Music of Greenland
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| Nordic music |
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| Denmark |
| Faroe Islands |
| Finland |
| Greenland |
| Iceland |
| Norway |
| Sweden |
Greenlandic music is a mixture of two primary strands, Inuit and Danish, mixed with influences from the United States and United Kingdom. The biggest record label is ULO from the town of Sisimut; it was created by Malik Hoegh and Karsten Sommer.
ULO releases both Greenlandic rock and roll, pop and hip hop music as well as Inuit folk music. Traditional music includes sacred drum dances played on an oval drum made of a wooden frame with a bear- bladder on top. Shamans used drums as part of their religious affairs and sometimes organizaed singing duels between rivals. Pisiq are a form of personal song that are often handed down through the generations.
With the arrival of Danes, new forms of European-derived music became popular, especially kalattuut, Inuit polka, which produced popular songs and virtuosos like accordion player Louis Andreasen. More recently, American hip hop has had a major influence, and a hip hop crew, Nuuk Posse, is one of the most successful groups of recent years.
References
- Bours, Etienne. "Sealskin Hits". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 143-145. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0