In addition to being a musician (whose experience ranges from Synth Pop to Industrial), and an artist (of the physical kind--paintings and the like), he's also been a blogger. He gave up blogging for a while because he would get so many emails from bands and musicians hoping to get a hearing, that he could never hope to answer them all, let alone review all their music. And that made him feel guilty and a little bit helpless. I hear you, dude. Featherfin returned to blogging when it dawned on him that being able to do even a little bit to promote a few artists was a greater contribution to the music than doing nothing.
Musically, Featherfin (real name Knut Lindbjør) is currently in an experimental phase where the music is as much art as is the...well, art. There are elements of Electronica, Psych Pop, Indie Folk, Ambient, Post Punk and Dream Pop in the songs Featherfin writes. One of his best, "If You Were Coming In The Fall", is actually an Emily Dickinson poem put to music. He's not strictly electronic; there are organic elements and instruments used as well, which is part of what makes Featherfin's music alive and unique.
Featherfin is from Norway. In addition to being a musician (whose experience ranges from Synth Pop to Industrial), and an artist (of the physical kind--paintings and the like), he's also been a blogger. He gave up blogging for a while because he would get so many emails from bands and musicians hoping to get a hearing, that he could never hope to answer them all, let alone review all their music. And that made him feel guilty and a little bit helpless. I hear you, dude. Featherfin returned to blogging when it dawned on him that being able to do even a little bit to promote a few artists was a greater contribution to the music than doing nothing.
Musically, Featherfin (real name Knut Lindbjør) is currently in an experimental phase where the music is as much art as is the...well, art. There are elements of Electronica, Psych Pop, Indie Folk, Ambient, Post Punk and Dream Pop in the songs Featherfin writes. One of his best, "If You Were Coming In The Fall", is actually an Emily Dickinson poem put to music. He's not strictly electronic; there are organic elements and instruments used as well, which is part of what makes Featherfin's music alive and unique.
"Wintersongs" features three tracks, two of which are instrumentals. And those are pleasant enough, but the vocal track--"When The Snow Was Whiter"--is the one that takes my breath away. And you should get the idea straight off. As we grow older, we look back on the days and years past with an idealized view, which was never the reality. I guess it's a bit of a survival mechanism. On the other hand, it's neither true nor healthy nor productive to strive to get back to an era in time that never existed in the way we like to remember it. Living through it as an adult, I never though anyone would be nostalgic for the eighties. But, today, people are. So when Featherfin sings that the snow used to be whiter, what he's actually saying is that we used to be so much more innocent when we were young. When we were young, all we could see was the whiteness of the snow. Now, no matter how hard we look, all we see is the soot. It's the same snow, basically; it's a matter of how our minds and hearts process the information.
The entire "Wintersongs" EP is available as a name-your-price download at Bandcamp. But, if you feel like tossing a coin in the pot, you could be entered into a drawing for a signed and numbered Giclee print of his original artwork for "Butterfly Girl". Just throwing that out there (details at Bandcamp).
I can at least prove that not ALL of the great music comes from Scandinavia. Eardrums Music (Featherfin's label) also counts the L.A. band Winter on their roster. It's not a Christmas song, but go listen to Winter's most recent single "All The Things You Do". You'll thank me later.
I can at least prove that not ALL of the great music comes from Scandinavia. Eardrums Music (Featherfin's label) also counts the L.A. band Winter on their roster. It's not a Christmas song, but go listen to Winter's most recent single "All The Things You Do". You'll thank me later.
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