The marvel of G! Festival has become a well-known secret by now. This year, the coastline of Syðrugøta glows with a festival that’s fully charged. The music is exceptional, the hot tubs are inviting, the sea is brisk, the skies are bright, and the main stage is enveloped in a natural haze.
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G! Festival has established itself as a hub for experimental music in Northern Europe. The selection of both Faroese and international artists across the three stages creates an exciting experience from Thursday to Sunday, which Eivør, the Faroes' most renowned musical talent, has described as the "jewel of the Faroese music scene." I journeyed north to explore what makes this festival and its music scene so remarkable.
The festivities commence at Tøting, a former wool factory that has become an iconic venue, with a secret candlelit performance by Greta Svabo and Elinborg. Both artists are empowering figures in spiritual music, drawing inspiration from the fierce feminine songwriting tradition initiated by Eivør at the century’s start. Greta captivates the audience, her angelic voice and flowing blonde hair creating a trance-like atmosphere, with candle wax dripping onto the piano. The punk-rap duo PUNCHING BAG from California later expressed that this performance left them in awe. Elinborg addresses the crowd, sharing that she is “inspired by witnessing the storms and sudden sun on the ocean.” Her voice envelops us like waves, resonating with a rooted spirituality akin to that of Irish folk legend Mary O’Hara. At Tøting, a black-draped, windowless venue adorned with oriental carpets, the energy sustains as jams continue until 6 am throughout the festival.
On Thursday, DakhaBrakha takes the Sandurin stage, howling against a backdrop of visuals from the Ukrainian conflict as mist envelops the crowd. This marks the first of numerous declarations for independence and freedom at G! The atmosphere intensifies, particularly during Hatari’s performance art set, which ventures further into political territory. Hatari was fined heavily for waving the Palestinian flag during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. The plight of Gaza lingers in the minds of festival attendees; some wear keffiyehs while a Palestinian flag is raised in the midst of the audience. The performance opens with an excerpt from Guy Debord’s *Society of the Spectacle*, yet its playful nature prevents the literary inclusion from seeming pretentious.
Vocalist Klemens Hannigan dances seductively, gradually peeling away his eccentric cyberdog attire. The chemistry between Hannigan and his bandmate David Katrinarson seems to play on the well-worn trope of the mystical female vocalist juxtaposed with an assertive male vocalist-producer, reminiscent of bands like Crystal Castles and Die Antwoord. A girl next to me labels it “the weirdest thing she had ever seen”. Some attendees struggle to process it. The atmosphere is electric, bordering on overwhelming. A nearby teenager impulsively begins chanting a German nationalist slogan, seemingly missing the point. Thankfully, a multilingual group of festival-goers drowns him out.
At nearly 2 am, Hatari wraps up the first night with a rousing rendition of Björk’s ‘Declare Independence’.
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At Fjósið, the smallest of the three stages, it’s so packed that it’s hard to catch a glimpse of the Faroese jazz band Gø. However, I managed to chat with one of the frontmen, Ólavur Eyðunsson Gaard, after their performance. Gø members have been making music together since before heading to Copenhagen to pursue jazz studies. “Jazz for the people,” he emphasizes. One of their popular tracks is “Loysing krevst,” or “Independence is needed” in English. They aren't the only jazz highlight; the Faroese group öð also performs in the barn. Rather than taking center stage, they surround the audience, serenading us into a tranquil state with their strings and banjos. Ólavur elaborates on the nature of Faroese music, stating, “It’s a very dark atmosphere here; people enjoy somber music. There isn’t much happy music.”
Counteracting this gloom is Ester Skala, who incorporates color to combat the grey of the Faroe Islands. “Colors are my therapy,” she shares over hot chocolate at Brell Cafe in Tórshavn. “I fall in love with these bubblegum sounds that echo in my mind.” She connects the rhythms she perceives internally to her experience with autism, striving to express them through her music. Ester describes the escapist fantasy in her song Mellow Cat, where a girl and her cat float into outer space; “In my everyday life, I often have to mask my true self.” During her performance in the barn, Ester is illuminated in pink light, her orange curls bouncing beside her. She
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At this moment, the excitement surrounding G! Festival is no longer a secret. This year, the shores of Syðrugøta come alive for a festival in full swing. The music