Mari Boine is one of the most prominent persons on the world music stage. She is the best known artist of her region. She lives in the North of Norway, and she belongs to Sami people. Her music is unique and difficult to categorize. Maybe because she was brought up in the tradition of joik singing, but she wants to be perceived as a part of the world music scene. Maybe because her music transgresses borders between world music, folk, jazz and rock. As she herself says – she has never seen before her the final goal of her activities – she was more interested in the journey and the search.
She made her debut in the beginning of 1980s, but she became famous only thanks to her album “Gula Gula”, which appeared in 1989, published by Peter Gabriel. The album made her a celebrity, a fashionable artist. Many people started regarding her as the ambassador of the Sami culture, even though she never perceived herself in this way:
“I cannot represent all my people. But I can tell my story as a Sami, this is my way to present a part of our history. I can tell about my pain and repression, but also about the joy of being a part of our culture, which is so close to nature. I wasn’t always so politically active – it came with the music”.
She cooperated with prominent musicians, including Jan Garbarek, Kari Bremnes, Ole Pause, Peter Gabriel.
Sample of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYevBLUtuLc
http://www.myspace.com/boine