Viking Magazine - February 2021 - 16

St. Olav for
her artistic
diversity.
Platinum-award
winning music
trio KEiiNO made
their debut in
2019. Their sound
combines dancepop
with Nordic
folk and joik.
keiino.com
told them about our musical
heritage, " she says. " They
accepted the demonization
of the joik and, of course,
were horrified when their
daughter started to perform
these songs. "
Nevertheless, Boine felt
she had no choice but to
become a musician. " The
music chose me. I just had
to go where it took me, "
says the singer-songwriter,
whose voice has become
synonymous with joiking
since she made her debut
in the 1980s. Boine has
since released 14 CDs,
received numerous awards
for her work and was even
appointed a knight in the
Royal Norwegian Order of
" My culture,
my ancestral
heritage, is my
breath, " says
Boine. " I am an
artist, one who
carries the old
songs and the
old wisdom,
and one who
carries the
torch given by the ancestors
with the flame that should
never go out. "
A Twist on Tradition
In recent years, Sámi culture
and joiking have seen a
revival, led by people like
Boine who don't want their
heritage to disappear. The
Sámi Act was officially
added to the Norwegian
Constitution in 1987,
safeguarding the Sámi
people's language, culture
and way of life. Joik is now
taught in schools from
kindergarten through college,
celebrated at festivals,
and incorporated into
mainstream musical genres
like jazz, rock and pop.
Born into a reindeer
herding family, Marja
Mortensson's music is
rooted in her Sámi way of
life. She has worked with
musician Frode Fjellheim
to bring new life to
Sámi joiks.
marjamortensson.no
16 VIKING FEBRUARY 2021
sonsofnorway.com
For example,
KEiiNO-a trio
that combines
dance-pop with
Nordic folk and
joik-placed
sixth while
representing
Norway in
the 2019
Eurovision
contest with
their song
" Spirit in the Sky, " which
also earned a Song of the
Year nomination at the
Norwegian Grammys.
Elle Márjá Eira, from a
Kautokeino-based reindeer
herding family-a common
profession among the
Sámi-emerged from the
small municipality of 3,000
to perform her electronicjoik
music on a global stage,
both solo and as part of the
three-piece band Snoweye
alongside Led Zeppelin's
John Paul Jones.
" Despite the continuous
battles to maintain our
languages and cultural
identity, there has been a
positive change in recent
years. Today, it feels safe
to be Sámi, " 25-yearold
South Sámi musician
Marja Mortensson told
Visit Norway. " It's like
the [joiking] traditions are
being revitalized. There
is a growing awareness,
especially among people in
my generation. "
But this musical tradition
isn't just experiencing a
resurgence in its native
Scandinavia. It's spreading to
the U.S., too. If you've seen
the 2013 Disney box-office
smash " Frozen " and its 2019
sequel " Frozen II, " you've
likely heard joiking, even if
you didn't realize it.
As Disney was working
on the Hans Christian
Andersen-inspired tale
about Queen Elsa and her
sister Princess Anna, they
reached out to Fjellheim to
reimagine one of his existing
compositions for the film.
pg 12-17.indd 5
12/16/20 4:03 PM
PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM BY JACK GUEZ / GETTY IMAGES, JØRN KRISTENSEN
PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM BY CREDIT: CHRONICLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, JARLE HVIDSTEN
http://www.keiino.com http://www.marjamortensson.no http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - February 2021

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