Stanley Samuelsen

Stanley Samuelsen is one of the most highly praised Faroese songwriters. His melodic and beautifully haunting songs are accompanied by his impeccable fingerstyle guitar playing, which some might hear is influenced by esteemed guitarists such as Stephen Stills and John Renbourn.

In 1964 in the village of Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands, Stanley’s stage performance career began with a local band called Silly Boys, who played cover versions of Elvis, The Beatles, and Jim Reeves. Stanley went solo in 1990, and has consecutively released 8 albums since – the latest being Folk Songs From the Faroe Islands, where you will find some of his most essential songs on one recording.

Stanley sings mainly in Faroese, which is an old Nordic language. It bears resemblance to Icelandic and, together with that language, is the closest to what the Vikings (in Norway) spoke a thousand years ago. The Faroese written literature is very rich, and Stanley expertly composes melodies to some of best poems by J.H.O. Djurhuus, Jóannis Patursson, Poul F. Joensen, Hans Andreas Djurhuus, Andrass Samuelsen, Rikard Long, Christian Matras, Mikkjal á Rýggi, Fríðrikur Petersen, and Valdemar á Løgmansbø.

Stanley performs solo, as well as with strings or with a band. He tours every year throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, and has performed in many other countries in Europe, and he as even played in the U.S.

Visit his official webpage.

Watch his extensive Youtube video channel.

Here is a live performance of ‘Regn’ at Copenhagen Songwriters Festival, where he shows his extraordinary fingerstyle playing and melodic songwriting: