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The Faroe Islands between Rock and Melancholy: Son of Fortune
with Benjamin Petersen (Vocals and Guitar; Son Of Fortune, Svartmálm, Annika Hoydal, producer at Bunkarin Studio).
This is the first part of 3 of our special on faroese contemparay rock and alternative feautring Son of Fortune (part 1), 200 (part 2) and Joe & the Shitboys (part 3). Enjoy!
Italian version here – Traduzione in italiano
It’s been four days since I arrived in the Faroe Islands with a hiking group. I’m planning a meeting with 200, one of the bands I follow closely. One of my travel companions, Jasmin, found a very special concert.
Son Of Fortune‘s live concert at Fiskastykkið
We are at Fiskastykkið in Úti Á Gjógv, a former fishery building located at the end of the fjord; it has now been converted into a restaurant/bar. The small wooden venue is crowded, with around 200 people, and the atmosphere is extremely intimate. The audience is mainly composed of locals, many adults, and a few children.
Son Of Fortune, a duo consisting of Benjamin Petersen (vocals and guitar) and Jan Rúni Poulsen on drums, take the stage. Their music is described as “Voodoo Pop,” a mix of folk, songwriter, rock, and blues.
Son of Fortune starts with songs from the album “Fullmáni” (full moon, the entire album was written and recorded in a lunar cycle), completely recorded and produced in the Faroe Islands. For this work they received contributions from Mikael Blak (whom I will interview in the second part of this special) on bass and synth.
Their rock/blues with folk undertones fills the room with an intense and melancholic sound. Benjamin’s electric guitar is controlled and discreet, only exploding into a few solos, creating intimate and meditative spaces. Jan plays a minimal drum kit: two ride & crash, a tom-tom, a snare drum, and a bass drum. The bass drum stands out among the instruments: it’s wide and wooden like that of a brass band. Its sound is deep, soft and persistent, it fills the bassline, as the bass guitar is absent in the duo.
Son of Fortune and Mikael Blak
The Faroese lyrics sound sweet and melancholic. “Fullmáni” is one of the songs where the folk and introspective side of the band shines through, and it’s one of my favorite songs by this group. Even without the synth we find in the recording version, this song creates a warm embracing feeling. This sounds, capable of capturing the emotions of the Nordic environment of the Faroe Islands is deeply felt in “Verið Góð Við Mánan” and “Sár”.
“Vakna Trælur” and “Angi” have a clear rock sound, which solos and distorted guitar leave no doubt. The album’s opening track, “Gróðrarbotnur,” also evokes the sensations of grunge and alternative rock.
The slow blues “Millum Himmal og Helviti” (“Between Heaven and Hell”), receives a lot of applause; it’s a very popular song in the Faroe Islands. It describes the religious and existential conflict of us humans as we constantly push ourselves and others between heaven and hell.
During the concert, Benjamin notices our group and switches to introducing his upcoming songs in English. Two songs from the new album “Voodoo Pop” (recorded in English at Nashville’s Sputnik Sound Studios and produced by Mike Fahey and Vance Powell, known for their work with Jack White, Chris Stapleton, and The Black Keys) follow.
In the songs from “Voodoo Pop”, there’s an even more intense rock and blues component, highlighting Benjamin’s natural songwriting ability. His passion for artists like Willy Nelson and the Outlaws is strongly felt in this new work. The first single released, “Is it essential,” stands out with its strongly American-influenced melody and rhythmic. “Hurricane” is deeply hard-rock, while “Spiritual Illiterate” resonates with new influences honed during the journey of the band to Nashville. Personally, “Not my Time” and the ballad “Courage” have won me over, beautifully blending Benjamin’s tender nostalgia with his new sound.
An unreleased song, which will be part of the upcoming album “Dust” (expected at the end of 2023), is also played. We are told that this album will be produced and recorded in the Faroe Islands by the Nashville team. I’m very curious to hear how these two worlds will come together in the new work.
The small venue empties quickly, and Jan has to rush off because the last boat to the small town where he lives, Fuglfjørður, will soon depart from the harbor. I catch Benjamin for a brief interview and claim a table by ordering a beer. The bartender looks at us with irritation, sighs, and starts sweeping.
Son of Fortune and Mikael Blak at Okkara Brewery
Benjamin and the melancholy of the Faroe Islands
I take a generous sip of beer as Benjamin begins his tale.
