OCTOBER 25th, 2024
EIVOR
Review By: Dmitry Sukhinin
Photos By: Polina Kulikovskikh
Photo Gallery: http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/eivor/

This time, quite an unusual gig for me, but not so unusual for the locals. Half of the audience looks metal, but the lineup today is closer to folk, experimental, and electronic. Sylvaine and Eivør are in the house. If you're ever asked what the most Scandinavian-spirited concert you could attend is—this is it, and it's sold out. It's Oslo, and being just short of 180 cm is a real struggle for a small person here. Rockefeller is packed, and finding a spot where someone shorter can see the stage is a real challenge. I enter the club after waiting in a rather long queue, and then Sylvaine takes the stage.

Sylvaine’s set is minimalistic—she’s alone on stage. Her vocals are absolutely enchanting. There’s a supporting melody in the first song, and on the second, she has a guitar in hand. I can’t figure out how the supporting melody emerges—is someone hidden playing, or is Sylvaine triggering samples? Either way, it all blends together and is mesmerizing. In one song, she uses harsh vocals, standing far from the mic—on the edge between black metal and clean vocals. After 33 minutes, her set is over.
Beautiful Eivør Pálsdóttir has four musicians on stage, all instruments live. The set opens with a mysterious and beautiful  intro, combining unearthly vocals and strange keys that seem almost out of tempo and rhythm, but somehow it all fits together. Her lengthy set is a fusion of shamanic, electronic, and operatic sounds. The drum kit is a mix of pads and acoustic drums, so some songs sound purely electronic, but it’s all live. It’s great to see a sold-out venue for music that’s not necessarily mainstream; the crowd loves it, and it gives hope to the music industry. Eivør’s vocals drift around the tempo in a very musical way. This is the best way to experience this type of music—live, with visuals and great lighting. The setlist evolves and grooves through different styles: Massive Attack, shamanic sounds, electronics, and folk—a well-thought-out balance of genres.

Faroese Eivør has an utterly charming accent when she addresses the audience in Norwegian. Her speech is sometimes disjointed, revealing it’s unrehearsed and unpolished—Eivør is genuine. Rockefeller is one of Oslo’s best venues, and I’ve been here many times, including for Inferno festivals. The building has two stages—Rockefeller, where Eivør is performing now, and the smaller John Dee. Some time ago, Eivør played John Dee, and she mentioned how she once dreamed of performing at Rockefeller. Never give up on your dreams.

This is the last gig of the tour, the charismatic singer says they are trying to make it extra special for everyone. In one of the last songs, Eivør asks the crowd to sing along to the chorus. The vocal style in the chorus is similar to what Jonathan Davis does on 'Twist' from Korn’s Life is Peachy, but with a folk twist. Then, there’s a band introduction, and even the light/sound engineer gets a shout-out.

Remembering the fabulous performance of Gåte in Eurovision, I’d love to see Eivør on that stage, bringing music closer to the forefront instead of watching rehashes of similar rhythms with no real hooks.
It was an unusual evening, and I enjoyed it a lot. Will I go next time? Definitely yes!