By: Tessa Perkins

Press+1 recently caught up with singer-songwriter Teitur while taking a break from his busy performing schedule. He has toured to over twenty countries and released his fifth album, Let the Dog Drive Home, in 2010. He talked to us about playing for royalty, the meaning of his name, and his home country of the Faroe Islands.    

Teitur is doing a concert in Toronto on March 6^th at the Great Hall on Queen Street.

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In the meantime, check out our great interview with Teitur and his music video...

Press+1: I read that the name Teitur means “happy.” Would you describe yourself as someone who is happy most of the time?

Teitur: Someone who describes himself as happy-all-the-time is lying half the time. And someone who describes himself as miserable-all-the-time is lying half the time.

Press+1: Out of all the places you’ve toured, where did you have the best experience or where would you most like to return?

Teitur: The more I travel outside of the Western World, the more it feels like traveling. Where they do things differently than we do. There is a similarity between Iceland, Australia, US, Europe etc. that becomes more apparent when you are in, for instance, Vietnam.

Press+1: Why did you choose to make London your home base?

Teitur: I used to go to London and write a lot, I had lots of co-writer friends there and I began to love London. It was the right place for me at the time. My management was based there and my girlfriend went to school there too.

Press+1: Where do you draw inspiration from; are your lyrics based on personal experiences?

Teitur: The rule is: You have to know what you are singing about. Or else you are not really singing. It has to be something I can feel. I look for the things that repeat themselves in everyday life, things that are trying to tell me something I don't know or things that explain something complicated in a simple way. Like when your dad tells the same story at the dinner table every Thanksgiving...that's one of his best songs.

Press+1: What was it like to play for the Danish Queen and how did you end up with that gig?

Teitur: It was good fun. Never seen so many tiaras in the audience before. The Faroe Islands are part of the Danish Kingdom, so there's always a "we have to get someone from the Faroe Islands too" card, which I often pull in such occasions. Also, I have collaborated a lot with the Danish Radio choir and orchestras lately, so they feel confident in asking me to work with them.

Press+1: How does your early life growing up in the Faroe Islands influence your song writing?

There is a lot of storytelling and singing here. Like any small society, people talk a lot about each other and the past. In festive occasions there is a catalogue of songs that everybody knows and they sing it over and over, sort of like campfire songs, at parties, weddings, birthdays. I have learnt all these songs from an early age and I'm sure they are the foundation of my curiosity for song writing. I used to play guitar accompaniment and learned them all.

Press+1: Who are your biggest pop music influences?

Teitur: I prefer those who don't sing in the name of fame or in the name of money. I like honest performers, not manipulators. For me, there is a moral aspect involved in making music and I get off the bus as soon as I feel something doesn't come from the right place. I would say that I am more a fan of the arts than of pop-music. I mean, I like pop-music, but I don't think it inspires me more than everyday life. It changes my mood and makes me smile, sure, but it's not exactly as influential as when someone close to me shares something important or if you get to truly know some great work. Day to day, I am more influenced by what ever is on my iPod or movies and TV-series. Storytelling excites me more than pop-music. 

Press+1: What inspired the song “You Never Leave L.A.”?

Teitur: For me, it's an American and Californian sound, a drum beat and specific piano voicings that are LA - the song "That's Just The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby is exactly that. It's driving music - when you're in a car in California. I spent a lot of time there, so for me, that sound and mood is the soundtrack of LA.

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