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Marooned between the north of Scotland and Iceland, the tiny Faroe Islands previously had few claims to fame other than it had a rubbish international football team and a penchant for whaling. However, all that changed when singer/songwriter Teitur Larssen emerged on the international scene bearing some truly beautifully crafted songs.

With a new album coming our way in 2010, we caught up with Teitur to discuss proper planning, illegal file-sharing and the art of er, storytelling.

After gaining a reputation as a talented songwriter in his late teens, Teitur was signed to Universal Records for the release of debut album Poetry & Aeroplanes (2003), though this relationship ultimately soured. Following the album's relatively modest commercial success, the label bean counters started exerting new pressures on Teitur's creativity, and so he chose to depart in 2006.

"They signed me because they wanted to make money, but there are a lot of easier ways to make money," he said. "But it wasn't a problem just with Universal, it was a specific issue with my A&R as he wanted things done in a certain way and I didn't think that was the best. So I just felt that it was time for a change. It was sad because I was leaving people I had worked with and also the financial support, but it was OK as I had my audience. I also knew that I would be making records for a very long time. So I don't have any regrets."

Teitur creates subtly powerful songs which have a strong storytelling aspect. This skill with the pen (or perhaps more accurately, keyboard) taps into a legacy of songs being used to spread messages from place to place.

"I think at its very core, music is all about storytelling. That's how songs were born and how the music came about naturally. Songs are people, things, stories from the heart which are communicated to others. That's also how I remember songs. I grew up with the stories sung by people. They were songs that just needed to be played, you know, something that just had to be told. Each different culture tells a story about something different, and it's great to hear those stories."

As we speak, Teitur is in Paris, producing an album for a friend of his. This is one of the ways he stays stimulated between recordings, especially as he "quite easily gets bored doing the same thing". Which is fair enough, though it’s important to note that his fourth album, The Singer, was released back in February 2008, so its perhaps unsurprising that he will start work on a fifth album next January. As such he's been writing the songs "on the sidelines" while touring the world, which is part of his well planned approach to creativity.

"I'm definitely not the 'see what happens in the studio kind of guy," he said. "I prepare really well. For me, the studio is just the execution of everything. I do a lot of pre-planning and pre-arranging. A lot of the preparation is about choosing songs and the atmosphere, but I don't like to go into the studio and just wing it. "

Despite being born in the Faroe Islands, Teitur now resides in Copenhagen, Denmark. As such, his new album will most likely be recorded in the Danish capital, so he can "control a lot of problems" there compared to a more exotic location.

However, he is also keen to avoid the January chills by jetting off to somewhere warm.

"I'm quite attracted to going somewhere warm, considering its going to be January!" he said. "Maybe I will go to California, which would be nice, and I also know a lot of people there. But that might be a bit of a hassle with paperwork and stuff like that. I'm enjoying the idea of going abroad, but it's also a question of money."

Financial pressures are being felt all across the world at the moment as the economic downturn continues to bite and the business of music is no different, with artists increasingly having to think creatively about their revenue streams. A storm also erupted recently as music stars squared-up to the illegal file-sharing community which they claim is stealing money out of their pockets.

"We're obviously living in a time when the format is changing, in terms of how you actually pay for stuff," said Teitur. "It would be very nice if that was solved tomorrow, but that will take time. If you are really passionate, work hard and believe in what you do, then you'll be ok. I don't really view it as a job, though, in that it's unclear why someone making music should make a hell of a lot more money than someone who works in a store all day. It's a privilege being a musician. I just do it because it's always what I've done and it's what I'm good at. It wouldn't make sense for me to do anything else."

words: Andrew Laughlin

myspace.com/teitur