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Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, in Northern Sami Áilu and under the artist name Áillohaš, was a Finnish-Sami writer, musician and visual artist. He was born in 1943 in Enontekiö, into a family of nomadic Sami reindeer herders, and died on 26 November 2001. His mother tongue was Northern Sami, but like many Sami children in the 1950s he received no schooling in it, and only as an adult did he learn to write in his own language. He became one of the best-known representatives of Sami culture.
Music and breakthrough
As a musician he first performed as an interpreter of the traditional joik and played a central role in the revival of that genre. His debut record Joikuja appeared in 1968. In 1973, on a retreat with folk and jazz musicians, he was inspired by Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 and the spirituals in it, and so he developed fusion joik. Together with Seppo Paakkunainen he made Juoigansinfonija, a jazz joik symphony. In 1978 came Sámiid eatnan duoddariid. His music was controversial, partly because of the jazz elements and partly because strictly devout Sami often regarded the joik as sinful. From 1968 to 1994 he released thirteen records. Goase Dušše (The Bird Symphony), built from nature sounds from Sápmi, received a special jury prize at the Prix Italia in 1993. In 1994 he performed at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
Influence
For his poetry collection Beaivi, áhčážan he received the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 1991. Mike Oldfield used a recording of Valkeapää in Prayer for the Earth on The Songs of Distant Earth in 1994. Valkeapää brought the joik to a worldwide audience and showed that this ancient form of song can go together with jazz.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1988Beaivi, Áhčážan
- 1988Eanan, Eallima Eadni
- 1992Beaivi, Ahcazan
- 1992Sápmi, Lottázan
- 1994Goase Dusse: The Bird Symphony
- 1998The Magic of Sámi Yoik
- 1999Dálveleaikkat: Wintergames
- 2009Vuoi, Biret Máret, Vuoi!
- 2010Alit Idja Lahkona - Blue Night Moving Closer
Mentioned in other articles
- Joik Genre
Since Nils-Aslak Valkeapää's record of 1968, the joik has also been heard in pop and jazz.