Loga ášši sámegillii. – I was asked when I was going to retire, and then I answered that I never will, says Mari Boine. She recently finished the TV recordings for “Hver gang vi mötes” and is a few days north to relax. But it doesn’t take long before she is rested. CHILD OF NATURE: Mari has found solace in nature and brought it with her into the music studio. Photo: Ellinor Skartland / news In the years after her previous Sami release “Idjagieđas”, she has prioritized spending time with her grandchildren as well as writing and tournaments. It has resulted in new music. The two high-profile musicians Mari Boine and Bugge Wesseltoft have teamed up again and made her twelfth album “Amame”. NEW COLLABORATION: While their previous album from 2002 is one of Mari’s most electronic albums, the pianist Wesseltoft appears in this album. Photo: Knut Bry Several have described the album as so intimate that at times it can feel like you are sitting in her living room. – I think the world needs it, especially the Sami world where we can often be quite hard on each other. We have had to be tough to survive, she says. Fighting spirit Boine grew up in a home where joiking was referred to as the work of the devil, but out in the wider world she is praised for her Sami music. It has long been important to her to fight in a world where indigenous rights and areas are constantly under pressure. Therefore, she wanted to show her support to the young campaigners in Oslo who campaigned in February in connection with the Fosen case. SUPPORT CONCERT: World artist Mari Boine played in February at a support concert for the Fosen case together with Elle Maija Klæfstad Bær, who is currently featured in “Stjernekamp”. Photo: Kristine Kjendalen / news – I know that my songs are also medicine. That’s why I wanted to be there and show my support, she says. She had her big breakthrough with the fight song “Gula Gula” over 30 years ago. The joik she recorded in the 90s, “Máze”, which was made in connection with the Alta case, is still a symbol of the environmental movement and Sami rights struggle. Away from the mind Now she again conveys her concern and love for nature, but the approach is different. – I have already made the songs where I express anger and they are still relevant. In my next album the anger comes out more again, but right now I think the world needs songs that they can find solace in. SILENCE: In nature, Mari gets peace and quiet to make new music. Photo: Ellinor Skartland / news This time she uses her meditative joik and soft Northern Sami stanzas accompanied by Bugge Wesseltoft on piano. – I think natural people all over the world feel a sadness and suffer when we see that money and power destroy, and that this destruction seems unstoppable. Amame can be translated as “so not we two” from Northern Sami and testifies to a Sami way of thinking, but also means “love me” in Spanish. – I try to make songs that give us strength, so we don’t give up. That is what the world needs, so that everything does not go to waste, so that nature is not destroyed, she believes. Bigger than people think Music journalist Arne Berg believes that Mari Boine is one of Norway’s foremost musical ambassadors in the world. He has followed her since the beginning of her career and praises her for trying something new. IMPRESSED: Host of news’s music program “Jungeletelegrafen” Arne Berg believes that Mari Boine challenges both herself and her listeners with the new album. Photo: Anikken Sunde / Anikken Sunde – news – It’s so nice to see a grown-up artist, she is in her 60s, who dares to do something completely different and who does it so convincingly and to such a degree with her integrity intact, says Berg. Despite singing in a language few understand, she has achieved great success. – Her voice reaches right into people’s souls, even if you don’t understand the language, says Berg. The fact that Mari and Bugge will play the opening concerts at Oslo World and Bergen International Music Festival, among others, therefore does not surprise the music journalist. – She plays all over the world and is a name that everyone wants and which is certainly not cheap to get hold of, because she has a big name, but at the same time I am quite sure that all those concerts will be sold out. Returned home Since she started playing music as a 24-year-old, she has been on stages all over the world and received awards and accolades such as Spellemannspriser, the Sami Council’s honorary prize in 1992, the Nordic Council’s music prize in 2003. Nevertheless, it is not until the last decade that she has been able to listen to her own music, she says. WISDOM: Mari believes that she has benefited from growing up, because now she feels confident in her music and her voice. Photo: Ellinor Skartland / news – For many years I did not like hearing my own voice. My albums were for others to listen to, not for me. I feel a sense of security that I didn’t have before. With two upcoming albums, she is hopeful and energetic. Mari is crystal clear about her future plans. At least she has no plans to give up. – I will sing for so long that hopefully I will be able to take my last breath on stage. I think that would have been the most beautiful death for a singer, she says with a smile.
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“The whole world” listened to Mari Boine – but not herself – news Sápmi
