Lars-Ante Kuhmunen was born in 1979. He is a musician and reindeer breeder from Rensjön in Kiruna, a small town in the territory of Swedish Lapland (also known as Samiland). Lappland is the region inhabited by the Sami, geographically distributed throughout northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
Kuhmunen specializes in yoik, the traditional vocal style of the Sami. In 2006 Kuhmunen released his debut album titled Birrasis, which won a national award that same year for best folk album. Birrasis includes a booklet with lyrics in the Sami language and Swedish as well as a comprehensive explanation in English of each song.
His second release was Somas Muittut, an album with strong political lyrics as well as subtle and poetic songs. In 2016, Lars-Ante Kuhmunen released Riihmagállis (A Legend), where he mixed Sami traditions and American roots music.
Discography
Birrasis (Singing Frog, 2006)
Somas Muittut (2012)
Riihmagállis (2016)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
