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'sartist exchange program.

NickDoneff, the winner of MusicPEI's2017 Musician of the Year award andIdaWenoe, asuccessful folk singer-songwriter from Denmark,spent a day working together on the song, calledIf It Means Something.

"It's a very melancholicsong that ended up being like that," saidWenoe. "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.

Doneffsaid 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 inthe Spot Festival, which takes place in May of 2018.

Finding a new community

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

While Wenoesaid shehas co-written songs with other artists,Doneff said he'snever 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.

Wenoedescribes 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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