While the majority of my music is written for acoustic ensembles since I like to work with musicians and singers, I have a long history in the field of electronic music as well. During my teenage years I spent a lot of time experimenting with synthesizers and different computer softwares and I remember being very enthusiastic and drawn into the field of electronic soundscapes.
During my academic studies in music composition my concentration was solely on writing for acoustic instruments and human voice, although I did a couple of electronic soundtracks to the short movies of one fellow student at the time.
It was not until 2009 when I first combined the acoustic instruments with electronics. That year I wrote aura, a 7-minute piece for alto flute and live electronics for flutist Hanna Kinnunen and Göreme, a 17-minute piece for guitar and fixed soundtrack for guitarist Patrik Kleemola.
Looking back, I think it was around that time that I felt mature enough to bring together the acoustic and electronic soundscapes – the craft of writing for acoustic instruments that I had been polishing for years during my studies, mixed with the intuitive approach to music making I had during my teenage years experimenting with electronic gear.
Combining acoustic and electronic sounds has been a growing point of interest for me ever since. In 2015 I completed aava, another 16-minute piece for guitar and live & fixed electronics commissioned by and written to guitarist Timo Korhonen. At the moment I have a couple of works on my sketch table that combine the acoustic and electronic sounds.
In 2010, I was asked to do an installation piece for the publication event of a project I was involved in. The result was an electronic soundscape titled Göreme Echoes. It is a mixture of some new materials combined with reworking of materials for Göreme for guitar and fixed soundtrack.
Like with Göreme, during the composition process of Göreme Echoes I was strongly affected of the landscapes and history of Göreme region in Cappadocia, Turkey. Over the course of several thousand years, the vast underground buildings in Göreme have served as an asylum for people of many cultural backgrounds escaping from turmoil.
This leads me to think of the concept of truth in a cultural context. Every culture, society and individual have their own truths, and in this respect it could be argued that every culture, society and individual own their own truths. The collisions between these truths keep serving as a springboard to quarrels, political turmoils, oppressions and even wars. Keeping this in mind, my aim was to create soundscapes representing the ever ongoing process between harmony and chaos, fueled by the truths in our global society.
Göreme Echoes is now available on following streaming services:
Be sure to check my artist profile on Spotify as well!