joik

[baleanoptera]

Yesterday I went to an evening of lectures about Norwegian culture, and the problems of researching Norwegian culture while being a Norwegian. the main problem is how to distance yourself from the material enough to be critical. There were quite a lot of interesting lectures, but the highlight for me was the concert at the end by the band Adjagas. (and I'll admit that the concert was one of the reasons I went in the first place. Hee)

The two members of Agjagas are indigenous Saami, and their music is a mix of the old Saami song technique of Joik (pronounced yoik) and modern, jazz inspired music. The result is some really gorgeous music.

This is their most famous song Mun ja mun. I'm including the video and not the song here, and I'm doing that for two reasons. One, the video is absolutely stunning. There is nothing fancy about it, but the black and white photography is gorgeous and the light nearly translucent. (Have I mentioned how black/white is possibly my favourite photo medium? Hee) Secondly Adjagas' primary income is a cultural scholarship from the Norwegian state, and this is based on the numbers of cd's they sell. So uploading a song feels a bit wrong. It is one thing to share music when the artist has a wide audience, another when the band strives to get attention in tiny Norway.

So please, take a break and listen & watch. It's worth it, I promise.

Comments

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I love it - it has is that "Northern melancholy" (as one of Russian poets called it) which always strikes a chord with me.

[the-scepter.livejournal.com]

I took a break, and it was worth it:]thanks:]

I remember a short docummentary at uhm..Discovery Channel[?]--the 1st time I've heard about joik. Wish I could find it somewhere, it also had an amazing ambience.

I read the comments as well: some are just unexpectedly stupid, but I like this one:"I love falling to sleep to Adjagas' album. Maybe not so strange considering "Adjagas" means the state between dreaming and being awake. :)"(thought only you could verify the last sentence, but wiki confirms that meaning;)

[sunnyskywalker]

That is amazing! You're so lucky to have seen them live. The black and white is stunning - it's like their eyes burn right into you.

In an interesting coincidence, I've just started working at a library, and we just got a book in called Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. I had to process it, so I didn't get a chance to examine it thoroughly, but I gathered that the title comes from a famous poem and that it's about a girl who finds out that her recently-dead father isn't really her father. Her real father was a Saami. So she heads off to find the other half of her family. I want to check that out and see if it's good.

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

I think Northern Melancholy describes them quite well. And it strikes a chord with me too - but then it is not the first time you and I share a similar taste in music. ;)

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

So glad to hear you liked it!

And comments on You Tube are always a bit dumb - and yet I keep reading them. hee.
And I didn't know Adjagas meant that actually. You see the name is in the Saami language, and that is a separate language entirely from the Norwegian I speak. Now all Saami speak Norwegian as well, but very few Norwegian speak Saami. And sadly I'm not among the ones that do. But I do like the meaning of the name - a lot! :)

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

it's like their eyes burn right into you.


Ooh, I like that description. yes - that exactly it. And that books sounds really interesting. When you have the chance could you tell me the name of the author, because I would really like to check it out.

And I do envy you a library job. I just love the thought of being surrounded by so many books. Hee. I hope it goes well?

[sunnyskywalker]

Just looked it up - it's by Vendela Vida.

The library job is really fun so far. It's at a small school, and the librarian was actually my teacher for two years and she's awesome. So we do cool things like celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday and having (dry) speakeasies.