MP3: Mari Boine - Duottar rássi (Tundra flower)
I was listening to this Mari Boine's 2001 album "Eight seasons/Gavcci jahkejudgu" earlier this week and my wife had a revelation. "Isn't it interesting," she wondered, "how plains people have such similar music?" The Nordic tundra isn't exactly the American mid-west, but I think the comparison works. This particular track features a bluesy guitar riff that's not very folk at all, but listen to those plaintive melodies (no pun intended) and hear how well it fits. It's just as much "Home on the range" as herding reindeer is to cattle. The indigenous Sami people might not consider themselves cowboys, but they sure sound like 'em sometimes.
Mari Boine - Duottar rássi (Tundra flower)