Joik
 

The Sámi people live across the borders of northern Scandinavia, Finland, and throughout the Kola Peninsula of north-western Russia. Joik is their characteristic vocal tradition, with each joik traditionally used to invoke a person, animal, place, or experience. Despite being almost driven to extinction by missionaries and state officials, who viewed it as a heathen practice and a threat to cultural assimilation, joik survived. Formerly practiced by Sámi shamans (noaidi) in order to facilitate communication with the spirit world, traditional forms of joik continue to engage with the sacred on an essential level; one does not joik ‘about’ something; one simply joiks it

My own relationship with joik began in earnest in 2011 when I travelled to the Norwegian Arctic to carry out research for my undergraduate dissertation into connections between joik, the Arctic environment and Sámi identity. I immediately felt a deep connection with joik, and I've been in love with it ever since, returning north several times. On my debut EP (2017) I collaborated with the Sámi joiker Marja Mortensson, and in 2016 I recorded a radio piece on 'joiking the river' for Outlook on the BBC World Service. In the same year I organised a concert for the acclaimed joiker Ánde Somby at Cafe OTO in London. 

Joiking requires great skill, and the most accomplished Sámi joikers typically start learning at a young age and spend many years fine-tuning their art. This is part of what makes it beautiful, but it's also one of the many reasons why joik can be difficult for outsiders to get to grips with. 

As a songwriter I draw inspiration from joik aesthetics within my own creative practice, often in combination with Celtic influences.

Listen to my Sámi joik playlist on Spotify.