As a drummer, producer, and composer working within the Sámi music field, I have developed a personal understanding of how to perform and create in dialogue with traditional Sámi music. This expertise has emerged through years of collaboration and listening, shaped by work with a wide range of established Sámi artists and yoikers.
Coming from a Sea Sámi background on my mother’s side, I have been closely connected to Sámi traditions and cultural life since childhood. This lived experience has given me an embodied and sociological understanding of Sámi music that extends beyond formal education, yet it has also revealed gaps in knowledge regarding drumming practices and rhythmic foundations in Sámi music.
My artistic research explores these gaps by asking what authenticity and rhythmic knowledge mean for a drummer engaging with Sámi traditions. Through a holistic and practice-based approach, I seek to uncover whether there exists a distinct Sámi understanding of rhythm — one grounded in land, language, and performative interaction.
Jakob Janssønn is a drummer and composer from Tromsø and have a bachelor- and masters-degree in jazz performance and a one year diploma in composition from NMH, The Norwegian Academy of Music. Since studying I have been a part of the sámi music community and have over the years through drumming, producing and composing become an important voice of the new sámi music scene.
Njámmat – njoarostit (“To gather the lasso and throw it”) is the title of my artistic research project. In this final presentation, I will reflect on the artistic and academic outcomes of my exploration of Sámi ritmmat – Sámi rhythms.
The project investigates how encounters between the instrumentalist and Sámi traditions can create authenticity through a holistic practice of rhythm, dialogue, and collaboration. Drawing on Indigenous methodologies, I have approached rhythm as movement over time — as something that can be found in language, joik, the drum, and the land itself. I will present materials from my Research Catalogue exposition, including excerpts from the podcast series Sámi ritmmat, performances such as Juovssaheaddji and Luohteárdna, and accompanying reflective texts. Together, they form the foundation for my final dissertation and reflection component, weaving together research, artistry, and Sámi knowledge.