A Week or Two in the Real World or "DRUM up !!!"
________________________________________________
"Nature is my God, my guide and correction," BOINE explains.
"Nature is the mirror of what is inside all of us. Without the connection to nature I would be lost."
♫ Mari Boine Persen & Liu Sola - Maze! ♫
____________________________________________________
∎ Joik
____________________________________________________
The track "Maze" is taken from the sampler album "A Week or Two in the Real World" (2007). With the voices of Mari Boine Persen and Liu Sola. Listen & Enjoy it.
"Nature is my God, my guide and correction," BOINE explains. "Nature is the mirror of what is inside all of us. Without the connection to nature I would be lost."
Listening to her music is very much like listening to nature itself, something we'd be well advised to do more of.
BOINE was born in Karasjohka, a small town in the Arctic regions of Norway that are also part of what is known as Samiland, named after the indigenous people whose blood she shares. The Samis were colonised by Christians, and their culture slowly eroded until it was dismissed as worthless, so BOINE became acutely aware of notions of conformity early on. Her music has always been fiercely proud of her heritage, seeking to celebrate Sami culture while bringing it to a wider audience, fired initially by her anger at the contemporary treatment of their traditions.
But though she has not mellowed in her beliefs, convictions so strong that she refused to perform at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994 on the grounds that she did not want to be used as "an exotic decoration", she has always sought new ways to integrate her ideology into her work. Her blend of Sami folk traditions -- in particular the yoik -- with contemporary rock, jazz, electronica and other musical forms sourced from around the planet has made her a revered figure at home and abroad. From the release of her second album, Gula Gula (from 1989), on Peter Gabriel's Real World label, to 2007's collection of remixes by such acclaimed artists as Mental Overdrive and The Knife, her international status has been unquestionable.
Her songs are strongly rooted in her experience of being in a despised minority. Most of her songs are sung in Sami, speaks directly of 'discrimination and hate'. Her other songs are more positive, singing of the beauty and wildness of Sapmi (Lapland).
She sings in a traditional folk style, using the yodelling 'yoik' voice, with a range of accompanying instruments and percussion.
BOINE continue to push back boundaries, challenging listeners with bold musical initiatives and a rejection of expectations, all the time enchanting and invigorating her audience with her unearthly, haunting voice. And while the fact that she trades in a sound inspired by her cultural roots, sung largely in the language of her ancestors -- a language being slowly eroded by Western influences -- has led to her being classified as a 'world music' artist, her horizons are much greater and her appeal more far reaching than this might suggest. It is, as she herself suggests, "global music from the universal heart."
In a world that seems to spin increasingly fast, where shrinking borders are leading to the mass homogenisation of culture instead of enriching it, BOINE'S voice -- pure, worldly-wise and yet otherworldly -- is more vital than ever. Listening to her music is very much like listening to nature itself, something we'd be well advised to do more of.
Biography:
Mari Boine was born on November 8th 1956 in Gámehisnjárga by Karasjok. Educated teacher from the Regional College in Alta. Full-time musician since 1985. Her debut album Jaskatvuoda manna came in 1985, her breakthrough came in 1989 with Gula Gula .
Music can touch on strings you might not know you had. It can provide meaning, but it can also create moments which can't be defined. Moments which go to your core, that touch some sort of primal instinct, and that put you in a trancelike condition. Music can confuse you. But it can also make you feel happy, uplifted or enriched. And maybe even more whole.
Mari Boines music has this effect. You can't leave a meeting with Mari and her music untouched. That is, if you dare to let her get close. Her music is actually simple. It is in the meeting between the songs, her voice and the musicians in the band that it gains strength. And in the interaction with the listener, because you must meet Maris music with an open mind. If you dont give of yourself, you might not discover the wealth she has to offer.
Because Mari is exceptional. She is an artist who is difficult to categorize. Perhaps she's a Sámi artist, perhaps she's a practitioner of world music. Perhaps she makes music in the borderline between Sámi, other folk music, jazz and rock. Perhaps she's the sum of all this. Or perhaps she's just herself. A musician, singer and artist who's making her own mark. Who has gone down a road where she hasn't always seen the destination. And who is still travelling.
