Mari Boine

Mari Boine

Mari Boine is a Sami musician from Karasjok, Norway. She is associated with joik, the traditional music of the Sami people, and is known for combining that form with jazz and rock. She performs with Mari Boine Band.

Background

Born in 1956, Boine grows up in Finnmark, Norway, amid the Laestadian Christian movement and in a context of discrimination against her people. Her work reflects both her Sami identity and her interest in expanding traditional yoik into a broader musical setting.

Career

Boine's breakthrough release is Gula Gula, issued in 1989 on Real World. She continues to record albums after that release, and her music is recognised for bringing together Sami vocal traditions with elements of jazz and rock.

Notable appearance

She is invited to perform at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, but declines because she sees the invitation as tokenistic.