Niilas
Beats, deep bass and melancholy melodies, electronica mixed with pop and indigenous culture of the Sámi people - this is a new voice on the Norwegian scene.
Composer and electronic artist that blends genres, instruments and electronics into a unique expression of club music. Weaving beats, deep bass and melancholic melodies, he creates glittery textures of sound, all tracing back to his indigenous Sámi background and Arctic aesthetics. Known for energetic live performances, his debut album Also This Will Change gained him a Norwegian Grammy Award (Spellemann) for ‘Electronic Music Record of the Year’ in 2020. Elegantly manoeuvring the borders between house, techno, ambient and sound design, Niilas invites the listener into a sonic wonder on his fifth album River Of Noise. Collaborating with folk musicians from Norway and Iran, working across genres and expressions, he is expanding the map of electronic music. Hard to pin down – and always leaves his audience wanting more.
The set up of his performances seems sparse - a synthesiser or keyboard, a few cables and himself, often sitting among the equipment on the floor. The structure of his songs is also characterised by a clear and transparent structure, but there is no small amount of substance contained within them. He describes his carefully crafted sound as rooted in an Arctic aesthetic. The young artist also draws on the extraordinary sonic heritage of the Sámi people, indigenous to areas including Northern Norway, of which he himself is a part.