Nieguid Duovdagat

Northern Sámi musician Ánnámáret (aka Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman) takes a dramatic leap forward with this powerful release, after two albums featuring more conventional Finnish folk singing and musicians from Värttinä and Gájanas. Here, with a new stripped-down trio, she focuses on joik chanting, inspired by archive recordings of her grandfather. Ánnámáret's commanding voice could surely carry across the fells of the Finnish-Norwegian frontier, where her family herds reindeer. She repeats melodic phrases, adding subtle changes like a minimalist composer or gamelan orchestra; it is music rich in microtones. Challenging and cliche-free, this album is a grower that reveals its strength with repeated listens. Its dramatic arc gains tension on the second track, ‘Nuppi Beadle’ (On the Other Side). At first, gentle lullaby-like vocals bring to mind Central African pygmy singing. The mood turns stormy with percussive strokes of Ilkka Heinonen's jouhikko (bowed lyre), with crashing electronics and breathy shakuhachi from Turkka Inkilä. The track finishes with harsher multi-tracked vocals.

Ánnámáret's wide palette of expression carries through the sweep of the album, climaxing with ‘Johtit Ain’ (Still Migrating), an anthem of feminism and nature protection with a techno edge that reflects the journey of ancient joiks into the future.