Singer, musician, activist, and cultural icon Mari Boine has long used her voice, musical or otherwise, to further her advocacy for the preservation of Sámi culture and identity.
From her exploratory debut Jaskatvuođa maŋŋá (After the Silence) in 1985, to the acclaimed and notable Norwegian-Grammy award winning Gula Gula (Hear the Voices of the Foremothers) in 1989, right up to the release of last year’s Amame with jazz pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, Mari Boine has consistently and proudly presented facets of Sámi life to her listeners. Now, with the release of Alva in September 2024, Mari aims to re-contextualise her activism for the wider Sámi community within the personal struggles she has faced on her way to becoming the resilient figure we see today.
On this album, Mari steps back towards her own roots, with songs like “Anárjoh’gáttis” (By My Beautiful River) offering glimpses into a childhood which she abandoned when she chose to leave behind a strict religious upbringing in order to pursue a life of activism and music. The poignancy of the record reaches an emotional high on the mournful “Mu eadni” (Mother of Mine), wherein Mari laments her own relationship with her mother. She is also found reflective on “Oainnestan” (Glimpses) when looking at the relationship she has with her son.
On Alva, Mari Boine seeks to find balance between a combination of difficult personal life circumstances, close relationships and her lifelong professional journey acknowledging her people and the many challenges indigenous people face. As she grew older and abandoned a complicated childhood, she also began to understand her true purpose and embarked on a prevailing, sometimes lonely mission of utmost importance - a mission to share the beautiful culture and histories of the Sámi people through music to people across the world.
Like so many people impacted by colonisation which we see throughout the world today and throughout history, the Sámi people (separated by Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) have been oppressed and deprived of their distinct indigenous culture and language since the 17th century. Mari’s music aims to convey a sense of oppression and frustration, anger and sorrow, which stems from this history. On Alva specifically, a Northern Sámi word which translates to energy, stamina or willpower, Mari’s compelling use of traditional joik singing bores through layers of history, encouraging the Sámi young people to;
Bring out, breathe out the stories
that ask to be told
With your light feet
trespass the border of time
(«Dánsso fal, mu vàhkaran» / «Keep on Dancing, Váhkaran»
There’s an emancipated energy that is also reflected in the music, soaring to new heights over vast imagined landscapes of the tundra of Sápmi / Northern Norway. Mari Boine’s evocative musical language vocalises the inseparable bond between the Sámi people and the natural world. In comparison to her last album Amame, which comprised a naked and fragile arrangement of vocals and piano, Alva reflects the “willpower” of its name and takes the listener on a musical journey of exhilarating momentum spurred along by a full band.
Mari Boine says that if she could “compose” her own life, she would have wanted to be who she is right now, only 40 years ago. “Right now I feel whole” she says. “As complete as I wanted to be in my whole life”.
Mari Boine has recently been introduced to a much larger audience through her appearance in the Norwegian reality TV show "Hver gang vi møtes" ("Every Time We Meet"), which invites artists of all genres to interpret each others’ music. Other artists on the show have expressed their deep respect for Mari Boine, and have commented how challenging her own music has been to interpret. About the experience she comments, "I have wiped away some tears," says Boine about her participation in the TV show, but confirms that there was also a lot of laughter too.
