Eydís Evensen Shares 'Transcending' & Announces North American Tour Dates
Eydís Evensen will release her much anticipated second album ‘The Light’ on May 26.
By: Michael Major Apr. 07, 2023
Icelandic pianist and composer, Eydís Evensen will release her much anticipated second album 'The Light' on May 26th via XXIM Records/Sony.
This week she has announced a run of all tour dates in North America, including National Sawdust in Brooklyn, the Lodge Room in Los Angeles, and a handful of other cities. These dates follow her run of EU live dates this summer.
In addition, Evensen also shares the new single "Transcending" from the upcoming album, a track that spotlights her delicate yet direct style, encapsulated by the quick-fingered touch that creates a thought-provoking backdrop.
Following on from her successful 2021 debut 'Bylur', which has amassed over 40 million audio streams to date and her subsequent 2022 EP 'Frost', 'The Light' further expands on this young artist's scope for talent and expression, presenting her not only as a pianist, arranger and lyricist but also for the first time as a vocalist.
Evensen cites two underlying themes to the 'The Light': it is both a deep reflection on the rough and rugged landscapes of Iceland and how they have shaped her personality, as it is a personal expression of a sense of hope and brighter times following hardship. Both are represented by the theme of light - the inner light that guides us and the natural light, so rare in the dark Icelandic winters.
Written from personal experience at a time of relief and closure in her own life, Evensen is passing on here a message of both personal and collective hope and resilience to her listeners that better must come. Having dealt with personal challenges in the very best way she knows how - at the piano, making music, this cathartic experience of intense composition and performance has culminated in 'The Light'.
Evensen has spoken of the impact on her work of both the ancient Icelandic choral tradition and also its time-honoured poetry tradition, going back to the famous sagas from the earliest days of settlement on the remote island. For 'The Light' she wrote a choral piece - based on one of her own poems - entitled 'The Light II', performed here by acclaimed Icelandic choir Schola Cantorum Reykjavicensis.
The first part refers to "a beautiful light that froze" to which the second part returns, heralding "the beautiful light still survives". Her own singing voice can be heard on her song 'Dreaming of Light', for which Evensen also penned the lyrics.
Following recent performances at major tastemaker events throughout Europe, which include Reeperbahn Festival, ARTE Concert Festival, Iceland Airwaves and Eurosonic (ESNS), a tour of the USA and Canada will come later in the year, following shows throughout Europe and the UK in Summer 2023 (tour dates below). Her KEXP 'Live at Home' session has been seen by almost 4 million viewers to date.
Eydís Evensen European Tour Dates
June 3rd - Luxembourg - Chapelle de Lorette
June 5th - The Hague, The Netherlands - Paard
June 6th - Utrecht, The Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
June 7th - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
June 8th - Paris, France - Venue tba.
June 10th - Hamburg, Germany - Elbphilharmonie
June 13th - Nijmegen, The Netherlands - Doornroosje
June 15th - Darmstadt, Germany - Centralstation
June 16th - Cologne, Germany - Stadtgarten
June 17th - Berlin, Germany - Silent Green
June 18th - Leipzig, Germany - UT Connewitz
June 21st - London, UK - Grand Junction
Eydís Evensen North American Tour Dates
October 5th - Brooklyn - National Sawdust
October 8th - Chicago - Constellation
October 10th - Minneapolis - Parkway
October 12th - Vancouver - St James Hall
October 13th - Seattle - Triple Door
October 14th - Eugune - Hult Center Black Box
October 15th - Portland - The Old Church
October 17th - San Francisco - Swedish American Hall
October 18th - Los Angeles - Lodge Room
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Credit: Anna Maggy |
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