Vesterheim Folk Art School

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Ailloš

Joik is the traditional singing technique of the Sámi people, the indigenous people of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula. Joiker Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup was born and raised in a reindeer-herding family in Guovdageaidnu, on the tundra plateau of the Norwegian part of Northern Sápmi. He has worked as a musician for over 40 years under the artist-name Ailloš and combines his own compositions and traditional joiks with other traditions from Africa, India, and Inuit (Canada).

Ailloš has toured the world as a joiker and has composed music for theaters and television networks in Scandinavia and the wider world. Ailloš took part in the founding the Sámi National theatre Beaivváš, located on the Norwegian side of Sápmi and still plays a prominent part today as an actor, composer, playwright, and translator.