Sámi DJs Fuel Indigenous Pride Through Joik and Club Culture

Synopsis

• Sámi DJ collective Article 3 is blending joik, throat singing and electronic beats to create Indigenous-focused club spaces.

• A growing Sámi DJ scene reflects renewed pride and identity among younger generations.

• Performances across Sápmi and at Barents Spektakel highlight how borders continue to shape Sámi artistic careers.

Estimated reading time: 3 mins Read

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Sámi DJs Channel Indigenous Pride Through Beats and Throat Singing

A new wave of Sámi DJs is reshaping northern Europe’s club culture, weaving traditional joik and throat singing into contemporary electronic music while drawing on a deepening sense of Indigenous identity. Reporting from The Guardian highlights how artists such as the collective Article 3 are at the forefront of this cultural shift, responding to an expanding appetite for Indigenous-focused nightlife.

Alice Marie Jektevik, 36, and Petra Laiti, 30, who perform together under the name Article 3, live in a rural village in Norway’s far north-east. Jektevik jokes that they reside in “maybe the most impractical place if you want to be a successful DJ,” yet the remoteness of Sápmi — the region spanning northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia that is traditionally home to the Sámi — has become central to their creative identity.

According to The Guardian’s Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant, the duo draw constant inspiration from their surroundings. Conversations between the two can move seamlessly from DJ equipment and track mixing to fishing, hunting and traditional handicrafts before circling back to stage visuals. Laiti describes the process as holistic, where “everything is inspiring another area.”

The Sámi people trace their roots back between 3,000 and 10,000 years and are recognised as one of Sweden’s official national minorities. They are the only recognised Indigenous people within the European Union. Within that context, the rise of a Sámi-led DJ culture carries significance beyond music alone.

Article 3 was originally formed in 2018 by earlier members and was believed to be the only all-female Sámi DJ group at the time. Before their emergence, only a handful of Sámi DJs were active, all of them male. Since then, the landscape has changed dramatically. Today, numerous female DJs are part of the scene, reflecting what Laiti describes as a growing hunger for Indigenous music-centred club nights.

Like many in their generation, Jektevik says they navigate both tradition and hyper-modern life. There is a desire to reconnect with knowledge that was once suppressed, alongside the realities of international travel and earning a living as touring DJs. That duality defines their sound and their mission.

Their sets combine joik — a traditional Sámi vocal expression — with electronic rhythms and elements of throat singing. As opportunities have expanded, performances now range from forest raves and winter gatherings in the snow to indoor festival stages during the summer months. Laiti notes that such diversity in venues reflects how Sámi DJ culture has found space in both natural and urban environments.

This weekend, the pair are bringing their club night to Kirkenes, a Norwegian town near the Russian border, as part of the Barents Spektakel art festival. The event, The Guardian reports, will feature Sámi music alongside Indigenous sounds from other parts of the world, complemented by live visuals. The duo occasionally weave in what they call “guilty pleasure pop,” partly for the practical ease it offers when blending tracks.

At the heart of their work is the creation of what Laiti calls a “Sámi-safe, Indigenous-safe club space.” The intention is to build environments where attendees can feel secure, confident and free to celebrate their identity. A familiar joik layered over a driving beat, she says, often generates an overwhelming sense of joy on the dancefloor — an atmosphere she describes as contagious and professionally fulfilling.

The momentum behind the Sámi DJ movement is closely tied to broader social change. Laiti points to a renewed pride among younger Sámi people, contrasting it with earlier generations who were raised amid shame, assimilation and social pressures that discouraged open expressions of identity. That shift is visible at club nights, where people in their twenties discuss traditional garments and handicrafts not as relics, but as aspirational symbols of belonging.

The theme of this year’s Barents Spektakel, “the border crossed us,” marks the 200th anniversary of the northern boundary that now separates Finland, Russia and Norway. For artists like Laiti, who is from the Finnish side of Sápmi, and Jektevik, from the Norwegian side, borders remain a daily reality.

They influence everything from access to arts funding to decisions about where to establish a career. Laiti describes this dynamic as a form of “forced mobility,” requiring artists to move between countries and strategically align with a particular nationality to maximise professional opportunities.

As The Guardian’s coverage underscores, what may appear as a niche musical trend is in fact intertwined with questions of identity, sovereignty and cultural revival. Through beats, visuals and joik, Article 3 and their peers are not only filling dancefloors but contributing to a wider reassertion of Sámi presence across northern Europe.

The original report was published by The Guardian

About Article 3

Article 3 is a Sámi female DJ collective formed in 2018, originally established by earlier members before Alice Marie Jektevik and Petra Laiti became part of the group. Based in Norway’s far north-east region of Sápmi, the duo blends traditional Sámi joik with electronic beats and elements of throat singing, creating club experiences rooted in Indigenous culture. At the time the current members came together, Article 3 was believed to be the only all-female Sámi DJ group, in contrast to the small number of male Sámi DJs previously active on the scene. Their performances range from outdoor winter raves in forest and snow settings to festival stages and indoor club spaces. Beyond music, Article 3 aims to foster Sámi-safe and Indigenous-safe environments where audiences can celebrate identity, heritage and contemporary creativity with confidence and pride.

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