June and July 2021 brought us back to Iceland and the Faroe Islands to work with two composer/performers for the second time, Hafdís Bjarnadóttir of Iceland and Arnold Ludvig of the Faroe Islands. The entire project began from a banal question with a philosophical underpinning: what kind of music would the sheep like to hear? We were so intrigued by the idea of performing for sheep after traveling to these places where sheep outnumber humans. With the help of these two composers, we set out to create concert events that put a focus on sheep, knitting, and wool culture in places where these topics seem to be pervasive. Each location had its own unique personality and connection to the project, and along the way we managed to see and learn so much of these two unique places in the world.

Iceland

Our tour in Iceland brought us all around the country, starting from Reykjavík for a concert at the Reykjavík Fringe Festival. During the RVK Fringe, we performed at Árbæjarsafn, the open air museum on the outskirts of the city that focuses on daily Icelandic life throughout history. We performed both outside for the sheep and inside for the people, among which was the president of Iceland himself - what an honor! The entirety of the tour was traveled via Hafdís’ electric car: that meant carefully choosing our route based on the location of charging stations. It was an adventure in every sense, that we know will be remembered for years to come!

Our first stop after Reykjavík took as further North to Blönduós. Our late night drive from the capitol to this small seaside town allowed us to see the midnight sun. The venue, called Heimilisiðnaðarsafnið, is a textile museum that features information an artifacts about Icelandic heritage as it relates to wool. The museum’s warm atmosphere welcomed a local audience that also was happy to spin and knit along to the music. The town is also the home to the Icelandic Textile Center, an artist residency program for people working in the medium.

*Geothermal pools bubble with sulfuric gas in Hverir*

The next stop after Blönduós was a long way away. Traveling to Svalbarð, the home of the Leader Sheep Museum, meant driving nearly across the entire country. Along the way, there were many stops, from Hjalteyri where an abandoned herring factory is now home to art exhibitions, to Myvatn a lake whose surroundings are constellated dormant volcanoes and all the residual natural beauty that comes with them. We even managed to catch up with some old friends from our time in Ólafsfjörður, now three years ago. In one unusually desolate route, we even opted for the plan B charging option: running an extension cord out of the bathroom of a small shop to top off the battery.

Our next stop of the Leader Sheep Museum gives a peculiar portrayal of one of Iceland’s three distinct breeds. The Leader Sheep were bread not for their meat or wool, but rather for their intelligence and ability to lead a flock of sheep away from danger. These sheep can sense inclimate weather before people, and lead sheep away from predators. Daníel Hansen, the manager of the museum, was formerly the headmaster of the only school in this very rural part of the world; during his tenure, the entire school housed between 5 and 20 students at a time and he taught classes to all age groups simultaneously. The Leader Sheep Museum is a retirement project of sorts for him: it was the most iconoclastic and isolated of our concerts and with its walls covered in taxidermize sheep heads and magnetic pull toward interesting characters, it could have well fit in the set to a Wes Anderson film.

Daníel graciously hosted us in the former school where he worked, now the small town’s community center. In the entrance we were greeted by another stuffed animal, this time a polar bear that was found nearby in 2010. Polar bears don’t live in Iceland, but occasionally one will make an extraordinarily long sea journey from Greenland, arriving starved and disoriented. Because of this, they also present a danger to the local people and livestock, and are hunted immediately. Of course, Daníel explained to us that it was the Leader Sheep who first detected the bear.

Besides the incredible atmosphere of the museum and town, the cliffside hikes in the area are home to magnificent geological formations and puffins.

*Hafdís uses carding and spinning tools as musical devices in the piece she composed for our Sheep Music project.*

Our next stop brought us even further East, crossing the Highlands to arrive in Egilsstaðir, where Hallormsstaðaskóli hosts courses on creativity and sustainability, largely influenced by its past life as a school of Home Economics. The school is well equipped with all kinds of looms and sewing machines, and some spectacularly warm summer weather allowed us to have our concert outside. A delicious meal shared between us and the participants of the course, who represented most the audience, was the highlight of our stay!

After a brief visit at the nearby Hengifoss, our next stop saw us driving clear across the country again, retracing our footsteps to arrive at the edge of the Westfjords in Hólmavík. This time, we were performing at Sauðfjársetur á Ströndum, another local sheep museum, for their small Summer festival. The following stop was Siglófjörður, where we would perform the Folk Music Festival and enjoy more days of unprecedented sunny weather in the north.

*Performing for sheep at Bjarteyjarsandur*

After a week that brought us all around the country, we finally made our way back to Reykjavík, where we performed the three last concerts of the tour in Iceland. We're so grateful for the people we met here, and of course to perform as a trio for the first time alongside Hafdís. It's been a strange and educational experience to try performing in such unconventional venues, and the novelty of driving via electric car, charging once an hour, is still not lost on us.

In our last day on the island, we were so lucky to also have the chance to visit the volcano, once again thanks to Hafdís and her electric car. It was definitely a life changing experience, especially after seeing the eruption broadcast live all throughout the month.

The Faroe Islands

Our travels continued from Iceland directly to the Faroe Islands, where we stayed one week. This time, we paired with Arnold Ludvig, a Faroese bassist and composer who wrote his own version of music for sheep and people that we played together at Navia, a local wool and sweater company’s shop. Arnold has a fantastic spirit, and among all the remarkable things about him is that he’s been playing together as a trio with two other Faroese musicians for 30 years - it’s incredibly inspiring to us! It was so fun to meet again with familiar faces from the Summartónar Festival, who hosted this concert, and to explore these beautiful islands further.

One highlight was finally making the trip to Gásadalur, a small town known for its waterfall that plunges straight into the ocean. Without any public transport options, we were able to get there hitchhiking and by following the old postal route over the mountain. Before a tunnel was constructed in 2006, that trail was the only way to get into the town overland.