SomBy
Encyclopedia
SomBy is a Sámi
rock band from the Finnish
side of Sápmi that sings in Northern Sámi
. The band was founded in Vuotso in 2004. At that point in time, the band consisted solely of girls. Its line-up experienced some changes in November 2007, when two boys from Inari
joined.
In 2008, they signed with Tuupa Records, a recording company that represents a number of artists including Skolt Sámi
rocker Tiina Sanila
. In 2008, they published their first EP
and are working on a full-length album to be published in September 2009.
In 2009, the band won the Sámi Grand Prix
with their song "Ii iđida", the lyrics for which were written by Milla Pulska and set to music by Oula Guttorm. They will be touring the major Sámi music festivals during the summer, including Márkomeannu
and Ijahis Idja.
The EP has the following tracks on it:
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
rock band from the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
side of Sápmi that sings in Northern Sámi
Northern Sami
Northern or North Sami is the most widely spoken of all Sami languages. The speaking area of Northern Sami covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland...
. The band was founded in Vuotso in 2004. At that point in time, the band consisted solely of girls. Its line-up experienced some changes in November 2007, when two boys from Inari
Inari, Finland
Inari is Finland's largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are lumber industry and nature maintenance. With the museum Siida in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture...
joined.
In 2008, they signed with Tuupa Records, a recording company that represents a number of artists including Skolt Sámi
Skolts
The Skolt Sámi or Skolts are a visible Orthodox ethnic group in Lapland, Finland. They currently live in and around the villages of Sevettijärvi, Keväjärvi, Nellim in the municipality of Inari and also in the village of Neiden in the municipality of and Sør-Varanger, Norway...
rocker Tiina Sanila
Tiina Sanila
Tiina Juulia Sanila-Aikio is a Skolt woman from Sevettijärvi, a village in Inari,who published the first full-length rock CD in Skolt Sami ever in 2005. The name of the CD is called Sää´mjânnam rocks! and it was produced by in Finland...
. In 2008, they published their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
and are working on a full-length album to be published in September 2009.
In 2009, the band won the Sámi Grand Prix
Sámi Grand Prix
Sámi Grand Prix is an annual Sámi song contest organized by Samisk Musikkfestival and held in Kautokeino, Norway. The first annual Grand Prix was held in 1990. The winner of the contest goes on to compete in Liet-Lávlut, a music competition for European minority languages. The Sámi Grand Prix...
with their song "Ii iđida", the lyrics for which were written by Milla Pulska and set to music by Oula Guttorm. They will be touring the major Sámi music festivals during the summer, including Márkomeannu
Márkomeannu
Márkomeannu is a Sami cultural and music festival held near the border of the municipalities of Skånland in Troms and Evenes in Nordland in northern Norway. The idea behind Márkomeannu is to celebrate the culture and traditions of the Sámi villages...
and Ijahis Idja.
Line-up
- Miira Suomi, vocals
- Milla Pulska, piano
- Unna-Maari Pulska, drums
- Juho Kiviniemi, bass
- Oula Guttorm, guitar
Liet-Lávlut 2009
SomBy won first place at the Liet-Lávlut 2009 competition of minority-language bands.Čáhppes Lasttat 2008
The band published their first EP "Čáhppes Lasttat" at the Ijahis idja festival on May 24, 2008. The record was produced by Jussi Isokoski.The EP has the following tracks on it:
- 1. Duoggi (lyrics: Milla Pulska, music: Oula Guttorm)
- 2. Gáddálas (lyrics: Milla Pulska and Miira Suomi, music: Oula Guttorm)
- 3. Unna Jalla (lyrics and music: Milla Pulska)
- 4. Doarrun Duoddaris (lyrics: Milla Pulska and Miira Suomi, music: Milla Pulska and Oula Guttorm)
- 5. Ránisvuohta (lyrics and music: Milla Pulska)