Viktor Bomstad and Elina Waage Mikalsen make up the dynamic duo Ale, Ale! For this concert, they draw on remnants of Laestadian hymns and singing practices, bringing them together with joik, noise, and improvisation. 

Hymn singing was - and still is - a gathering point where people can let go of everyday concerns and turn inward. Within these spaces, different voices flowed into one another at varying tempos, creating a foundation for spiritual connection and purification. The result is an unusual sonic landscape in which collective and individual singing go hand in hand. The individual performance turns inward, while the spiritual dimension unites the participants. 

About the artists: 

Viktor Bomstad is a guitarist and joiker from Storfjord in Northern Troms. His work as a musician is exploratory, ranging from joik to dirty, angular progressive rock and improvised music performed in dialogue with electronic instruments. Viktor performs in various bands as well as as a solo artist. He has released music on the renowned record label Rune Grammofon, receiving critical acclaim both in Norway and internationally. 

Elina Waage Mikalsen is an artist and musician based in Tromsø. In her artistic practice, she explores storytelling, sound performance, and sonic traditions, with the body as her point of departure. She builds her own instruments using her áhkku’s (grandmother’s) weaving tools and has performed under her own name nationally and internationally in recent years. Elina also runs Šuvva, a platform for experimental music, sound art, and listening practices from a Sámi perspective.