Sámi yoik

The Sámi artists are raising a storm in their local communities. Even though they are not often heard in the mainstream music scene, their importance for the local community is as strong as ever. Generations of Sámi people have had to figure out how to find themselves, how to have that balance between the two cultures – and music is such a helpful tool in this.

"Joik comes in many guises, and I have been obliged to accept that my joik language is mixed up with all sorts of things. The main thing, however, is that my joik language is for expressing my feelings on my own terms," writes Sámi musician Ánnámáret (Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman). This column is part of the series where composers and musicians write about their music.

“The music of Arctic Fire concert at the WOMEX 2019 was brave and contemporary, yet all of them drew in some way on archaic traditions in Finnish music.”

"Western African desert blues is definitely one of my favourite roots music genres – and yoik is another one. On Áššu’s debut album these two are combined in a fascinating way."

"​Vildá is a very refreshing addition to the Finnish world music scene, a combination of top-notch accordion playing by Viivi Maria Saarenkylä and the truly unique sounds that Hildá Länsman produces with her voice, both without words and in her native language, Northern Sámi."

Music has long been important in increasing international awareness about the Sámi. Their yoik singing has come to represent an often forgotten people on the edge of Europe. Singer and songwriter Hildá Länsman represents the youngest generation forging an identity between tradition and modernity.

"The duo’s fresh debut album is sung exclusively in their native Sámi language, and the yoik flows in the heart of the music."

"Stop! Listen! The tempi and moods keep changing, but the familiar and tested combination forms the backbone of Wimme and Rinne's new album, Human."

The huge tide of humanity that almost overwhelmed the 2017 NMD was also its triumph: a characteristic gift from London, European capital of creative curiosity and of the big crowd.

Ulla Pirttijärvi’s second album with the Ulda trio is a well-balanced whole. She stays surprisingly close to the luohti or yoik tradition, combining lyrics and wordless sequences in a very traditional way.

Is it OK for a Finn of the majority population to put on a fake Sámi costume bought in a joke shop and perform a Sámi yoik? Or to put on a feather headdress and dance a Native American dance? Where do we draw the line between cultural interaction and cultural appropriation?