Nordic-Sámi musician and storyteller Emil Kárlsen is now releasing a new single called “Heikka-vilba”. The track is a yoik inspired on the dovdna (traditional children’s yoik) that Emil sang to his cousin Heikka. The title translates to Cousin Heikka. Vilba is slang for vilbealli, meaning “cousin”.

Emil shares: “As a child, Heikka had a special running-style, almost jumping as he made his way, and sometimes he would surprise with comments that you usually expected from an older, wise man. These quirks layed the foundation for his dovdna.”

As Heikka grew up, so did the yoik, developing into a song with a musical arrangement to it. “Heikka-vilba” was recorded in Berlin, where Emil’s aunt also joined to yoik her nephew. Together they developed a majestic sound with the portrayal of Heikka in mind.

Emil Kárlsen’s work is rooted in heritage while embracing the new. His signature sound—where ancient yoik meets modern songwriting—offers a rare and authentic perspective in the Nordic music scene. In addition to his musical career, Emil starred in the critically acclaimed Disney+ series “How to Cook a Bear,” further expanding his creative journey.

Listen to the single here: https://emilkarlsen.lnk.to/heikka

Songwriter, actor, yoiker, and producer Emil Ráste Karlsen—better known under his artist name Emil Kárlsen—is an indigenous multi-instrumentalist born in 1997, originally from the coastal Northern Sámi community of Omasvuotna/Storfjord. Combining traditional Sámi yoiks with melodic pop songwriting and a strong band foundation, Emil’s music offers a deeply rooted sound that bridges generations and cultures.

At the core of Emil’s artistry lies a powerful intent: to build connections between people, places, and time. After a decade of performing in Norwegian with his award-winning band Resirkulert, Emil made the deliberate choice to write in his mother tongue, Northern Sámi, and to revive the tradition of juoiggan (yoiking) in the coastal Sámi areas—a form of resistance and reclamation of identity through sound.

Emil is also a celebrated actor with the Sámi National Theatre Beaivváš and stars in the acclaimed Disney+ TV series To Cook a Bear. Yet, it is on stage as a musician that Emil feels most at home. Whether performing solo, with his band, or backed by a full orchestra, Emil Kárlsen delivers emotionally charged, magnetic performances that leave a lasting impact. Every concert is a living expression of his culture and charisma—never quite the same, and always unforgettable. Through music and art, Emil Kárlsen expresses gratitude that his culture not only survives but thrives.

Photo by: Ørjan Marakatt Bertelsen

Norwegian-Sámi musician and storyteller Emil Kárlsen returns with a new single, “Golggotmánu jurdagat” (“October’s thoughts”). Written and recorded entirely by Kárlsen himself in 2024, the track marks a milestone for the artist as his first self-produced release.

“The title translates to ‘October’s thoughts’, and the song reflects the mild and unusually long autumn that lingered, both in nature and in mood,” explains Emil.

“Golggotmánu jurdagat” features the contribution of Finnish violinist Tuomas Rounakari, whose soft play fits seamlessly into Emil’s intimate sonic landscape. The track was mixed by respected producer Ariel Joshua Sivertsen. The result is a warm and atmospheric track—perfectly in tune with the gentle shift of seasons, and a promising sign of what’s to come from this young artist.

Listen to the single here: https://emilkarlsen.lnk.to/jurdagat

Emil’s work is rooted in heritage while embracing the new. His signature sound—where ancient yoik meets modern songwriting—offers a rare and authentic perspective in the Nordic music scene. In addition to his musical career, Emil starred in the critically acclaimed Disney+ series “How to Cook a Bear,” further expanding his creative journey.

Songwriter, actor, yoiker, and producer Emil Ráste Karlsen—better known under his artist name Emil Kárlsen—is an indigenous multi-instrumentalist born in 1997, originally from the coastal Northern Sámi community of Omasvuotna/Storfjord. Combining traditional Sámi yoiks with melodic pop songwriting and a strong band foundation, Emil’s music offers a deeply rooted sound that bridges generations and cultures.

At the core of Emil’s artistry lies a powerful intent: to build connections between people, places, and time. After a decade of performing in Norwegian with his award-winning band Resirkulert, Emil made the deliberate choice to write in his mother tongue, Northern Sámi, and to revive the tradition of juoiggan (yoiking) in the coastal Sámi areas—a form of resistance and reclamation of identity through sound.

