Åse Áva Fredheim

• Fredheim, Åse Áva; Andersen, Claus Sohn; Gullö, Jan-Olof; Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Marrington, Mark & Paterson, Justin [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2026). Playing Field Recordings in Music Production. In Andersen, Claus Sohn; Gullö, Jan-Olof; Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Marrington, Mark; Paterson, Justin & Toulson, Rob (Ed.), Innovation in Music: Innovative Creative Practice - 1st Edition. Routledge. ISSN 9781032757834. p. 14–26. doi: 10.4324/9781003475644-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter explores practical approaches when working with field recordings in popular music production post-recording. Based on research-creation and interviews with musicians engaging with field recordings across various popular music genres, it becomes evident that field recording is often used as instruments, ambiance, or sound effects in music production. Ways to implement field recordings through technical processing are presented, providing basic and more advanced methods, allowing musicians and music producers to engage with field recordings as compositional elements. This chapter posits that musicians often use field recordings as instruments and are motivated by (1) sound as sonic potential and (2) sound as a bearer of meaning. Furthermore, various artistic starting points concerning field recordings in music production as practice are discussed, aiming to inspire musicians to experiment with field recordings, whether in new ways or for the first time.

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• Fredheim, Åse Áva (2026). Negotiating Tradition and Creativity: Artists' Perspectives on the Role of Luohti in Sámi Popular Music. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I explore how contemporary Sámi artists engage with luohti (yok) in songwriting, composition, and music production. Based on qualitative interviews with Sámi artists alongside research-creation as a method, I unfold the multiple roles luohti may play within creative processes. Preliminary reflections suggest that luohti can function in several ways: as a song's refrain, in dialogue with lyrics, as a guide for arrangements and production choices, or as the foundation from which new music emerges. At the same time, artists relate to luohti as something much more than a vocal expression or musical element. Luohti can also be understood as extramusical: a bearer of stories and emotions, a language, a presence, a form of artistic expression, and a manifestation of relationships between people, places, and other beings. The study further highlights how artists navigate the tension between respect for tradition and the emergence of new musical expressions.

• Fredheim, Åse Áva (2026). Decolonizing Vocal Expressions in Sápmi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper unfolds how engaging with musical arrangements contributes in the reclamation of yoik—the traditional Sámi vocal expression. Numerous Sámis whose cultural heritage has been weakened are now engaged in processes of taking-it-back; land, rights, and cultural expressions such as yoik. Much identity is embedded in local variations and nuances of yoik. For a period of time, laws prohibiting yoik silenced the tradition in some areas. Consequently, certain yoik dialects are lost. Additionally, descendants from these areas often did not grow up with yoik, and it is challenging to internalize this vital part of Sámi culture. Learning yoik later in life often leads to insecurities—fear of making mistakes or of offending knowledgeable culture bearers. Through research-creation and an Indigenous onto-epistemological framework, I facilitate conversations around reclaiming yoik as a form of collective decolonization. While questions of legitimacy remain—such as whether one may learn from knowledge bearers outside one’s own area—modern yoik may offer a path forward. By combining traditional vocal expression with contemporary musical arrangements, modern yoik creates accessible entry points for learners and audiences alike. It can bridge lost dialects and contribute to the continuation of yoik as a vibrant Sámi cultural expression.

• Fredheim, Åse Áva (2026). Stories of Reclaiming Yoik. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this paper I unfold the reclamation of yoik for Sámi people from excessively assimilated areas. Currently, numerous Sámi whose cultural heritage has been weakened, are working to strengthen culture, rights, and connection to our lands—taking-it-back. For a time, there were laws against yoik in certain Sámi areas, and the tradition was not passed on to the next generations. Some local yoik dialects have disappeared, rendering reclamation of specific dialectical traditions virtually impossible. Consequently, we must find other ways to reclaim yoik. Weaving yoik into musical arrangements (modern yoik) is one place to begin. In this study, I apply qualitative methods within an Indigenous research paradigm. This emphasizes that knowledge acquisition stems from reciprocity and relationality, and that research as practice and embodied engagement is intrinsic to research processes. I unfold connections between listening and our relationships with yoik by engaging with field recording as method to explore multi-sensory approaches to listening. An expanded understanding of what it means to listen is reflected in the Sámi word guldalit, which means to listen, but also to feel or touch and to test or try—contrary to a normative Western definition of listening as a single-sensory activity. This methodological approach aims to contribute to wider decolonization processes, including the decolonization of my own mindset and artistic practices. Such endeavors raise numerous concerns. For instance, whether it is culturally accepted to learn from knowledge bearers outside one’s own area. I argue that for Sámi culture to grow, develop, and be passed on, it is counterproductive to narrow possibilities by demanding local connectedness between sharer and receiver of knowledge. However, engaging with modern yoik, or yoik influenced music styles, may relieve experienced expectations. This paper includes autoethnographic reflections and conversations on reclaiming yoik, attending to relationships with our ancestral lands and cultural heritage.

