FØROYAR 5.2 (EN)

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F Ø R O Y A R 5 . 2 – What do the Faroe Islands sound like?

This was the question that Jens L. Thomsen, music producer from Faroese avant-pop band ORKA and Uni Árting, geologist asked themselves when the Faroese Research Council hired them to create a unique presentation for the 2012 European Researchers’ Night. Their playful answer to the question is presented in the installation FØROYAR 5.2. FØROYAR 5.2 invites you into a soundscape that toys with the contrasting interplays between music and geology, avant-garde and accessibility, work and process, and uses video, surround sound, and space as part of the composition.

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In order to uncover the sounds of the Faroese underground, Jens L. Thomsen and Uni Árting travelled to five seismic stations in the Faroe Islands. The stations are located on the islands Suðuroy, Vágar, Streymoy, Svínoy and in the capital city Tórshavn. When looking at a map of the Faroe Islands it becomes clear that these stations represent the four cardinal points North, South, East and West, and the fifth station is Tórshavn located right in the middle. Thomsen and Árting recorded seismic vibrations in bedrock, cliffs and quarries and these recordings have since been sampled, composed and produced into a complete musical piece.

Furthermore, the travels to the seismic stations, the preparations and the actual sound recordings were documented on video cameras and this footage is used in the work itself. Consequently FØROYAR 5.2 is an audio-visual installation in which the actual process becomes a part of the work.

ABOUT THE INS TALL ATION

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FØROYAR 5.2 has three parts. The first is a short introduction where Thomsen and Árting describe how the work is organised and the second is a documentary where the audience follows them via a handheld camera as they embark on their travels to the seismic stations and we see them play on the Faroe Islands with sledgehammers, rocks etc. And finally the grand finale where the complete work is displayed on screens, through loudspeakers and subwoofers. Four speakers and four screens represent the aforementioned cardinal points with an additional fifth speaker/ screen located under the ceiling representing Tórshavn. As part of the audience you too go through a process, where you at first follow the storyline of the introduction and the documentary, and then all of a sudden are thrown into a whirlpool of sounds as the different audio and video sources come together in a breathtaking composition.

“[...] the concept is delivered with significant precision, insight and brilliant musical expertise. [...] The work has a strong authentic expression but as with all great art, it leaves room for the audience’s own interpretation and thoughts.”

- Ole Wich (Faroensis)

“This is probably the best display of how a stupid sounding idea can turn into something really creative and really brilliant.”

- Daniel Köhler (Bayern BR Puls)

“Work of genious, it’s avantgarde, it’s accessible, and perhaps the single most exciting series of sounds that I’ve ever heard.”

- Matthew Workman (Faroe Podcast)

“Insanely great! I was shocked to the bone, as if dragged out of the deep dark, carried by the Faroe Islands and the sounds of the underground.

My legs were shaking, and the remnants of the soundwaves are still vibrating in my muscles.”

- Oddfríður Marni Rasmussen (author)

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT Urd Johannesen, The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands IMAGE TECHNICIANS Rúni Friis Kjær Heðin Ziska Davidsen Jón Sand Davidse SEISMIC TECHNICIAN Uni Petersen CAMERA Petur Pólson (Suðuroy) Jóanes Árting (Vík) Kirstin Helgadóttir (Svínoy) Rúni Friis Kjær (introduction)

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VIDEO EDITING Heiðrik á Heygum (introduction) Uni Árting and Rúni Friis Kjær (documentary) Thomas Koba (FØROYAR 5.2) TRAILER Heiðrik á Heygum PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY No Parking Production GRAPHIC DESIGN Kirstin Helgadóttir LEAFLET TEXT Knút H. Eysturstein

PRODUCED FOR Granskingarráðið and Vísindavøkuna 2012 in colaboration with Jarðfeingi and The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands THANKS TO Tjóðpallur Føroya VisitFaroeIslands Kringvarp Føroya Studio Bloch Føroya Bjór Formula Nema Sakaris Fríði Stórá Hallur Helmsdal Hallur Thomsen CONTACT Norðurlandahúsið í Føroyum ATT: Urd Johannesen Norðari Ringveur P.O. Box 1260 FO-100 Tórshavn Tlf. +298 351 351 E-mail: urd@nlh.fo YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eILF_ti0a08