Like many Faroese people, music was a natural expression that grew with him. Benjamin started playing music as a child in his family. At the age of 6 he accompanied his singer father to parties and weddings, playing the violin and guitar. He also received singing lessons from his mother, who is part of a classical music choir.
Benjamin was born and raised in the small town of Vestmanna, and as a young boy, he got into rock through listening to metal. It was through metal that he met his friend and drummer, Jan, with whom he began playing at the age of 11.
The Black Metal band Svartmálm was their first project to achieve international success and is one of the most renowned metal groups in the Faroe Islands. Benjamin’s gritty Witch Scream even tainted the Wacken festival with deeply Nordic, melancholic Doom/Black metal.
I find it hard to believe that Benjamin is the same singer I heard in Svartmálm, but all my doubts vanish when he performs a brief scream. What a technique!
Currently, the Svartmálm project is on hold, and in the meantime, Benjamin has primarily dedicated himself to his new musical project and record production, including the new album by 200 titled “Reyvhart“, which we’ll discuss in the second part of this special.
Benjamin with Svartmálm at Wacken, yes it is the same Benjamin singing in Son of Fortune!
In Son of Fortune, Benjamin has left behind metal to sing about people and stories. Today, he takes his music to the small, smoky local bars of the north, which he considers his family. The little bar in Fuglfjørður, with its “Slupp” beers, “Prince” cigarettes, and shots of Fernet or Underberg, is the place that best embodies the spirit of Son of Fortune.
Winters in the Faroe Islands are long and depressing, and music and art become a necessary outlet to survive the winter solitude and melancholy. The slowness of life in these remote islands, the contrast between the melancholy of winter and the at times almost manic rebirth of summer, are a profound part of Benjamin’s soul, as he tells us.
“As much as we are festive people, our celebrations last entire summer nights; the melancholy of winter is rooted in our souls like a seed planted deep within us, never letting go.
I am a person of Love, Light, and Hope, but above all, I am a human in constant struggle, just like all of us. I cannot escape the melancholy of my Nordic roots, no matter how hard I try. The Nordic winter is like a lingering sadness that manifests in the melancholy of my music.”
To understand the intimate and hidden spirit of these islands, Benjamin suggests listening to Marius Ziska, Eivør, and the folk queen Annika Hoydal (with whom Benjamin has collaborated for vocals, guitar, and production). He also recommends the eclectic Teitur Lassen and to the readers of heavymetalwebzine.it the metal band Hamferð!
A visit to TUTL records in Tórshavn
My trekking companions have left, and I find myself alone in the capital of Tórshavn as I prepare for my meeting with 200 tomorrow.
I stumbled upon a small youth center, but unfortunately, it will remain closed until the weekend, and I won’t be able to connect with this community. Not far away, I visit TUTL, a record store that also serves as the primary record label and music distributor in the Faroe Islands. Here, I find what I was looking for—a copy of the legendary vinyl “Viva La Republica” by 200, the album I’ll use to tell you about this band in the second part of this special.
During my visit, Friði was working in this store. His band (Joe and The Shitboys) will soon be performing in Copenhagen, where I’ll have the opportunity to interview them for the third part of this special. For now, I prefer to go unnoticed, but using the pretext of the record, I try to gather some information. I ask Friði to tell me about the music of 200, and he points out their themes of social and political criticism, not knowing that I will base my interview with his own band on this.
Benjamin Petersen playing acustic the songs of Son of Fortune
In the other parts:
Part 2: Fingers Pointed Inward: 200 (Tveyhundrað)
with Mikael Blak (Bassist and Multi-Instrumentalist; 200, Eivør, Son of Fortune, Clickhaze, Enekk, Yggdrasil, producer at Bunkarin Studio) and Niels Arge Galán (Vocals, Guitar, and Designer in 200).
Part 3: Be Fucking Nice!: Joe and The Shitboys
with Joe (Friði Djurhuus – Vocals, event management at TUTL record label), “Ziggy Shit” (Sigmund Zachariassen – Guitar), “Hollie Shit” (Sjúrður E. Samuelsen – Bass), and “Jhonny Shit” (Jónsvein Mikkelsen – Drums), with the participation of Maria Mercedes Lindenskov (Marbles Lost, producer).
Acknowledgment
Thanks to Jasmin Torriani, Stefano Ciceri and the hikers for sharing the concert experience and helping with the media. A special thanks to Annika Av Kák Bech for consulting me while writing this article.