• Fredheim, Åse Áva (2026). Oliva Nilsen: Samisk kunnskapsformidling i Lyngen. Full text in Research Archive
• Fredheim, Åse Ava Lange; Lund, Ketil Kielland; Storaas, Maria; Hunsgaard, Søren; Bratteng, Thea Tunås & Watne, Åshild [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2025). Ava Freddy: Tokens. doi: https:/avafreddy.bandcamp.com/album/tokens?search_item_id%3D736183422%26search_item_type%3Da%26search_match_part%3D%253F%26search_page_id%3D4857403641%26search_page_no%3D0%26search_rank%3D2. Full text in Research Archive
• Fredheim, Åse Ava Lange (2024). “Birdsong” in Popular Music: A Study on the Use of Field Recordings in Music Production. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The first time I listened to the world through a pair of headphones linked to a hand-held recorder, my relation to our auditory surroundings was immediately transformed. Recognizing I could manipulate and adjust sounds as part of my music making, marked another defining moment. Since then, I have listened differently; not only to the continuum of sound I move through in everyday life, but also when listening to music. Whenever I hear an unfamiliar element in a piece of music, my ears become more attentive, and my curiosity awakes. This paper investigates the use of field recordings (that is, environmental sounds, found sounds, everyday sounds) in popular music productions. While the practice of recording audio from the surroundings to create music has often been linked to Musique Concrète and the French avantgarde in the mid-20th century, field recordings are today commonly integrated in popular music across a variety of genres. Yet, little attention has been given to field recordings within popular music genres, such as the insertion of sounds from nature, city noise, crumpling of paper, or kitchen sounds. This paper builds on my research-creation which examines the artistical, technological, and motivational aspects regarding the integration of field recordings, engaging with it in my own music production. I demonstrate a broad spectrum of practices and uses of equipment and technologies, as well as the use of field recordings to obtain three primary musical functions: as instruments, as ambience, and as ornaments (i.e., sound effects). We will, in other words, explore the sounds’ journey from being recorded to having different musical functions as part of a song. Topics include the multiple potentials of sounds and their transformation through the use of various processing tools, as well as the workflow and listening practice of being a field recorder. Fascination of a sound itself, herein its flexibility and potential to become part of a musical arrangement in various ways can fuel compositional processes. We also explore artistic intentions connected to personalization and emotions, when memories related to a time or place captured through field recording are integrated in the music we make. This presentation aims to inspire musicians/producers to work creatively with field recordings in new ways, or perhaps for the first time.

• Fredheim, Åse Ava Lange (2024). The Potential of Found Sounds in Music Production. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper investigates the use of field recordings (environmental sounds, found sounds, everyday sounds) in popular music productions. While recording audio from the surroundings to create music has often been linked to Musique Concrète and the French avant-garde in the mid-20th century, field recordings are commonly integrated into popular music across various genres today. Yet, little attention has been given to field recordings within popular music genres, such as the insertion of sounds from nature, city noise, crumpling of paper, or kitchen sounds. This paper builds on my research-creation, which examines the artistic, technological, and motivational aspects regarding the integration of field recordings in my popular music recordings. I demonstrate a broad spectrum of practices and technologies used in field recordings and explore how these recorded sounds can later be manipulated to obtain three primary musical functions: as instruments, ambience, and sound effects. As well as examining the multiple potentials of sounds and their transformation through various processing tools, I discuss the workflow and listening practice of being a field recorder, drawing on perspectives from, e.g., R. Murray Schafer, John Cage, and Joanna Demers. Finally, I explore artistic intentions connected to personalization and emotions when memories of a time or place captured through field recording are integrated into the music.

• Fredheim, Åse Ava Lange & Brøvig, Ragnhild (2024). “Birdsong” in Popular Music: A Study on How and Why Musicians Use Field Recordings in Music Production. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This thesis investigates the use of field recordings (environmental sounds, found sounds, everyday sounds) in popular music production. While recording audio from our surroundings to create music has traditionally been linked to Musique Concrète and the French avant-garde in the mid-20th century, field recordings are commonly integrated into music across genres today. Yet, little scholarly attention has been given to field recording as practice and implementing sounds from nature, city noise, crumpling of paper, or kitchen sounds within popular music genres. This thesis explores technological, artistic, and motivational aspects of integrating field recordings into popular music recordings. To identify how and why musicians include field recordings in their music, in-depth interviews were conducted with six musicians using field recordings in various popular music genres (e.g., pop, ambient, techno, americana). These musicians’ accounts of their motivation span from their fascination with these sounds and their potential to the emotions and memories they may express. Despite these differences among the participants, there appears to be a shared conception of artistic novelty and experienced creative value and credibility gained from using self-found sounds. Regarding practical approaches (i.e., recording, source exploration, and sound processing), the results reveal a broad spectrum of practices and uses of equipment and technologies, which I have further explored through research-creation. What the interviewees and I appear to have in common is our practice of integrating and manipulating field recordings to serve three primary musical functions: instrumental, ambiance, or sound effects. This suggests that field recordings are frequently employed as compositional tools in music-making and popular music recording, and that many musicians have embraced the notion that any sound can become music.

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