World Music Wednesday is a weekly segment on The North 103.3 FM. Every Wednesday at 4pm on Northland Afternoon, we will feature a brand-new release or a significantly important past work from our vast library of music from around the world.
Support for World Music Wednesday comes from Simply Ballroom in Duluth's Craft District.
Little is truly known about this collection of anonymous musicians currently based out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Goat was originally formed in Korpilombolo, Norrbotten County (in northern Sweden). Goat is described as an experimental fusion band with emphasis on rock and afrobeat, sometimes being described as voodoo rock.
Legend has it that a witch doctor settled in the small town of Korpilombolo several centuries ago. After Christian crusaders attacked and destroyed the town, the remaining residents placed a curse on the town. It’s said that you can still feel the effects of this curse to this day, especially through the music that the residents of the town play. This legend is what influenced Goat’s debut album World Music which was released in August of 2012. It is interesting to note that when researching Korpilombolo and voodoo together the only results are interviews with Goat themselves.
Currently there are three core members of Goat who started playing music together as children as a part of community traditions. However when playing live there are seven performers all wearing different variations of masks to obscure their identity . In an interview with John Freeman at The Quietus, the only known member of the band Christian Johnsson said that Goat is a music tradition and the current members are only “a recent example of the project” and that there has been previous incarnations of Goat which has been playing for 30 or 40 years before this current version of Goat formed.
Throughout their 11 year career Goat has produced five studio albums, three live albums, one compilation album, and released numerous EPs and singles. The most recent studio album being Medicine which was released in October of 2023.
