Ánnámáret

Ánnámáret – Anna Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman, is a musician who belongs to the Arctic indigenous people Sámi. In recent years, she has researched the yoik tradition of her family by studying old archive recordings. Yoik is a form of traditional vocal music of the Sámi. As a result of this work, she with her ensemble created the multi-form work of art called Nieguid duovdagat – Dreamscapes, which was released as an album in February 2021.

Ánnámáret's latest album BÁLVVOSBÁIKI, released in August 2024, mirrors her previous workswith its multi-form nature combining ancient instruments, electronics and video art. The album adapts the ancient Sámi worldview to the present day and asks, where are the sacred places of today? The album was released at Ihajis Idja festival in Lapland, Finland, of which Anna is the artistic director.

Her own band Ánnámáret Ensemble has released two records (Beallječiŋat 2011 and Gollehelmmot 2016), which consist of yoiks and songs that Näkkäläjärvi-Länsman has composed and written the lyrics for in the Sámi language.

Ánnámáret gets inspiration to her music from the arctic nature in Sápmi and the Sámi culture and way of living. She makes music and lives on the tundra with her family who are reindeer-herders. Ánnámáret’s strength as an artist springs from having grown up between two cultures and, thus, in understanding these cultures and their collisions and similarities.

Ánnámáret has performed as a showcase artist at Mundial Montreal in Canada in November 2022, at Nordic Folk Alliance in Denmark in April 2023, and at WOMEX in Spain in October 2023. In 2024, she will have a showcase at Nordic Music Days in Glasgow at the end of October.