This week I had the honour of interviewing Faroese Christian band Nuntio, who you might recognise as I’ve mentioned them on my blog previously, reviewing their song ‘Never Alone’. I absolutely loved their answers for this interview, and I’m sure you will too!
1 – Who would you say is your biggest musical inspiration?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “Avicii inspired me to start making music on my computer.”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “Avicii.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “I think my biggest musical inspiration has to be Brian May of Queen. He did things on his guitar in the early seventies that were absolutely crazy, such as composing huge majestic harmonies, or emulating a huge variety of sounds, it was really groundbreaking and unheard of at the time. I think that he is the biggest reason I picked up the guitar.”
Dánjal Eliassen (keyboardist and synth player): “I find inspiration everywhere. Whether it’s from another band that makes similar music to us, to classical music, to the weirdest dubstep music ever known to man. Though I would say, since we try to make christian music, I do get a lot of inspiration from other (primarily on the older more traditional styled) christian artists. Steven Curtis Chapman, Adam Young, etc.”
2 – What is your favourite lyric from your single ‘Never Alone’?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “Side by side (the bridge part).”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “The first line: “In this life, nothing really goes as we planned.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “I think my favourite part of that song has to be the bridge, with the call and respond part.”
3 – What is your favourite lyric from your single ‘This Is Not The End’?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “Together we will stand.”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “I actually love the title.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “In this song I think my favourite part is the second verse. The song is about being there and supporting each other through hard times, and friendship in general. Verse 2 is about realizing that we can come a long way with great friends, and a good friend makes hard times a little less hard!”
4 – What is your favourite thing about your hometown?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “The silence and community.”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “The peace and community.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “It has to be the peaceful environment. It is a small village called Rituvík, with a population of approximately 300 people, so everyone kind of knows each other. Four of the band members are from Rituvík, and we do most of our recordings at our local church, where we have our roots.”
Dánjal Eliassen (keyboardist and synth player): “Definitely the make-shift studio we create in our church. Everytime one of us has an idea, we all pack all our instruments, computers and audio interfaces, take a 30 second drive to our local church (as the town has less than 500 people) and get producing. Occasionally, we have very talented guest singers and instrumentalists, who are willing to help us out with their skills. Most of the time, though, there are only 2 or 3 present at all times. About halfway through the production sessions, we order food from the local pizza shop, which creates a way closer dynamic between us, since it forces you to step away from the mental space of working, and start getting to know each other a bit better. So to make a long answer short, our community church.”
5 – Who would your dream collab be with?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “Casting Crowns”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “Casting Crowns.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “That’s a tough one! There are lot of amazing and supremely talented artists out there! We’ve had a few of our friends come in record vocals and/or instruments, which they have done an amazing job on, so hopefully we can do more collaborations in the future! Besides that I would love to be able to jam with one of my musical heroes someday.”
Dánjal Eliassen (keyboardist and synth player): “Honestly, we’ve already achieved this goal. Those aforementioned guest musicians have made our music ten times better than it otherwise would have been.”
6 – Do you have any hobbies besides music?
Pól Pállsson (rhythm guitarist): “I love to sleep.”
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “Gaming, History, Friends.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “I enjoy a good book or spending quality time with friends and family, and if the weather’s good then a long walk outside.”
Dánjal Eliassen (keyboardist and synth player): “I love the process of filmmaking. At the moment, we are trying to entertain the thought of music videos and behind-the-scenes looks into our production process, which is definitely a possibility, but at the moment, it’s just a thought.”
7 – What song do you believe describes you/your life?
Dávur Samuelsen (bassist): “Avicii – The Nights.”
Niclas Sólheim Højgaard (lead guitarist): “That’s another tough question…I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt a special connection to Times Like These by Foo Fighters.”