Island, Danish musicians collaborate under artist exchange

An Island musician will join a Danish artist Thursday to perform an original song they co-wrote after meeting each other for the first time thanks to Music PEI's artist exchange program.

Nick Doneff, the winner of Music PEI's 2017 Musician of the Year award and Ida Wenoe, a successful folk singer-songwriter from Denmark, spent a day working together on the song, called If It Means Something.

"It's a very melancholic song that ended up being like that," said Wenoe. "We talked a lot about where it should be at."

The annual exchange program pairs artists from P.E.I. with artists from the U.K. and Denmark. The artists co-write a song, go on a tour of the Maritimes and then perform together.

Showcase performance

Doneff and Wenoe will each will perform their own music during a performance at the Trailside Cafe Thursday night before performing the song they wrote. 

Doneff said when he was asked by Music PEI to take part in the program, he didn't think it would happen so quickly.

"I didn't know much about it aside from that it was [in] connection with the organization in Denmark and someone would come here and I would go there," he said.  

Doneff will visit Denmark to participate in the Spot Festival, which takes place in May of 2018. 

Finding a new community

Each artist admitted they checked out each other's music when they found out about the pairing. 

While Wenoe said she has co-written songs with other artists, Doneff said he's never done it before. 

"I like the personal aspect of writing so it was a new thing for me," he said adding he had some reservations about it.

Wenoe describes the exchange experience as finding a new community, one she can collaborate with in the future. 

"That will make me want to come back because I'm already falling for this place for sure." 

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