Tor Einar Bekken - Soikkainensanger (2025) [Hi-Res]

My father, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 92, was born and raised in Varaldskogen, Kongsvinger, Norway - a part of the area known as Finnskogen. He was a descendant of Finnish immigrants who came to the area in the 17th century. Names like Nikarainen, Valkoinen. Moilainen and Nevuoinen are repeated on both sides of his family, but the name Soikkainen was there all the way down to my great-grandmother, before it disappeared when she married. All my life I have known about this part of my own identity; my father was proud of it, and told my brother and me about it from when we were small. I have been to Finnskogen all my life, and for a few years in the early 2000s our family lived there permanently. The Finnish identity is often diffuse and unclear, but nevertheless an essential part of who I am as an adult. We still have my father's childhood home, and go there as often as we can. Knowing the story of my own family gives peace and security, and perhaps a form of self-understanding both as a person and an artist. The Forest Finns are now recognized as one of Norway’s five national minorities; the others being Jews, Rom, Romani, and Kven. The Sami, on the other hand, are considered an indigenous people, and they have another status and position in the Norwegian demography. What all these groups of people have in common is a history of persecution, oppression and ‘Norwegianization’ from the Norwegian authorities. Language, culture, and ways of life were strongly suppressed, often with harshly violent means, and only as late as 2023, an official apology for such policies was issued from the Norwegian state. That was a day of pride and happiness in our family, but also a day of melancholy afterthought. It was a day I am glad my father lived long enough to see.