Yes sir I can Boekie – Boekie Woekie – Amsterdam 2015

Yes sir I can Boekie – from my internal songbook
Boekie Woekie Amsterdam 2015
Video/song installation

Arna Valsdóttir

I want to sing my way into Boekie Woekie. I love singing… love sending sounds out into the air and colour the surrounding, like lines travelling in space. In Boekie Woekie I will use the song “Yes sir I can Boogie” that old disco song from the Baccara sisters, but turn the text into “Yes sir I can Boekie”. I feel like I have an internal songbook and probably many of us have… all those pages with songs that stick to the mind through life. It feels like I don’t choose my internal songs… strange songs get in and many of them I only remember partly and the texts are not always there.

On the opening I will make some life song performance based on this internal songbook. Iceland, the land that has brought me up, has a strong singing tradition and people all around will burst into singing in harmony at all kind of occasions. It is so touching to hear old farmers with hard working hands become like Italian tenors when they come down from the mountains in the autumn gathering the sheep. Tired and dirty after days of riding in the wilderness… when they come down they take a sip of Brennivín, open their hearts and sing in harmony with each other.

In my mind the Icelandic songs are in many voices and actually I wish I could sing in harmony with myself so that at least two voices would come out when I open my mouth.

Maybe my songbook in Boekie Woekie will make the visitor sing along… but we´ll see what happens.

A fragment from my internal songbook- with Jan Voss

Arna Vals – Yes sir I can Boekie-from my… by avals1

A fragment from my internal songbook

Arna Vals – Yes sir I can Boekie-from my… by avals1