Norway's Træna Festival might just be the world's most remote musical event. Wyndham Wallace experiences the sights and sounds of the Arctic
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Wyndham Wallace
Mon 21 Jul 2008 06.09 EDT
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The festival that's right out of it: Traena in Norway. Photograph: Wyndham Wallace
Around a thousand fans were nestled among rocks and lush green grass as Damian Rice took the stage last weekend. "I think I've got a much better view than you," he said.
The stage was a 30m-high cave on an island in the middle of nowhere, but Rice was probably right: fishing boats bobbed in the sparkling harbour beneath a wildflower-speckled hillside, while over a startlingly blue ocean he could see the Svartisen Glacier on the horizon.
Rice rocks the cave. Photograph: Wyndham Wallace Rice was playing arguably the world's most remote music festival – set on a group of islands adrift in the Arctic Ocean. The main action of the Traena Festival takes place on Husøya, a tiny island five hours' boat ride from Bodø on the northern coast of Norway. But Rice's fans had to endure another short boat journey over to Sanna to see him play in a cave.
The festival is the brainchild of Erlend Mogard Larsen who organized the first one in 2004. Mogard spent his childhood summers in Træna, an archipelago of more than 1,000 islands, and fell in love with their mystical beauty: saw-toothed mountains rising straight out of the ocean, sea eagles wheeling in the thermals and the dramatic Arctic weather and light. Throughout the year these tiny islands – only four of which are inhabited - house a population of less than 400 in rusty red, green and yellow cottages. Most make their living from fishing, while a lucky few settle here for the peace and tranquillity. But a deep-seated commitment to island life is essential for all: winters are brutal, and the effect of summer's midnight sun can also be disorientating.
Photograph: Wyndham Wallace The event's remoteness does nothing to deter Scandinavian music fans, however: people of all ages turn up each year, often with no knowledge of who will be performing. Not one regrets the expense and struggle involved in getting here, because while the boat ride alone may cost £45, and cans of Heineken at the festival bar are £6, they are greeted warmly by the island inhabitants, most of whom work for free.
"It's all about the community," explained Erling Ramskgell, whose band Æ played the festival and who lives on the island. "I'm a private man by nature, but there's something about this that makes me want to hug everyone."
Local children earn pocket money towing the rucksacks of festival-goers on makeshift carts, while islanders not helping to run the festival sell liquorice, popcorn and drinks by the roadsides, or transport ticket-holders from island to island in their boats. Meanwhile musicians like Ingrid Olava muck in at Fishy Fishy Nam Nam, a tented restaurant – associated with Oslo's renowned Kampen Bistro – that serves up unusual and unexpectedly tasty festival food such as fresh pollack.
Photograph: Wyndham Wallace This year's bill featured three international artists – Mercury Music Prize nominee Richard Hawley, Brazilian reggae band Ponto de Equilibrio and Damien Rice – alongside an eclectic mix of Scandinavian acts and djs. Folk, electronica, gypsy punk and hip-hop were all in evidence, but concert-goers are largely unfussed by the choice of music. Instead Træna's success is based upon its glorious environment. Rocks jut out of the water like beached whales, jagged mountains dominate the skyline, and, somewhat surreally, a white-domed geophysical observatory, reached via a 700m manmade tunnel through the mountainside, sits atop Sanna's highest peak.
The campsite – with clean toilets, showers and yoga classes each morning – is spacious and allows festival-goers to relax in a natural environment whose vibrant colours bring even legendary Norwegian environmental activist Fredrik Hauge, founder of non-profit organisation Bellona, to the area.
Photograph: Wyndham Wallace There's also the pleasure of a three-day party which rages under a sun whose sunset and sunrise – separated by little more than an hour – provide a golden backdrop to good-natured drunken behaviour. Norwegians know how to celebrate, and – though the music stops officially by 3am – breakfast brings the sight of bodies, young and old, slumped in doorways on the way back to their tents, casualties of the local 'Hjemmebrent', an illegal home-brew so potent it evaporates if left in the open for an hour.
Ultimately, though, it's the beauty of the islands that makes the lengthy journey and cost worth the effort. As compere Espen Thoresen Hværsaagod-Takkskalduha said as the party drew to a close on Sunday morning, "this place is proof that paradise doesn't need to be tropical… "
Getting to Traena
British Airways flies to Oslo from £150 return. SAS flies Oslo to Bodø from £69 + tax. Boats leave Bodø harbour - a short distance from the airport - every day and cost NOK450/£44 (though one change may be required en route). Boats also travel from Sandnessjøen, Nesna or Stokkvågen. Further information from trena.net
Festival tickets
Three-day festival tickets cost NOK1,050/£100 (+tax) or EUR 130 (+ tax). Prices, date and line up for 2009 TBC. For details, visit the Traena festival website
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