Singer, musician, activist and cultural icon Mari Boine has unveiled her new single “Mu eadni”. The track is taken from Mari’s full-length ‘Alva’, scheduled for release on the 6th of September 2024 via By Norse Music. The arrival of ‘Alva’ is greatly anticipated, as it marks the first new album of Mari Boine with her band in many years!
Mari comments about the new single: “Mu eadni / Mother of Mine is a song of love and lament for the woman who gave me life, and for all women who suffer under systems that shame and subordinate them. As a Laestadian Christian, my eadni was bound by strict gender roles, and that insidious association of the feminine with sin. She was taught to be self-denying: that her highest purpose as a woman was obedience. (To males, naturally, all the way down.)
When her daughters resisted, she felt it was a personal failure. And yet, she was Sámi, with echoes and stirrings from a much older worldview, one that celebrated the feminine, that found purpose in reciprocity, not hierarchies. Sometimes, I feel her with us, free from shame, sharing our freedom. Smoothing our fringe. Adjusting our belts. Asking us to twirl.”
Listen to “Mu Eadni” HERE
Credits “Mu eadni” / Mother of Mine
Lyrics: Mari Boine
Music: Mari Boine & Svein Schultz
Mari Boine – Vocals
Stein Austrud – VL1, synths & sampler
Georg Buljo – Electric guitar
Kristian Svalestad Olstad – Electric guitar
Gunnar Augland – Drums & percussion
Svein Schultz – Bass, worldstick & programming
Julie Whitehorn – English lyrics translation
Tracklist ‘Alva’
1. Die dien luohkkái / Up That Hill (05:16)
2. Dánsso fal mu váhkaran / Keep On Dancing Váhkaran (05:04)
3. Olamuttos letne ain / Still Within Reach (06:31)
4. Oidnojuvvon / Destiny (04:42)
5. Mu eadni / Mother of Mine (04:18)
6. Várjalivččet min vuolláneames / Keep Us From Giving Up (04:44)
7. Mieđušteapmi / Halfway Home (04:15)
8. Anárjoh’gáttis / By My Beautiful River (05:00)
9. Oainnestan / Glimpses (06:25)
10. Vuoi beaivi don eallima addi / O Beaivi Giver of Life (05:37)
11. Áhkánsuolu (05:27)
12. Rohkos / A Prayer (05:42)
13. Lean dás / I Am Always Here (04:35)
‘Alva’ is available for presales HERE
Biography Mari Boine
Singer, musician, activist, and cultural icon Mari Boine has long used her voice, musical or otherwise, to further her advocacy for the preservation of Sámi culture and identity.
From her exploratory debut Jaskatvuođa maŋŋá (After the Silence) in 1985, to the acclaimed and notable Norwegian-Grammy award winning Gula Gula (Hear the Voices of the Foremothers) in 1989, right up to the release of last year’s Amame with jazz pianist Bugge Wesseltoft, Mari Boine has consistently and proudly presented facets of Sámi life to her listeners. Now, with the release of Alva in September 2024, Mari aims to re-contextualise her activism for the wider Sámi community within the personal struggles she has faced on her way to becoming the resilient figure we see today.
On this album, Mari steps back towards her own roots, with songs like “Anárjoh’gáttis” (By My Beautiful River) offering glimpses into a childhood which she abandoned when she chose to leave behind a strict religious upbringing in order to pursue a life of activism and music. The poignancy of the record reaches an emotional high on the mournful “Mu eadni” (Mother of Mine), wherein Mari laments her own relationship with her mother. She is also found reflective on “Oainnestan” (Glimpses) when looking at the relationship she has with her son.
On Alva, Mari Boine seeks to find balance between a combination of difficult personal life circumstances, close relationships and her lifelong professional journey acknowledging her people and the many challenges indigenous people face. As she grew older and abandoned a complicated childhood, she also began to understand her true purpose and embarked on a prevailing, sometimes lonely mission of utmost importance – a mission to share the beautiful culture and histories of the Sámi people through music to people across the world.
