Vajas - Norwegian Sámi music made great success in Prague

The concert was a powerful and beautiful journey through yoik, violin, chant and synthesiser. Together it reflects Vajas' courage and willingness to experiment, develop and transform indigenous music. Me and my friends had the great privilege to experience Vajas on Friday 19 November 2004 in an evening concert at Divadlo U hasico on Rimska 45 in Prague.

For us it was just perfect for healing of our body and soul.

In the romantic capital Prague (Praha) in Czech Republic, there was not much that reminded us of the tundra in northern Norway, but Vajas wonderful music seduced us and took us far away from the pulsating city life this weekend and into another world another time.

Our musical experience was an exciting and poetical meeting of the cold arctic breeze and the warm Sámi (Saami) people; especially as all of us became totally lost in the violinist and singer Kristin Mellem.

With her beautiful long blond curly hair, her long trendy but traditional dress, her emotional chanting and the sensual vibrating sounds she made with her violin, we were spellbound.

Kristin had a mysterious look and an image beyond this world. One could get a suddenly feeling of how a hulder from the old Norwegian myths would look.

Derived from the Sami's music culture and traditions
The members of Vajas started up inspired by their Sámi roots. They sought to preserve the enriched traditions of Sámi songs. The Sámi (Saemieh, the reindeer people) are an indigenous colourful people who represent an ethnic minority in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. There is also a small population on Russia's Kola peninsula .

The Samis language, traditional clothing, handicraft, and music, are distinctively different from other ethnic groups in Scandinavia. Still the music has the universal rhythm and power you can find in so many indigenous people's music all over the globe.

According to Vajas website, the group intends to renew the traditional yoiks of the past and stretch the limits of Norwegian folk music. Vajas takes modern concepts of sound to helpful new expressions by inviting yoiks to appear in new forms. Their vision is to give both yoiks and traditional Norwegian folk music a new stamp, without causing either to lose the energy that brought them to this meeting place. On the concert they managed to do this to the fullest.

The texts used in the songs are central to the vision and creation of Vajas. Traditionally, the lyrics of Sámi yoiks are considered strong and of a distinct character. They sing about nature, and you can often hear yoiks about animals, mountains, seasons etc. They often use metaphors, ironies and humour in their lyrics. The lyrics flow from the Northern Sámi language and are then rewritten into the more widely spoken languages of Norwegian and English for making all able to enjoy. That is why we think that Vajas will reach out to a wider audience, and we believe that the group could have a great international potential in the future.

Together they are dynamite
In the Vajas group there are three different musical voices from no rth: the folk musician Kristin Mellem, yoik artist Ande Somby and musician Nils Johansen from Bel Canto.

They gave us a beautiful arctic adventure through yoik, violin, song and synthesiser that became real memorable.

We could quickly understand that this was a new era in the Sami music and yoik.

All the three musicians live in Tromsř in the northern Norway. Ánde Somby is besides being a famous Sámi traditional yoiker also a well known legal scholar and Indigenous rights activist. Kristen Mellem is a classically trained violinist and composer who currently works with folk music, yoiking and community theatre.

He is a contemporary musician and composer, and was the music mastermind of the internationally celebrated group Bel Canto.

On the concert he impressed by making the sound picture so complete by playing on synthesiser and many other instruments that it sounded as a big orchestra.

Song that will not be forgotten
Kristin Mellem and her group members took the audience on a journey far deep in to the arctic. The beautiful music created imagines about the Sámi people culture and life. Singing about nature and animals as bears, wolfs, birds and Sámi life and culture. One of their best songs is called "Bear Footprints". Kristin's magic tones from the violin and her beautiful yoik lifted this song to great heights.

On another good song is "Tromsř Islands Yoik", which Ande Somby sang perfectly with his great energy. These are arctic musical tales from Vajas that will never be forgotten when you first have heard them.

Creation of such kind of music could be a good pop alternative to MTV's Hip Hop music. Earlier has Mari Boine from northern Norway made the Sámi music famous. We have also seen that Irish groups as Clannad and Altan singing in Gaelic, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Buena Vista Social Club, Rokia Traorč, Enigma, Deep Forest and Norwegian/Irish group duo Secret Garden, have become world famous over years. The popular Czech group Czechomor has also shown that traditional music in their own language could be very popular (listen to the CD Cechomor Promeny Tour 2003/Czechomor Transformations Tour 2003).

This music is both relaxing and challenging in the same time. Let your feelings grow, your dreams come and let you float away, then you will also be seduced by Vajas arctic music. It's a new music to the world, and what could better than that for they who are tired of Hip Hop from MTV.

The concert we attended gives great hope for Vajas, with Sámi culture and music traditions leading the way. So far they have already become an international phenomenon without realising any CD yet, but soon it will come, and then they will get their finale big breakthrough.