Tradition, language and humor in beautiful union. Rolf "rOlfFa" Amundsen is the composer of the year at the Sami Music Awards 2021.
/ 19/02/2021 / Kristian Dugstad– When I say where I live, people rarely know where it is. About the same as Trondheim.
On his way home to his sweet brother, Rolf Morten Anti Amundsen has covered a good handful of hours by car in recent days. Over a only partially good phone line, he says that he moved to Sweden about seven years ago.
However, the Sami composer and artist was raised in Hammerfest, Alta and Karasjok. It was here that he laid the foundation for his now award-winning work.
On Saturday, February 5, Amundsen received the composer award at the Sami Music Awards 2021. TONO congratulates.
See the entire Sami Music Awards 2021 here..
Musician and frontman, composer and songwriter, producer and studio technician: Rolf Amundsen is a man of his time. A professional who lives by the DIY principle, in the most positive sense.
– Actually, I'm just an uneducated musician... and apparently now also a composer and producer, he says modestly.
Educated or not – if there's one thing Amundsen has plenty of, it's prior learning.
To many he is known as the vocalist of the Karasjok band. rOlfFa, who released three albums in 2008-2014 with music in the genre they themselves called partyjoik. Incidentally, they were the ones who ten years ago were behind the second place in the Kaizers Orchestra's Hjerteknuser cover song competition, well known to aging P3 listeners.
However, Amundsen's musical output consists of much more than party music. Back home in Sweden, he runs Riverwoods Studios, where he produces both his own and other people's music.
“I quickly get bored of working on just one project. I'm completely dependent on variety,” he says.
And variety is a key word: In 2020, he released his first solo yoik album under his own name. "Elenfaččat" is a collection of family yoiks to which Amundsen has added his own compositions and arrangements.
He is one half of the Sami hip hop group Eksosgjengen, who released their debut album in December. The Sami group Felgen Orkester's latest album was recorded and produced by Amundsen, at Riverwoods Studios. His CV also includes music for various TV, radio and game productions.
On Friday, February 5, the Sami Music Awards 2021 were broadcast live on NRK Sápmi's website. TONO is one of the Sami Music Week and Sami Music Awards' partners, and the composer award was presented digitally by TONO's chairman, Jørgen Karlstrøm.
– You get a kind of weight when you see which other composers you are nominated with. To actually be awarded the prize is very self-emphatic. I have always heard people say that you are even more inspired by receiving such an award, and that is true.
Amundsen was awarded the prize for the entirety of his production as the originator and producer of Sami music.
On February 6, the day after the Sami Music Awards, Sami people across borders celebrated Sami National Day. Awareness of Sami culture has grown in recent years, and Amundsen believes music plays an important role.
– There are more and more Sami influences in popular culture. ISÁK, Vegard Bjørsmo and joik in Stjernekamp. Agnete Saba in Hver gang vi møtes. The Frozen films. It is the sum of all this that normalizes Sami culture. I think the musical side of the culture probably draws a lot of that burden.
There is no doubt that Amundsen himself is involved in creating this music. He is currently working on a sequel to "Elenfaččat", a yoik record for children and the first Rolffa album in seven years.