Torgeir Vassvik
Sami artist Torgeir Vassvik blends diverse styles to create a form of expression that is coherent and easily identifiable, combining joik and the characteristic Sami frame drum with Siberian throat singing and natural sounds. The themes of many of Vassvik’s compositions revolve around a fusion of Sami joik and other music styles performed by other circumpolar minorities. Vassvik has also composed music for theater, including a production of Henrik Ibsen's On the Heights, and films. Vassvik manages to marry the past and the present on through his live performances and on disc. And though his releases and live performances introduce a distant musical tradition, it represents this tradition in contemporary manner that charges it with imaginative vitality. The past does not conflict with present or the future, instead meshing and completing these other dimensions in a magical way. 2006 saw the release of Vassvik’s debut album, ‘Sáivu’, which was produced by noted trumpeter and composer Arve Henriksen. ‘Sáivu’ has racked up an impressive list of rave reviews in the domestic as well as international music press – an allaboutjazz.com review sums is all up pretty well: ‘A beautiful and unique gem’.
Headlines:
Himmelkvad
Celebrated vocal ensemble Nordic Voices is currently out on its promo tour for their new outing ‘Himmelkvad’, a critically acclaimed album presenting Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen’s unique vocal universe. MIC Norway takes a closer look at the cutting-edge vocal ensemble and ground-breaking composer.
I was the devil in my younger years
Late Feb sees Enslaved heading out on a month-long European tour. MIC Norway hooked up with Enslaved’s Ivar Peersen to talk about musical cross pollination, inspirational sources, humour and his fascination for singer-songwriter Stein Torleif Bjella.
