Friends, the haunting voice of this Sami singer, Mari Boine, wafts its way gently over the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico, during a recent cultural event I was lucky enough to be a part of, with the help of Francois Rossouw, of Yellowknife. These particular doings were just one of those artistics that fall into place without a lot of problems, even though Mari's Norwegian musicians had to make their 30-hour way to the American Southwest, complete with a manager from New York City.
Other activities included a curious mix of links between human myth and astronomy.
Indeed, one of three authors, Shannon Dory, herself an alumnus of my Trent University, gave forth on the earliest beliefs of man, right from the Bering Sea area's Dogon peoples and how these tie in with alien Nummo, of the furthest of stars, to the rest of humankind.
Other features were a collection of superb photos, complete with costly gold-leaf framing and museum-quality glass.
Meanwhile Mari Boine's music is an inter-terrestrial journey all its own, from her Scandinavian roots, masterfully mixing in African rhythms, Iranian bliss, Russian and Mongolian folk and even touches of the classical.
Right away the mysterious quality of Boine's sounds brought me back to my classical love of loves, that of Polish composer Frederic Chopin, who left his home at age 20 for health reasons and never returned.
You can hear the same kind of cultural longing and love of land in all of Mari Boine's compositions. Even to the point of bringing you, the listener, with her in her worldly travels.
Much of her performance included the excellent sounds of guitarist Elle Baer, effortlessly
gliding along with Mari's vocals, especially in the aural romp, Sarahka Viina, with sensual African influence.
In the photo Mari wears the red cap and her guitarist, to her left, in red tunic.
So, close your eyes, friends and listen to Mari Boine's double disk Aiggi Askkis, a virtual-tour of the wonderful world within us all, where we all occasionally long to go.
Mahsi, thank you.