Adjágas, Feature

Adjágas

Feature

Adjagas's music is gentle, peaceful, hypnotic, quietly passionate, dreamlike, deeply spiritual and utterly engrossing. It is, at the same time, strangely alien. Lyrics are unrecognisable, startling vocals delivered in a style that veers between whispered but crystal clear sweetness, unbridled emotion and all points in between, sometimes hitting notes that may previously have never existed. Produced by Andreas Mjøs (Jaga Jazzist, Susanne & The Magical Orchestra), Adjágas' songs sound as though they were recorded in a small hut in a snow covered forest clearing, or perhaps around a campfire. There is an unfamiliar intimacy to it all. Moments sound reminiscent of other artists, but nothing with which one can draw a straight comparison. Talk Talk's 'Laughing Stock' comes to mind, as does The Cowboy Junkies' 'The Trinity Sessions', or Low, La Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, even an acoustic Sigur Ros. But none of these really do the record justice.

Adjágas are a surprisingly young Sami duo, Sara Mariella Gaup (23) and Lawra Somby (26). Sara, from Guovdageaidnu / Kautokeino, has been singing since she was a child, performing on stage since the age of 12. Lawra learnt his musical skills from his father Ánde. Despite growing up in Oslo city centre, he comes from a proud Sami family, and to this day travels almost perpetually, within and outside Norway. The two deeply charismatic 'yoikers' work with a revolving core of musicians and producers, and their live show - which sheds a different light on their music and its tradition - is as captivating as their debut album.

It is undoubtedly their Sami roots that define Adjágas as being so different. Their music is based around the concept of the 'yoik', a traditional musical form which describes something not with its words but its sounds. You can start a 'yoik' where you like, you can end it where you like. Its elements remain structured, but it's fluid at the same time. A 'yoik' is like liquid in a bottle - you can shake it up, but the contents remain the same. And the content of the 'yoik' deliberately has many meanings, in order, if necessary, to spare the feelings of the subject. So it may pass judgement, but it's open to interpretation. It is also possible to be the subject of more than one 'yoik': how it sounds depends upon the perspective of the person who is delivering it. More importantly, a 'yoik' is not written. It comes to a person. Some 'yoikers' sleep with their mobile phone by their bed at all times so that when a 'yoik' comes to them in their dreams they are able to record it the moment they wake. A 'yoik' that is deliberately written has no soul, and a 'yoiker' knows this.

To get a touching insight into the lives of Adjagas and the unique world of the Sami people and their Yoiking culture, check out this short video.