ISLAJA

Merja Kokkonen is a composer, performer and visual artist, who has just returned to her home city Helsinki after living over a decade in Berlin. As Islaja Kokkonen has released seven solo albums and performed widely at festivals and clubs, such as Sonar at Barcelona, Berghain at Berlin, ICA at London and SuperDeluxe at Tokyo.

“I’ve never heard anything so otherworldly”, wrote Kim Gordon about Islaja’s music in Artforum magazine. As an artist Kokkonen is interested in the merging of different styles and art forms and the energy these mergings create. As a performer she strives to create continuous and intense experience, a journey to the deep levels of mind with the help of music.

Kokkonen’s artist book “Angel Tape” (Bokeh 2022) is a visual sister work of the album with the same name that’s about to be released next year.