News of Norway issue 7, 1995
One of Norway's most exciting musicians, Mari Boine, will perform in New York on October 3 and in Washington, D.C. on October 6. Clearly a composer of today, she nonetheless draws deeply from her Sami heritage and the folk music of Scandinavia's northernmost culture which ranges through Norway, Finland and Sweden. Boine is one of the pathfinders in the new Sami music.
She grew up in the village of Gamehhisnjarga in northern Norway. The first music she heard was the psalm singing of the Laestadian denomination, a Pietistic movement popular among the Sami people. This song tradition, not unlike African-American spirituals, is only one of the sources of Boine's music. The Sami joik or chant is another profound influence, and her compositions blend both of these Sami traditions with contemporary musical forms including jazz and rock.
In recent years, ethnic music and exotic forms of expression have gained popularity along with global awareness of the environment. Is there a common denominator here?
The Danish critic Anders Beyer wrote recently, "There is substance in Mari Boine's world. On stage she has so much charisma and energy that you are taken by storm. But the seduction is also grounded in respect for the purely musical. The vitality of her songs in varied instrumentations and interpretations leaves room for the finest nuances. Nowhere in Boine's music will you find a 'muddy' passage. And then she is surrounded by musicians with a miraculous ability to listen and play together. They know when to take center stage in the sound as soloists, and when to act as faithful accompanists."
The musicians in Boine's band play a variety of instruments, combining bass, keyboards and guitar with Indian flutes and ethnic drums. Cultural identity is inherent in everything Mari Boine does, but cultural identity is never to be taken for granted. "I was bitter and full of what I regarded as righteous anger. I have been through every possible stage to reach where I am today. At school we learned that Sami culture and the Sami language were worthless. They were not worth preserving. Believe me when I tell you that I was ashamed of being a Sami." Yet, she concludes, through song came strength.