In Vadso, locals spent a recent August day sweating on green farmlands and flocking to the beach before going to the opening night of the 25th annual Varangerfestivalen jazz festival.

The five-day Varangerfestivalen is the town's biggest annual event with a total attendance of about 10,000, split between the 6,000 residents and visitors mostly from other parts of Scandinavia. Concerts featured more than 30 performers ranging from interna-tionally renowned guests to locals doing variations of yoik, a collaboration of rhythmic vocals performed by the region's aboriginal Samis for more than 2,000 years, making it Europe's oldest-known music.

Yoik has long been controversial, frequently banned throughout the centuries as the devil's music as part of an effort by Christian missionaries and the Norwegian government to "civilize" the Sami population through actions including forcing children to relocate from their villages into urban boarding schools, sterilization eugenics programs.

Some concepts of yoik such as short, percussive vocals are similar to the traditional throat singing of the Inuits in Alaska and Canada and, like the Inuits, modern-day musicians are incorporating it into contemporary rock, pop and techno. But the overall sound of yoik is more an informal folk circle than a tribal chant, with members more likely to be in cheery discord than perfect harmony.

Comparing Inuit and yoik music in traditional and modern forms is easy and free.

Performances of traditional Inuit music can be heard at http://epc.buffalo.edu/sound/mp3/ethno/inuit/mp3, with a collection of pop-oriented songs at www.nunanet.com/~speter/MP3s.htm. An extensive collection of yoik in all forms is available at http://arran2.blogspot.com/2006/12/sami-yoik-and-music-mp3-complete-guide.html.

Among musicians performing yoik at Varangerfestivalen was vocalist Marie Boine, perhaps Arctic Norway's most famous artist. She can be heard at http://ia340902.us.archive.org/2/items/MarieBoineMarieBoineOerol/MarieBoineOerol.mp3. Also incorporating elements of voik is saxophonist Jan Garbarek, the country's most famous jazz artist, although listeners will have to find or download songs such as "Aichuri, The Song Man" from his "Legend Of The Seven Dreams" album.

Those interested in Sami music and jazz of the northern Arctic don't have to wait until next summer to experience it. The world's northermost jazz festival, Polarjazz, will be held Jan. 30 to Feb. 3 on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, 400 miles from the North Pole. Concerts will be held in the evenings, leaving the days free for dog sledding, skiing and other activities for those brave enough to face the constant dark and temperatures approaching 40 below zero. Expect airfare to cost about $1,500 (although Scandinavian Airlines is an Alaska Airlines partner for those with enough miles) and lodging to run between $50 and $200 a night.

• Mark Sabbatini is a professional music critic scouring the globe for jazz in the world's most unlikely and remote places possible. He will spend New Year's partying in Iceland before heading to Spitsbergen for Polarjazz.