New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Norwegian/ Welsh Indie-folk duo, Firewoodisland, has shared their brand new single 'Storm' independently on the 15th of March. Firewoodisland has seen vast support from esteemed publications such as Earmilk, The 405, Q Magazine,
Clash Mag, and Noctis Mag while seeing even more support from popular radio establishments such as BBC
Radio 6's Radcliffe & Maconie and Tom Robinson, BBC Radio's Introducing In The West, The Sunday Request Show, Introducing
Music From Stoke and Norway's NRK P3. They've raked in the streaming numbers across digital streaming services as they currently boast more than 4 million streams and features on popular Youtube channels such as Wave of Good Noise, AlexRainBird, Indie Folk Central, and BalconyTV.
Their anthemic sound has been heard on stages at festivals like Corston Fields, Farmfest, Oxjam Cardiff Takeover, main support at Vikedal
Roots Music Festival and at BBC's Introducing stage at Latitude Festival 2017 as well as supporting Bear's Den on Record Store Day in St. Giles Church, London. On the 29th of March, Firewoodisland will be headlining Richer Unsigned's lunchtime showcase to an exclusive audience of music industry professionals. No stranger to television, their music has been featured in Saving Hope's promo advert, in several Teen Mom and Unge Lovende episodes, plus their single 'Soldier' will be featured on Netflix's 'Shadow Hunters' which is scheduled to air towards the end of February.
Currently based in Bristol, the duo finds their roots from different parts of Europe. Stian Vedøy grew up on Karmøy, a west-coast island in Norway, where his pianist mother and guitarist father always encouraged him to learn how to master the piano and guitar. This passion for music drove him to pursue his dream by studying music production at university, which led him to Cardiff, Wales where he started a solo music project; Firewoodisland. Abi Eleri grew up with her photographer father in the mountains of North Wales where she's been playing the trumpet and guitar, writing songs throughout, since a young age. This influence could stem from her grandfather, who was a professional French horn player. This artistic upbringing urged her to pursue a career in the arts as she moved to Cardiff to study illustration. It was here that she stumbled upon Stian, whereafter she quickly joined Firewoodisland, taking over all artwork for the duo.
A direct translation of Stian's surname, Firewoodisland moved their base of operations from Cardiff to Bristol where they've since flourished in the music and art scene where they've become heavily involved. Not only do they write and produce all of their own music, but they also offer their services to other artists in the area. Ever since forming in late 2013 they were the runners up in the nationals of Norway's Bandwagon
Battle of the Bands which allowed them to release their debut EP, ILD, in 2014, followed by several singles, second EP Dome in 2016 and their debut album
Chaos Is The
State Of The
Heart in 2018
A single listen to Firewoodisland's dynamic vocal harmonies and it's evident that they draw inspiration from indie/ folk heavyweights such as Bon Iver, Of Monsters and Men, and duo
Oh Wonder as they manage to capitalize on the best aspects of each, while still maintaining their own signature "mountain pop" sound. Perfectly blending digital and organic instruments, Firewoodisland's music is the perfect combination of their inspirations as the elements of Bon Iver, Of Monsters and Men and
Oh Wonder are evident throughout their music while also drawing similarities to the likes of Aquilo and
James Blake.
Their latest single, 'Storm', sees Firewoodisland push the piano to the spotlight as this soothing track immediately feels as though it speaks directly to your soul. Stian and Abi's impeccable harmonisation guides the listener through the storm as "
The wilder the storm / the quicker it goes / so give in or learn to let go" summarizes the whole track, as each passing bar you can feel Firewoodisland's production encapsulate you, encouraging the listener to close your eyes to truly immerse yourself in the experience.
On the inspiration behind their new single, Firewoodisland explains, "The idea for 'Storm' and most of the song shot down like lightning in the autumn of 2018. The weather was behaving really strangely and our neighbourhood ended up being the centre of a storm. This ironically mirrored our personal lives in a stressful and chaotic season. 'Storm' is about being able to accept and abide in the turbulent circumstances that you're in, and not to be consumed by them."
Live dates:
26 March: The Big Top, Cardiff
27 March: The Brunswick, Brighton
29 March: The Finborough Arms, London
30 March: The Louisiana, Bristol
"Firewoodisland mirror natural and emotional volatility in their breathtaking new song "Storm," a quaking tempest full of stirring indie folk beauty." - Atwood Magazine
"They'll be pillaging (in a good way) our playlists and camping out on our computers for the foreseeable future." - Earmilk
"They sound festival-sized, delivering uplifting anthems that would fit as comfortably on the radio as around the campfire." - Q Magazine
"Oh that's fantastically gorgeous, isn't it? Bit
Bon Iver for sure, but absolutely wonderful." - Mark Radcliffe, BBC 6 Music
"Sweet, wonderful, perceptive songwriting"- BBC Introducing
"Crisp rock riffs matched to campfire anthems, the band's songwriting has an assured, emotive feel." -
Clash Mag
