The Faroe Islands sit about halfway between Scotland and Iceland, but somehow belong to Denmark. They’re frigid and rugged and beautiful, and at just under 1400 square kilometres they’re tiny; not much bigger than Hong Kong. They’re also sparsely populated: the entire population of the Faroe Islands could just about fit inside Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium.

I haven’t done a thorough check, but I’m pretty confident that Janus Rasmussen is the first musician I’ve featured who was born in the Faroe Islands. (Unless you count the fact that Rasmussen is also one half of Kiasmos, the duo featured in week 285.)

Rasmussen’s electronic soundscapes are evocative of the Faroe Islands; there’s harshness, there’s grandeur, there’s an odd feeling of isolation. But rather than a sad, disconnected isolation, it’s more of a by-yourself-on-a-mountaintop kind of isolation.

What makes this a beautiful song:

1. The stuttering kick drums at the opening.

2. The clattering percussion (like someone dropping a pair of drumsticks) that starts at 0:28.

3. After a couple of minutes of harsh rhythms, everything softens up at 2:08, and we get a minute of gentleness.

Recommended listening activity:

Hanging out by yourself on a mountaintop, imaginary or otherwise.

Buy it here.

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