Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Dania O. Tausen
The Faroe Islands have a population of around 52,000. You could fit the entire nation into Newcastle’s beloved St. James’ Park stadium, and if the entire populace attended Glastonbury Festival all at once, they’d represent just a quarter of the people there. And yet, the 18 rugged emerald rocks scattered in the North Atlantic are home to one of the world’s most thriving music scenes. So, we caught up with the Big Thief-loving Dania O. Tausen, who is helping to spearhead its cultural boom.
Expressing herself poetically in her native Faroese tongue, Dania’s luscious tones on her debut album Gonguteigatúnatos are emblematic of the cultural wave of rediscovered and reinvigorated folk that the Faroe Islands are enjoying. Furthermore, the fact that there is no direct translation for the album title – the closest being the rather puzzling ‘crosswalktalks’ – embodies the layer of mysticism that the Islands’ singular way of life imbues upon the art it spawns.
As our chat shows, Dania takes melodic inspiration from the nu-folk scene, with Adrienne Lenker held as a precious inspiration. However, her songs are also electronically layered, using synths to create an embalming world where her wistful native words evoke a sense of dreamy escape. Her second album Ja Pt. 1, also brought a more avant-garde edge to her work, welcoming sparser soundscapes and the sort of pleasant tonal dissonance that creates a café comfort in French folk.
Dania’s continued development typifies the recent Faroese development in music. She sings of a nation confident enough in its own idiosyncratic culture to meld it with others and fears any tarnishing impacts but rather more energised rectification. Her songs are spellbound, but as they calm you like tea, they also conjure a quirky peculiarity that keeps you pepped like an interesting conversation.
So, we caught up with Dania and got her thoughts on the big topics to the utterly trivial. After all, when you’ve only got ten minutes to get to know a busy artist, there is no better way than delving into their inspirations, thoughts on ghosts, and hot takes on The Beatles. Enjoy…
Quick-fire Questions with Dania:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
“‘Garden Song’ by Phoebe Bridgers, or ‘Row’ or ‘Steamboat’ by Adrienne Lenker.”
2. Do you believe in ghosts?
“Very much. But I try not to think about it too much. At least I know I believe in souls and spirits… and prefer to think about the nice and kind ones, who are just chilling and don’t mean anyone any harm.”
3. Where is the best pub in the world?
“I mean… in the Faroe Islands it’s Sirkus Føroyar. I also really like Goupil Le Fol in Brussels.”
4. What is the best concert you have ever been to?
“I saw Big Thief in Stockholm with my best friend and boyfriend last year. I cried like a baby and had the best emotional release ever. I’ve never been happier.”
5. If you had to get a lyric tattooed, what would it be?
“Maybe this quote by Kári P, a legendary Faroese folk musician: ‘Um trúgvin ikki longur flytir øll tíni fjøll, so havi eg mín gamla spaka við (gravi holur har vit fáa frið)’ which means ‘If faith no longer moves all your mountains, then I’ll bring my old shovel (dig holes where we can be at peace)’.”
6. You’re at home and suddenly find yourself with an hour to kill; what do you do?
“Probably find some work to do…reply to emails, work on some visuals/video for social media. That stuff takes up way too much time. But sometimes I allow myself to go for a walk or lay down for a while and just chill/scroll/sleep/read.”
7. What is your death row meal?
“I would probably not be able to eat anything, to be honest. I imagine this prison is far away from the Faroe Islands because this would never happen in our one Faroese prison. So maybe I would just make the choice way too specific with hard-to-get Faroese traditional food. Then it would take them forever to find and cook it, and by the time they’d serve it, I’d already be gone!”
8. What is the first song you ever learnt to play?
“I remember I was pretty proud to be able to play the intro of Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ (very poorly) as a kid.”
9. Who would be in your dream four-piece band?
“Adrienne Lenker, Phoebe Bridgers, Caroline Polachek (and me) would be a girl-boss band too good for this world.”
10. Name one artist you’d love to see and where you’d love to see them?
“I have seen Adrienne and Caroline, so: Phoebe Bridgers at G! Festival in the Faroe Islands would be a dream come true!”
11. What is the best song you have written to date?
“I think I’m most proud of my song ‘Nú eru vit tvey fólk’ (coming out on August 18th) or ‘Kann eg hava armin soleiðis her’ lyrically, and I also really like the melodies despite their very simple feel. They are both really honest and cute and catchy, in my opinion.”
12. When do you mostly write?
“I am mostly inspired to write when I’m travelling, especially in an aeroplane or train or bus, where I can observe many people’s behaviours at once. I also write a lot when I’m upset, angry or sad/depressed (mostly during wintertime) when there is a lot of darkness and loneliness. My favourite time of the year.”
13. Do you believe in UFOs?
“I think I do. But I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. I just wait until they are confirmed, then, maybe I’ll put more energy into it.”
14. What movie makes you laugh the most?
“Napoleon Dynamite.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“I like the Beatles. I don’t think they deserve to be underrated. I think they’ve gained a lot of love and probably don’t need more, but I don’t think they deserve hate, either. I appreciate the music they have blessed us with and think their timing in music history was perfect, and I’m happy on their behalf for that.”
