Rock, rap, pop, folk, drum singing and death metal. Almost every musical genre is invited to the Arctic Sounds Festival, which kicks off today in Sisimiut, Greenland. A small, non-exhaustive selection of the artists who will rock the stage this weekend.
Established in 2014, the Arctic Sounds Greenland music festival is held every year in Sisimiut. For the past ten years, Nordic countries artists, from Greenland to the Baltic States, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as from Inuit Nunaat, have been invited to perform.
Greenland Sound of the Damned, Torluut! and Norway Pil&Blue will be the main headlines. A great line-up for a festival that kicks off tonight with rapper Tarrak. With his uncompromising flow, the young man has already won over an audience far beyond the island’s borders. Last year, he headlined the famous Roskilde Festival, a first for a Greenlandic rapper.
The festival gives pride of place to Faroese artists. The line-up includes Dania O. Tausen, Frum and above all Gudrid Hansdóttir, who performed a duet with Blátt Myrkur at last year’s Pan-Arctic Vision (the Arctic equivalent of Eurovision).
With some big metal, Sound of the Damned is the main headline of the festival with some death metal sung in Kalaallisut. Hailing from the capital, Nuuk, the band had already toured Greenland and Denmark before recording their first album in the Faroe Islands. Excerpt.
Still in the rock category, Norwegian duo Pil & Blue. A guitarist and a drummer for a melodic and powerful rock that has even won over Hollywood. A song by the band features in the credits of the 2017 Netflix film What Happened to Monday.
Also on the stage are Silla, two throat singers from Nunavut, or Nuka Alice and Varna, who have made drum singing and their trademark. An a priori traditional genre for a resolutely modern result, like Varna’s Pilarngar. Released at the end of 2023, the track offers a revisited version of Greenlandic singing.
Finally, Torluut! Born in 2008, this band from Nuuk happily mixes rock and funk for an explosive, high-energy cocktail. Seriously, we loved it!
And to make sure to not forget anything, Arctic Sounds also offers the chance to discover Greenland and its inhabitants in partnership with local tourism companies. By dogsled, snowmobile, ski or sail, the festival takes its guests, artists and collaborators on a journey of discovery through the island’s sublime landscapes. And for those staying at home, the festival can be discovered or followed on social networks.
Link to the festival: https: //www.arcticsounds.gl
Mirjana Binggeli, PolarJournal
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