Emil is also a celebrated actor with the Sámi National Theatre Beaivváš and stars in the acclaimed Disney+ TV series To Cook a Bear. Yet, it is on stage as a musician that Emil feels most at home. Whether performing solo, with his band, or backed by a full orchestra, Emil Kárlsen delivers emotionally charged, magnetic performances that leave a lasting impact. Every concert is a living expression of his culture and charisma—never quite the same, and always unforgettable. Through music and art, Emil Kárlsen expresses gratitude that his culture not only survives but thrives.

Photo by Bertelsen

Indigenous multi-instrumentalist and artist Emil Kárlsen is thrilled to announce the release of his new EP, Binnát. This 5-track EP, which includes two brand-new songs, is now available via By Norse Music.

To celebrate the release of Binnát, Emil is also unveiling his new single, “Čávkkus.”

Čávkkus is the northern Sámi name of Emil Kárlsen’s hometown. This Sámi name is most likely the oldest one, probably referring to a place often covered in light mist during summer nights.

Emil Kárlsen comments:
The luohti/yoik of «Čávkkus» came to be on one of my many journeys, and was a way to find the peaceful hometown vibe as I travelled the world. By yoiking my little village I also want to reconnect it with its Sámi history, as the Norwegianization really struck hard and almost eradicated both the Sámi and the Kvääni/Finnish identities, cultures and languages here. But the languages are on their ways back, and there is proof that yoiking has been heard here from both the reindeer herding Sámis and the coastal Sámis. Maybe the village of Čávkkus did have it’s own luohti/yoik back in the days, but I have not heard about it. So it was about time to find one!»

A person’s luohti (yoik) is concidered a kind of sonic name for who you are yoiking. In those terms, you don’t yoik about someone, but you yoik someone, attempting to paint a picture of who you are yoiking with voicedynamics and sometimes with words. Traditionally one would yoik freely without music, but this is a modern form of yoiking where Emil arranged suitable and very catchy music.

Listen to Binnát HERE

Tracklist Binnát
1. Viehkkin- Erjan – 04:27 WATCH HERE
2. Čávkkus – 03:09 WATCH HERE
3. Muohta – 02:27
4. Áhkku (acoustic version) – 03:45
5. Ale vuos guođe mu – 04:53

Emil Kárlsen – Live shows 2024 (more to be announced)
June 24th – “Det nye nord” på Festspillene i Nord-Norge, Harstad (NO)
June 25th – Festspillene i Nord-Norge, Harstad. (NO)
July 6th – Ohcejoga šearrá, Ohcejohka (FI)
July 10-13th – Riddu Riđđu festivála, Gáivuotna (NO)

Biography 

Emil Ráste Karlsen, better known as Emil Kárlsen, is a young indigenous multi-instrumentalist and artist from the Northern Sámi community. He stands at several crossroads: between tradition and modernity, the lost, remaining and regained, the coastal- and the mountain sámi, and the borders between three countries.

At the heart of Emil Kárlsen’s artistry lies a desire to build bridges—between people, cultures and times. His music is a testament to resilience and reclamation, but in a rather humble way. By each luohti (yoik piece) he makes for a family member, friend or place, he contributes to reconnect his people to eachother and to their history. His family, like many others, faced the government’s intentional erasure of the Sámi culture, but they worked hard to reclaim both the language, juoiggan (yoiking), traditional handicraft and other traditions. 

A concert with Emil Kárlsen is never like another. He is a truly dynamic artist, with a charisma that feeds off the audience, giving all of himself in return. He performs in various formats: sometimes alone with a looper or a guitar, sometimes with different kinds of instruments, other times with a few musicians, or even with an entire orchestra. He constructs sets that communicate not just his music, but his thoughts and stories embedded in his Sámi heritage. Trough music and arts, Emil Kárlsen emphazises the gratitude of his culture still excisting, and through that, joining forces with the unyielding spirit of those who refuses to be silenced.

Born in 1997, he’s already an accomplished musician, composer, producer and actor. He released two studio-albums and won several awards with his former band Resirkulert, and cooperated with several renowned musicians on his first album Nagirvárrái, among them Lávre, Katarina Barruk, Hildá Länsman and The Arctic Philharmonic. He’ve played the mainpart in several theatre productions at the Sámi National Theatre, such as The Bear-Hunter Ol-Tomså, and Jussi in Guovžža vuoššat: the dramatization of Mikael Niemi’s novel To Cook a Bear. This story has followed Emil the last years as he also plays Jussi in Disney’s TV-series with the same name, that will premiere on Disney+ in near future.