I’ve been getting interested in the culture of the Faroe Islands recently. First through researching Icelandic traditional music (Icelandic culture reaches down to these islands) and then while watching the hapless and infuriating new show Whale Wars: Viking Shores. If you’ve never seen Whale Wars before, it’s a reality show featuring environmentalist Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherds, his organization of young idealists bent on stopping whaling throughout the world, especially among Japanese whalers. While it’s hard to argue that wholesale commercial whaling is a good thing for anyone, Watson is so unlikeable that after a few episodes I found myself rooting for the Japanese whaling fleet! Scenes from the Whale Wars series includes Watson faking being shot by Japanese whalers, racist diatribes against the Japanese, and Watson’s continuous disregard for the safety of his crew, almost to the point that he hopes members are injured so that he can leverage that into more media coverage.
Anyways, Whale Wars has come to the Faroe Islands, home of a centuries old tradition of sustainable whaling, to protest the Faroese. These small islands are located North of Scotland, and are about halfway between Iceland and Denmark (they’re part of the Danish Realm, along with Greenland). Faroese is spoken on the islands, one of two remaining Viking languages), and the Faroese people retain a lot of connection with old Nordic culture. Sounds like a fascinating place! You’ll have to watch the show, Whale Wars: Viking Shores, to get a better idea of the cultural conflict. The show does a great job of balancing both the perspective of the Sea Shepherds and the perspective of the Faroese whose culture (and country) they’re invading.
When I heard that a Faroese singer was coming to Seattle, I jumped at the chance to interview him and learn more about the Faroe Islands. Marius(Marius Ziska) is a former-rock singer from the Islands whose new music branches into Americana and country roots territory. He’s an excellent songwriter and clearly has a grasp on how to write songs in English that sound as good as what I hear from American singer-songwriters.
Hearth Music Interview with Marius Ziska
Where are you from on the Faroe Islands? Tell me about it! How big are the islands? How big is your home town? What’s the natural environment of the islands like?
MARIUS: I am from a small village called Søldarfjørður. About 500 people live here. It’s very quiet and I’m surrounded by mountains and a huge sea. It rains a lot here and some parts of the year can be a little tough because of the weather, but all in all it’s a good and beautiful place to live.
Your bio states that you started out in rock music, but your new music sounds very acoustic-rooted, almost like alt-country or Americana? Are you going through a change in your musical direction?
M: Well it’s something that I don’t feel is planned very well, I just do what feels right when it comes to music. I think growing up and playing rock music was a lot of fun, but I began writing more folk songs and could not stop. It’s a whole new universe which i really enjoy being a part of.
How did you get into Americana way out there on the Faroe Islands? Was it hard to get a hold of albums from the US? How did you get started playing this music?
M: I guess I just got tired of playing rock music. I didn’t think a lot about where the music came from, but started to discover that I had these songs that really needed to come out. I didn’t have a job at the time and I just sat around the house and wrote songs all the time. I think I also started to look more into myself, and instead of being a cool teenager who plays rock, I found out that I had always loved these old folk/americana songs.
I used to hear it on the radio as a kid, and also if you look at the Faroe Islands it’s a place full of mountains, and that maybe also inspired me to write these songs.
It was not hard to get a hold of records. As a little kid, I used to listen to my dad’s records which would include Bob Dylan, John Lennon, CCR, ELO, Simon & Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, and so on.
So I think I have always had this music that I play now very close to my heart, and now was the time to let it out.
What’s it like to have a US tour coming? Is this your first tour over in the US? Have you been here before? If so, what are some great memories of your last tour?
M: For me, it’s great to get the opportunity to play in the USA. It really is a dream come true and a big step in the right direction. I have never been here before, and ever since I was a kid wanted to come here. I just hope this tour goes well so I can come back and play and build up a crowd. I’m am very exited to share all my music with all you guy.
Do you play a lot on the Faroe Islands? What’s the music scene like out there?
M: Yes, I do play quite a bit. Even though there are not many venues to play, there are still really many great bands in the Faroe Islands and the quality is said to be high of faroese bands. The Faroese people are also said to be a singing nation, and almost everyone I know knows how to play an instrument or sing.
I’m very very curious to hear what you think of the new Whale Wars show about the Faroe Islands. I was really impressed by the sustainable whaling practices of the Faroese and thought they came off as very articulate about how the whale meat is part of their diet and part of their culture. What’s your opinion on all this? At the moment, it’s really brought the Faroe Islands into an international spotlight.
M: Well where should i start 🙂 It is a tradition to hunt and eat whales in the Faroe Islands, and it is done in the most humane way. I personally have never killed a whale or been a part of that, but its something that I have known all my life. If somebody wants to save the whales, I don’t want to stand in their way, but for the people who watch whale wars: keep in mind that it is extremely hyped. My opinion on whale wars is that it is extremely hyped and it’s a very disrespectful media who doesn’t have respect for people. Also keep in mind that it’s feeding people with lies and they’re doing everything they can to make the Faroese people look bad. I’m gonna repeat myself and say, I don’t wanna stand in the way of people who wanna save the whales, that is fine by me. What I think is wrong is that Paul Watson and his crew and Animal Planet are putting a lot of efforts into making people look bad. There should be a better way if you really wanted to save the whales.
Tell me about the new album. What’s it gonna be like?
The new album is being mixed as we speak, and I’m really happy with the way it sounds. We really worked hard on it, and used a lot of interesting instruments, such as old analog synths like moog and juno 60, pedal steel, horns of different kinds… The goal was to make traditional music with an eclectic vibe.
Who are you touring with on tour? All Faroese musicians?
We are four guys from the Faroe Islands who have been playing music for most of our lives.
Marius Ziska vocals Guitar/Heðin Ziska guitar/Allan Tausen bass and guitar /Brandur Jacobsen Drums Vocals
Marius: Walk the Road (from his 2010 Masses EP)
MARIUS’ Website
MARIUS on Facebook
