Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Ancient Forces | Berit Margrethe Oskal




*I claim no ownership or rights over this video.

Lyrics (Translated):
"Ancient forces, ancient dreams
Living thoughts, living hopes
We will not surrender,
we will not disappear"

Artist: Berit Margrethe Oskal

Song: Eamifámut (Ancient Forces)

This artist has been one of the reasons why I am usually glad about landing on the National Geographic channel when the rest of the television is bombarded with the same banal, mind numbing nonsense. I toppled over a show about the Sami culture in Europe. Apart from the impressive ammo, what captured me was the music of course. Then followed an aggressive internet search on the culture and its music.
Berit happened to be one of those gems that I managed to mine out. The bewitching effect that her music had on me is definitely beyond words. With closed eyes, it’s more of an experience and surprisingly gets you closer to nature (even if you are sitting in a concrete jungle amidst man made blasphemies). This particular track weaves a pagan magic and successfully creates something that is deeply personal and spiritual. Our limited vocabulary will never be able to do justice to describe how Sami folk music affects ones psyche and the experiences that come with the package.

About The Artist: 

Berit Margrethe Oskal is a Norwegian Joik artist and Sami musician. She is an upcoming performer who is mixing the traditional sound with modern music styles.

About Joik:
A joik, (also spelled yoik) is a traditional Sami form of music. 

Originally, joik was referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing. According to music researchers, joik is one of the longest living music traditions in Europe, and is the folk music of the Sami people. Its sound is comparable to the traditional chanting of some Native American cultures.

Some other pieces worth listening to:

Berit’s latest album “Fargga”

Other related Artists:
  • Ulla Pirttijärvi
  • Wimme Saari
  • Eivør  Palsdottir (Icelandic music)

2 comments:

  1. thanx for this well done report, i'm going to dig this further as she just electrified me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eivør Pálsdóttir is Faroese not Icelandic, the Faroe Islands are a province of Denmark.

    ReplyDelete

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