SOLO PIANO + FX
In my solo career, I'm focusing on composing contemporary cinematic music for acoustic piano and developing the possibilities of using live piano effects and music layering in performance situations. I use Ableton Live and various effects chains that I control with MIDI pedals and MIDI keyboards. In my music, I also often make use of advanced playing techniques and instrument preparation. No ready-made backing tracks are utilized. I am fascinated by how the dimension of tone and sound manipulation can still be expanded in the context of acoustic piano music. It can even be an essential tool for composer's and performer's artistic expression.
GASTHAUS ORKESTERI
has been active since 2015 and has received a lot of praise. I work in the band as keyboardist, main arranger and band leader. The core of the repertoire is the music for the TV series Twin Peaks and director David Lynch's films, but we also make original music. In 2024, three original singles were released:
"Light My Cigar", "Lost in a Dream" and "Vast Unknown".
In 2020, we composed and produced live accompaniment for Guy Maddin's silent film Brand Upon The Brain!, commissioned for Loud Silents festival in Helsinki. Gasthaus Orkesteri has played several sold-out shows in clubs and even concert halls.
Paula Präktig & Lotta-Maria Heiskanen
Fresh piano–violin duo.
We play original music that is a fascinating blend of cinematic, jazz and folk music traditions. In 2025, we released an EP called “Once Upon A Land”.
The duo’s genre-defying musicality, improvised solos and impeccable sense of melody is sure to take the audience on a heart-warming adventure.
Vocal arrangements for YLÄFEMMA
I write commissioned arrangements for the a cappella vocal group Yläfemma from Oulu. Their repertoire consists of pop/rock hits and seasonal tunes.
Examples of songs include
Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence
CMX: Ruoste
The Eagles: Hotel California
Hector: Yhtenä iltana
Leevi & The Leavings: Jossain on vielä joulu
HARMAJA
From 2008 to 2015, I was pianist, arranger and backing singer in the band Harmaja, founded by singer JP Leppäluoto. The band's music is beautifully melodic and melancholic Finnish rock-schlager, and the line-up (with acoustic guitars and piano) developed a warm, vintage-inspired sound. Harmaja released three full-length albums, plus singles and music videos. It was an important "rock school" for me, a newcomer to the industry, in so many ways. In the end, however, the group dissolved not only geographically but also in terms of personal goals.
Albums:
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Marras, 2012
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Lento, 2010
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Harmaja, 2009
Music video Sydäntalvella
Studio live Eikö kukaan voisi häntä rakastaa
TUTU
I was keyboardist and arranger in Lilli Aro's band Tutu in 2016–2018. We released an album called Sielun isku in 2017. After that, the singles Kuolematon (2019) and Kolme koiraa (2020) came out, which I was also involved in. We did some gigs in the Helsinki region and also elsewhere, for example at the opening club of Kalottijazz in Tornio. Tutu taught me how important it is to recognize and acknowledge your own motivations and responsibilities in the framework of creative group work.
listen: Rakkaus kuin (I am responsible for the arrangement of the song and the composition of the instrumental part)
KATI SALO
I played keyboards and sang backing vocals in singer-songwriter Kati Salo's band in Tornio in 2006-2007 and again in Helsinki in 2013-2015. I wasn't involved in recordings but we did about twenty gigs, e.g. German tour 2015, produced by Nordic Notes / Christian Pliefke. The German tour we did as a trio: Kati Salo, myself and Asko Keränen (22-pistepirkko).
I had already played with Kati in 1999-2001, in our teenage years in Tornio, when I played bass in Kati and Louna Widenius' band Woozy. Already then, at the age of 16, I realized that writing music and playing in a band is the best thing a girl can do.
music video The Street Sounds Different Now
MAALAMUS
The interdisciplinary improvisation duo combines live painting with live music. This perhaps unlikely combination is actually quite magical, and refreshingly different, at least from a musician's point of view. The whole performance from start to finish is 100% improvised, without talking. Satu Salomaa's abstract painting and the music I produce with keyboards, open up a space for both performer and audience to interpret sensations through imagination, in a certain environment. It sharpens the perception of process and awareness. After performance, we've often had exceptionally heartfelt conversations with audience members.
Maalamus duo performs in galleries and interdisciplinary events since 2020.
LASPAULIINAS
Another improvisational duo.
Rather fresh (since 2023) experimental electronic duo with percussionist and composer Pauliina Kauppila.
Strange instruments, effects, synths, soundscapes, all kinds of weirdness in sound.
SUTINA
Sutina was a all-female punkrock band from Northern Finland, active 2006-2016. I played guitar and bass. We released two EP's : "S" 2014 ja "U" 2016, as well as five music videos. We also produced a humoristic youtube reality-tv-show "Vain Sutinaa" (after the hit format "Vain elämää").
Sutina's driving forces were friendship and spontaneity. It taught me DIY spirit, how to make self-published releases and music videos, and how to take creative agency in public spaces. Music doesn't have to be serious or conservatory to be real and to say something important.
I believe that Sutina's lack of success was due to a lack of suitable networks - we just didn't know enough like-minded people. I was also left with the impression that a female rock band was still too dubious for many. Eventually, when each of us started to move from studying music to a working life in music (or elsewhere), there just wasn't enough time anymore.
music video Hiljaa nainen
ULAPpA
My little art-pop solo project from 2019. The name is an anagramm of Paula P.
Some songs had piled up and I wanted to release the best ones, just to get rid of them. I played, sang and produced the tracks mostly by myself. Producer Tero Holopainen gave the finishing touch.
I do write songs with lyrics from time to time, but I haven't found a suitable channel for them. The publishing market seems to aim solely at commercial radio success, which I consider to be a rather boring and non-creative context. I haven't found any motivation to "popify" my songs just to start offering them to others.
I don't feel any desire to become a singer or to perform by singing, so my songs have mostly been gathering dust somewhere. However, these two tracks felt close enough for my voice. I don't know if there will be any more ULAPpA releases or not.
Meille music video