NORDIC MUSICAL SAFARI EXPLOSION

The Nordic House in Reykjavik will host Iceland's first World Music Festival

• Friday 13. November 2009 - Saturday 14. November 2009 kl. 18.00 -0.00

NORDIC MUSICAL SAFARI EXPLOSION

The Nordic House itogether with Iceland Panorama will host a world music festival, The Nordic Music Safari Explosion on 13-14.11.2009.

The World Music Safari Explosion will feature world music acts from all the Nordic countries. The artists appearing are:

Dj Nad Jee (NO) and Katrine Suwalski (DK), Trans-Nations (DK), Dida (GRL), Helgi og Hljódfaeraleikararnir (IS), Another World (DK), Shava (FI), Punjabi Band (SE) and Skrå (ÅL).

Sextet Another World combines jazz with west-African rhythms, while Norwegian Dj Nad Jee plays bhangra.  Trans-Nations consists of Inga Thommesen from Denmark and Basiru Suso from Gambia.

Nordic folk music also makes a strong showing at the festival. Dida sings in Greenlandic and Skrå plays folk from the Åland islands. While Helgi og Hljódfaeraleikararnir perform Icelandic folk, Shava brings Bollywood bhangra to the Finnish language.

Offerings from Cuban, Asian and Northern African kitchens will also be available to accompany the world rhythms.

“We want to show the variety of people and the culture in the Nordic countries and celebrate the cultural diversity,” says Thuridur Helga Kristjansdóttir, project manager from the Nordic house.

Artists to perform

Helgi og hljóðfæraleikararnir

Helgi og hljóðfæraleikararnir (Helgi and the instrument players) are a indie-folk-rock  group from northern Iceland. H&H are famous as live performers, and they have built up notorious group of followers known as the Múgur (Mob). Helgi og hljóðfæraleikararnir were founded in the 1980s, and all the original members are still playing.

SHAVA

Shava plays Bollywood bhangra in the Finnish language.

Shava's unique mashing of culturesis made for fun and dancing, whilst the lyrics cover topics from life in the Eastern Helsinki suburbs to love across cultural borders.

“Old Finnish films and bollywood aren't that far from each other. In addition melancholy and sentimentality are similar in bhanga and Finnish folk music,” said vocalist Kiureli Sammallahti during a recent appearance on Finnish national television. Sammallahti studies folk music in the Finnish Sibelius Academy. Like most of the other the band members, he has also spent a great deal of time in India.

The group's name bears no complicated philosophical meaning. To shout «shava, shava» is a Punjabi was of showing that you are having a good time, a tradition the band is keen to teach to Finnish audiences.

SKRÅ

Skrå is a folk band from the Åland Islands (located between Finland and Sweden).

Since forming in 2003 Skrå has played about 100 gigs, mainly on Åland, but also in Sweden, Finland, the Faroe islands and Russia. In 2005 the band released their self titled debut album, which was awarded album of the year on Åland. The 2006 Musik.ax competition marked a major turning point for Skrå, as they received the majority vote from both the jury and the audience to win first prize: 40 hours of studio time in Lundgaard Studios in Denmark. The result of that recording session was Skrå's second album, called Bitar (eng. "Bits" or "Pieces"), which was released in August of 2007 on the Faroese label Tutl. The album has been well recieved, and the band is working continously on new material.

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