A Week or Two in the Real World or "DRUM up !!!"
________________________________________________
"Nature is my God, my guide and correction," BOINE explains.
"Nature is the mirror of what is inside all of us. Without the connection to nature I would be lost."
♫ Mari Boine Persen & Liu Sola - Maze! ♫
____________________________________________________
∎ Joik
____________________________________________________
The track "Maze" is taken from the sampler album "A Week or Two in the Real World" (2007). With the voices of Mari Boine Persen and Liu Sola. Listen & Enjoy it.
"Nature is my God, my guide and correction," BOINE explains. "Nature is the mirror of what is inside all of us. Without the connection to nature I would be lost."
Listening to her music is very much like listening to nature itself, something we'd be well advised to do more of.
BOINE was born in Karasjohka, a small town in the Arctic regions of Norway that are also part of what is known as Samiland, named after the indigenous people whose blood she shares. The Samis were colonised by Christians, and their culture slowly eroded until it was dismissed as worthless, so BOINE became acutely aware of notions of conformity early on. Her music has always been fiercely proud of her heritage, seeking to celebrate Sami culture while bringing it to a wider audience, fired initially by her anger at the contemporary treatment of their traditions.
But though she has not mellowed in her beliefs, convictions so strong that she refused to perform at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics in 1994 on the grounds that she did not want to be used as "an exotic decoration", she has always sought new ways to integrate her ideology into her work. Her blend of Sami folk traditions -- in particular the yoik -- with contemporary rock, jazz, electronica and other musical forms sourced from around the planet has made her a revered figure at home and abroad. From the release of her second album, Gula Gula (from 1989), on Peter Gabriel's Real World label, to 2007's collection of remixes by such acclaimed artists as Mental Overdrive and The Knife, her international status has been unquestionable.
Her songs are strongly rooted in her experience of being in a despised minority. Most of her songs are sung in Sami, speaks directly of 'discrimination and hate'. Her other songs are more positive, singing of the beauty and wildness of Sapmi (Lapland).
She sings in a traditional folk style, using the yodelling 'yoik' voice, with a range of accompanying instruments and percussion.
BOINE continue to push back boundaries, challenging listeners with bold musical initiatives and a rejection of expectations, all the time enchanting and invigorating her audience with her unearthly, haunting voice. And while the fact that she trades in a sound inspired by her cultural roots, sung largely in the language of her ancestors -- a language being slowly eroded by Western influences -- has led to her being classified as a 'world music' artist, her horizons are much greater and her appeal more far reaching than this might suggest. It is, as she herself suggests, "global music from the universal heart."
In a world that seems to spin increasingly fast, where shrinking borders are leading to the mass homogenisation of culture instead of enriching it, BOINE'S voice -- pure, worldly-wise and yet otherworldly -- is more vital than ever. Listening to her music is very much like listening to nature itself, something we'd be well advised to do more of.
Biography:
Mari Boine was born on November 8th 1956 in Gámehisnjárga by Karasjok. Educated teacher from the Regional College in Alta. Full-time musician since 1985. Her debut album Jaskatvuoda manna came in 1985, her breakthrough came in 1989 with Gula Gula .
Music can touch on strings you might not know you had. It can provide meaning, but it can also create moments which can't be defined. Moments which go to your core, that touch some sort of primal instinct, and that put you in a trancelike condition. Music can confuse you. But it can also make you feel happy, uplifted or enriched. And maybe even more whole.
Mari Boines music has this effect. You can't leave a meeting with Mari and her music untouched. That is, if you dare to let her get close. Her music is actually simple. It is in the meeting between the songs, her voice and the musicians in the band that it gains strength. And in the interaction with the listener, because you must meet Maris music with an open mind. If you dont give of yourself, you might not discover the wealth she has to offer.
Because Mari is exceptional. She is an artist who is difficult to categorize. Perhaps she's a Sámi artist, perhaps she's a practitioner of world music. Perhaps she makes music in the borderline between Sámi, other folk music, jazz and rock. Perhaps she's the sum of all this. Or perhaps she's just herself. A musician, singer and artist who's making her own mark. Who has gone down a road where she hasn't always seen the destination. And who is still travelling.