"Arnaq" made history in Katuaq

"Oh, arnaraa."

Her voice fills the room. It spreads through the hall like a wave, slowly lifting the audience with it. Warmth and strength flow from the stage, and you can almost feel the vibrations in your body.

"Oh, arnaraa, qiimaannarit"

What a voice.

The melody is from 'I Will Survive' by Gloria Gaynor, but the words this evening are in Greenlandic. The message is clear: Women must hold their heads high.

The song is about strength and community. About not standing alone. About women standing together and knowing where they want to go. Every word and every note feels like an encouragement, a reminder to keep going forward, even when the road is not always easy.

The music opens something inside. Feelings that you may have been carrying for a long time are suddenly allowed to let go. They come out, almost like a silent explosion, and afterwards it all feels a little lighter.

“Oh, arnaraa, kiimannarit, kisimiinngivipputit.”

Again, it feels as if something is loosening. Every word, every note takes a little bit of the heaviness with it. You want more. Hear more. Like something completely natural, almost like breathing.

Music is no longer just something you listen to. You have become a part of it.

I shift in my seat a little and remind myself that this is only the first song. If it already sounds like this, what can't you expect from the rest of the concert?

I look around at the others in the hall. The faces around me light up with smiles. There is something in the air, a shared enthusiasm that everyone can feel.

You sit back with the same thought: More. Give us more.

Different energy

Behind the microphone is Arnarissoq Bech Vetterlain. A 19-year-old high school student who has traveled all the way from Aasiaat to give the audience this number.

Together with a number of other female musicians, sound and lighting technicians and producers, she is helping to create the concert “Arnaq”, which takes place on International Women's Day. This year's concert is particularly historic because for the first time it has been made possible exclusively by women, including on the technical side, where both the sound and lighting technicians are women.

The project was started by Nina Kreutzmann Jørgensen and is now in its second year. She is a Greenlandic singer and songwriter with a strong and present vocal that moves between pop, soul and R&B.

For Arnarissoq, it has been a special experience to be part of the concert. Not least because the entire team, both on and behind the stage, consists of women.

- It feels very safe. It's not that I have anything against my male band members, but the energy is different, Arnarissoq tells Bech Vetterlain.

Already at the rehearsals, you could feel the atmosphere. Arnarissoq Bech Vetterlain stood on stage with the other musicians with a broad smile. She moved to the music, while laughter and sounds mixed in the room. It didn't just look like practice, but a community. Behind the joy is also a pride. A pride in being part of a concert where everyone involved is only women.

- It really means a lot to me. Especially that those who have more experience can pass it on to the rest of us. In this industry, it is very rare for a concert to consist of only women. Wow!, says Arnarissoq Bech Vetterlain.

She says that it gives a special feeling of strength to stand on stage in that community.

- You feel a bit powerful. We can show that we can do it ourselves, without having to count on the men, she says.

Different genres

All seats in Hans Lynge Salen in Katuaq are full. The audience has turned out in large numbers to experience the women. The evening's program is widely ranging, and the audience is taken through several genres, from instrumental numbers and rap to growl, upbeat rhythms, soft rock and pop. Each artist brings their own special style to the stage, which helps to make the evening both moving, inspiring and full of energy.

The well-known song ‘I Don't Want to Talk About It’, originally released by Crazy Horse and later made world-famous by Rod Stewart, was also on the program, with Greenlandic text.

Malu Falck entertained the hall with her unique voice. During one of her numbers, the music was accompanied by dance, which made the performance even more immersive. The combination of singing, movement and the Greenlandic lyrics gave the song a special depth and strength.

Queen P, the Arctic version of Pam Grier, the queen of rap, Parnaq Hammond Iversen gave the audience a song that was both raw and charismatic when she followed up with an exceptional song with unapologetic lyrics and a raw attitude.

Danish-Iranian Ihan Haydar was on the drums, and each beat filled the room with an intensity that could be felt all the way into the body. Her rhythms gave the music extra power and created a strong and present experience for the audience.

The concert brought together around 20 female musicians, singers and technicians, including Arnarissoq Bech Vetterlain, Malu Falck, Sacha Olsen and Hollie Kielsen, as well as a number of other talented women, who all contributed to an unforgettable evening.

More Educational

For Arnarissoq the experience was more educational. She was around 16 when she started performing with a band and travelling around the coast to play music.

- The music world was almost exclusively dominated by men, and I didn't feel like I belonged, I just had to sing. I have absolutely nothing against my bandmates, quite the contrary, but I often felt left out, she says.

For this "Arnaq" concert, it actually doesn't hurt much to be corrected.

- It just feels safer. We understand each other better, even though it's the first time we've met face to face. We already know our feelings and the special way we communicate in the world of music, which makes everything easier and more fluid. For example, I no longer have to call my mother after every rehearsal to talk to someone who has the same energy, says Arnarissoq Bech Vetterlain.

The community really blossomed, both during rehearsals and on the big concert night.

In addition to the women behind and on stage, Pilu Lynge and Agga Dam Pedersen were also warmly included.

Pilu Lynge, one of the country's greatest female lyricists, was honored with her song "Nuissat," which resonated both with the women on stage and with the enthusiastic audience.

For the grand finale, Agga Dam Pedersen's "Arnaq Ai" filled the air with passion, sung at the top of her lungs. Organizer Nina Kreutzmann Jørgensen told how she had asked Agga for permission to use the song. Agga had shed a tear as she replied that they just had to have the song. A moment that reflected the supportive community and pure joy of the evening. Ah, now!

Strength in community

The Arnaq concert on International Women's Day in Katuaq's Hans Lynge Hall was more than music, it was a powerful celebration of women's courage, representation and ability to create change through community.

From “Arnaraa, qiimmannarit”, the Greenlandic interpretation of “I Will Survive” to the tributes of Pilu Lynge and Agga Dam Pedersen, the message rang out loud: Women stand together, hold their heads high and show that they can do it themselves.

The evening’s energy, with young talents like Arnarissoq and experienced forces like Nina Kreutzmann Jørgensen, reminds us that the wave of music lifts everyone and inspires the way forward for the future.