Name: Fie Eike
Nationality: Danish
Occupation: Sound artist, composer, producer, vocalist, songwriter
Current release: Fie Eike’s debut album Water is out out now.

If you enjoyed this Fie Eike interview and would like to know more about her music and work, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and Facebook.  



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I often experience sensory responses when listening to music or sounds. I can’t explain exactly how, but it can be a physical sensation (like a tingling, chills etc.). Sometimes the sensory response is linked  to an emotion or feeling - but not always.

It depends on the situation, surroundings and mood whether I listen with my eyes open or closed. I love to listen to music while out in nature or while moving - walking or running. In these situations, music becomes more of an atmospheric experience to invoke ideas, stories or images, and I use my senses to take in the surroundings while I listen - looking at movements, light, people and interactions - seeing life unfold to the music as a kind of soundtrack.

For me, music is a very visual thing that I often associate with images. I also love going for walks and running when it’s dark and have had some incredible listening experiences on these evening adventures where the music comes alive in a completely different way.

But then there are other situations when I feel inclined to listen with my eyes closed and my headphones at home if I want a quiet reflective time to immerse myself completely in the music.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

I generally prefer listening with headphones - also when I’m working on music. There is a lovely kind of intimacy to listening with headphones, and it feels like a more personal and intimate space, where I get to choose what I take in from the outside world and just get to dive into the music on my own terms and notice all the details.

That said, there are also situations when I enjoy listening on speakers, for example when I listen together with other people, or when I’m working on music in the later stages of the mixing process. Then speakers can add what feels like a new perspective - like listening more from the outside - providing an overview.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

There are so many. I love discovering new artists that have crafted a distinctive sonic universe that is completely their own. It feels like experiencing the world in a new way.

Recent discoveries of beautiful music includes the album ‘stillness, softness’ by Hinako Omori …

[Read our Hinako Omori interview]



... and Rachael Lavelle’s debut album Big Dreams.



There are some albums that I will never forget the first time I heard them, like Tawk Tomahawk by Hiatus Kaiyote.

It resonated on so many levels, emotionally and it somehow felt like everything “fell into place” on a sensory level too.



It was also an incredible experience when I first discovered Linda Perhacs’ ‘Parallelograms’. I was completely mesmerized by it, and it really resonated on a deep level.



I also love the musical language and worlds of Debussy, Satie, Dobrawa Czocher, Lowly, Feist, Fiona Apple, Mariam the Believer, Kathryn Joseph, Nina Simone and many more. Recently I have also started exploring the work of PJ Harvey.

[Read our Dobrawa Czocher interview]

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

I often experience strong emotional responses and also sensory responses towards certain sounds and/or music. But I can’t necessarily pinpoint exactly how or why.

What I listen to changes quite a lot over time, and once in a while I come across a new piece of music which resonates very deeply and somehow makes sense on a very deep emotional and sensory level and somehow makes me feel like things fall into place in a way that I can’t quite describe. When that happens I will often listen to that particular piece or song on repeat for several days or even weeks. I also feel that way about certain sounds. Sometimes, a sound can inspire a whole new song or melody.

I also feel very attached to the sound of my piano which really moves me emotionally. I’ve only had it for about 4 years, and it took me almost 2 years to get acquainted with its sound and character. But now I absolutely love it. A couple of the songs on my debut album ‘Water’ were really inspired by its sound, and even more so for the music I am currently working on.

It was the same with my old piano, and also with the piano I grew up playing. It becomes a very intimate and collaborative relationship with the instrument that develops over time and I find that very inspiring and beautiful.

There can be sounds which feel highly irritating to us and then there are others we could gladly listen to for hours. Do you have examples for either one or both of these?

I think many sounds can potentially be irritating depending on how they are used or the context. I sometimes find repetition challenging to listen to, but I think it is a fine balance between when repetition becomes incessant and when it can add suspense and intrigue to a composition.

I played with repetition a lot for my song ‘The Nile’ on my debut album ‘Water’. Using a slow repetitive rhythm and piano notes, to create a kind of suspense, intrigue and an atmosphere of slight unease which for me matches the themes of the song. 


Fie Eike Interview Image by Asia Werbel

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I have such a love for discovering sounds, and am often documenting sounds in nature and on the go. This was also how I started recording water sounds that I used on my debut album “Water”. Just the other night I recorded two owls talking / responding to each other in the forest at night - so beautiful.

I generally love the sounds made by animals. My old dog used to sing along when I would sing or play the piano. In fact there is a very quiet note from him on one of the songs on the album. I left it in there in the background because I love the idea of having him as part of the album.

I also really love sounds created by movement on surfaces like walking through dry leaves or other types of organic or changing surfaces.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

My favourite place to record is at home on my piano in my living room. I am really lucky to live in a small, almost sound proof building in a very quiet courtyard in central Copenhagen where I can hardly ever hear any traffic because it doesn't face the street but is tucked away behind a large building.

Recording at home is so peaceful and really allows me to take my time and not feel pressure to complete things on a deadline.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

I do sometimes feel that composition and music production is like molding or sculpting something. Adding layers, subtracting, shaping until it feels right.

There are several tracks on my album ‘Water’ that were "sculpted" in this way, especially the more experimental ones like “The Wave” which is really a kind of pause on the album made entirely out of water sounds and the final track “Omrids II” which is a vocal piece.



Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

I really love the sounds of animals. Some of the most moving moments were with my old dog singing or howling along with me singing or playing the piano.

My childhood dog did the same, and I find it so moving when animals express this kind of soulful musicality.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

Personally I cannot be surrounded by sound every second of the day. For me, silence is just as important to sound, as darkness is to light. Silence can really feel like a breath of fresh air when you’ve been exposed to sound continuously.

I need moments of silence most days and after working intensely on music for a long period of time as I have done while recording and producing my debut album, I needed a long period where I didn’t even listen to music. I can sometimes go a few months without listening to music. And then at other times I listen to music every day.

For my next project I am exploring silence a lot more in recordings. Silence can be just as powerful as sound but they are so interlinked I think and really add to each other.

Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

It is an interesting thought. I think listening more could definitely be beneficial, but I think it also depends on how we listen.

Truly listening is something I believe we can spend a whole life learning. Some people live a whole life without ever really listening.