Sawdust & Rust

Sawdust & Rust was born after a chance meeting on Greenland in 2015 between Swedish singer-songwriter Patrick Rydman and Faroese singer-songwriter Benjamin Petersen, who goes under the artist name Son of Fortune.

They both took part in the Arctic Sounds Festival in Sisimiut that year, and also attended a Listening Room Songwriting Retreat in connection with the festival where they wrote Caroline together. An idea to collaborate further was hatched. Fast forward to March 2017, and Patrick is finally in Benjamin’s Studio Bunkarin (The Bunker) in the Faroese capital of Tórshavn, laying down seven tracks that will become the foundation of a whole album.

Benjamin is co-producing and playing electric guitars, Mikael Blak is playing the bass, Knút Háberg Eysturstein plays the keys, Per I. Højgaard Petersen is behind the drums while Patrick is the lead vocalist and plays the acoustic guitar and percussion. In between the studio sessions, Patrick is introduced to the Faroese weather (mostly rainy but with the occasional sunny day perfectly suited for a dramatic seaside run), Faroese food (like fermented sheep) and plenty of local beer (watch out, it hits you from behind).

Back in Gothenburg, Sweden, additional tracks are recorded, including Leaving a Memory, recorded by Simeon Pappinen Hillert in Studio Elenette with guest appearances by Elin-Louise Ahlberg on lead vocals and Gustav Bäcklin on banjo and electric guitar. Files are travelling at lightning speed back and forth across the ocean to be mixed and mastered. Most of the songs on the record are from Patrick’s life as a travelling songwriter where he has met and written with other writers from around the world. The stories and lyrics revolve around life, love and death, reflections on free will and choice, relationships, longing and letting go. Melodic and accessible, this is poetic, soulful and catchy songwriting with lots of rootsy, folky elements and a touch of good old Nordic melancholy thrown into the mix. Welcome to a world where creation and decay walk hand in hand.

More information about Sawdust & Rust at the official website.