Like so many people impacted by colonisation which we see throughout the world today and throughout history, the Sámi people (separated by Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) have been oppressed and deprived of their distinct indigenous culture and language since the 17th century. Mari’s music aims to convey a sense of oppression and frustration, anger and sorrow, which stems from this history. On Alva specifically, a Northern Sámi word which translates to energy, stamina or willpower, Mari’s compelling use of traditional joik singing bores through layers of history, encouraging the Sámi young people to;
Bring out, breathe out the stories
that ask to be told
With your light feet
trespass the border of time
«Dánsso fal, mu vàhkaran» / «Keep on Dancing, Váhkaran»
There’s an emancipated energy that is also reflected in the music, soaring to new heights over vast imagined landscapes of the tundra of Sápmi / Northern Norway. Mari Boine’s evocative musical language vocalises the inseparable bond between the Sámi people and the natural world. In comparison to her last album Amame, which comprised a naked and fragile arrangement of vocals and piano, Alva reflects the “willpower” of its name and takes the listener on a musical journey of exhilarating momentum spurred along by a full band.
Mari Boine says that if she could “compose” her own life, she would have wanted to be who she is right now, only 40 years ago. “Right now I feel whole” she says. “As complete as I wanted to be in my whole life”.
Mari Boine has recently been introduced to a much larger audience through her appearance in the Norwegian reality TV show “Hver gang vi møtes” (“Every Time We Meet”), which invites artists of all genres to interpret each others’ music. Other artists on the show have expressed their deep respect for Mari Boine, and have commented how challenging her own music has been to interpret. About the experience she comments, “I have wiped away some tears,” says Boine about her participation in the TV show, but confirms that there was also a lot of laughter too.
Mari Boine Live 2024 and 2025
13-06 Oslo – Piknik i Parken
29-06 Harstad – Festspillene i Nord-Norge
13-07 Kåfjord – Riddu Riddu
19-07 Kristiansand – Ravnedalen Live
20-07 Vikedal – Rootsfestival
01-08 Gibostad – Lysnes Ungdomshus SOLD OUT
02-08 Målselv – Moen Kulturlåve
15-08 Bodø – Torsdag i Parken
12-09 Elverum – Elverum Kulturhus SOLD OUT
14-09 Jessheim – Ullensaker kulturhus SOLD OUT
20-09 Kristiansund – Kulturfabrikken
21-09 Sunndalsøra – Sunndalsøra Kulturhus
22-09 Molde – Bjornsonhuset
26-09 Førde – Førdehuset
27-09 Sandane – Trivselshagen
28-09 Geiranger – Festspela
03-10 Sandnes – Sandnes Kulturhus
04-10 Bryne – Storstova
10-10 Strand
11-10 Suldal – Kulturhuset i Suldal
12-10 Sauda – Sauda Kulturhus
20-10 Oslo – Den Norske Opera & Ballett SOLD OUT
01-11 Mandal – Buen Kulturhus
02-11 Asker – Asker kulturhus SOLD OUT
03-11 Larvik – Bølgen Kulturhus
08-11 Steinkjer – Hilmarfestivalen
09-11 Oppdal – Oppdal Kulturhus
15-11 Zürch, Switzerland – Volkshaus
20-11 Kongsvinger – Radhus-Teatret
21-11 Lier – Lier kulturscene
22-11 Moss – Verket Scene
2025
17-01 Bergen – Grieghallen
18-01 Stavanger – Stavanger Konserthus
24-01 Ålesund – Parken Kulturhus
25-01 Trondheim – Olavshallen
08-02 Tromsø – Tromsø Kulturhus
09-02 Tromsø – Tromsø Kulturhus – EXTRA CONCERT
14-02 Hammerfest – Arktisk Kultursenter
15-02 Alta – Alta Kultursal
Click image to watch the video
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