JENS L. THOMSEN is a composer, artist, and producer based in the Faroe Islands. He holds an MSc in Environmental and Architectural Acoustics from London South Bank University and a BA in Music Technology from the University of West London. His work explores the intersection of art, technology, and the environment. Through his moniker ORKA, Jens has been nominated twice for the Nordic Council Music Prize.
The work unfolds as an immersive journey through vast, oceanic soundscapes, rooted in ancient, Faroese vocal traditions that seem to echo from the seabed itself. Drawing inspiration from the resonances of lost songs and the cultural memory embedded in maritime life, the piece channels the haunting timbre of ancestral singing—laments carried by water and time. These echoes give voice to generations of sailors who ventured into the open sea, many never to return, their fates intertwined with the rhythms of survival and sacrifice.
Here, the sea is more than a setting; it becomes a living force—both nurturing and merciless. It is depicted as the eternal provider that feeds the community, but also as the unforgiving taker of lives, holding both memory and mystery within its depths.
Thomsen’s work invites listeners into a liminal sonic environment, one in which the boundaries between land and water, death and life, begin to dissolve. It is an auditory meditation on the fragile line between survival and silence.
Composed by Jens L. Thomsen