At its lightest the softly psychedelic and slightly cinematic 1970s progressive pop of Club Merano sounds like Air’s more rocking relative and at its vaguest like a Beatles tribute band that has swallowed Pink Floyd and Rush.
Text Teemu Fiilin
BMMB has created an amazing debut with futuristic space funk and R&B using wailing synths and unnaturally synthetic drum beats.
Text Teemu Fiilin
WDC and the City of Helsinki have promised to hold a great party when the traditional New Year’s party at Senate Square becomes the World Design Capital’s opening ceremony.
Text Petra Vuolanen
Illustration Jee Hei
The story of the urban clothing label Makia Clothing is reflected in their clothes. Success requires a lot of hard work, a healthy business philosophy and a relaxed work environment. It’s also cool to look good.
Text Ville Matilainen
Photos Niklas Sandström
Recently a group of Guggenheim Museum staff from New York visited Helsinki. They were wondering why the internationally renowned design city doesn’t have up-to-date and appropriate spaces for displaying design. Exactly. Maybe it’s a “shoemaker’s children have no shoes” phenomenon.
Text Aila Svenskberg
Photo Juuso Noronkoski
The Shanghai Cowboy brings life to Kaartinkaupunki. The food draws its inspiration from Mexico, but doesn’t even try to be traditional – or what do you think about Mexican-style reindeer meat?
Text Petra Vuolanen
Photos Alfonso Almendros
Helsinki will be the World Design Capital for 2012. In order to make Finland visible before the World Design Capital year, the city and Finnish design are already being displayed abroad.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Bernhard Ludewig, Perttu Saksa
The Helsinki-based Regina knows that time is a pop band’s worst enemy. However, it found a new sound from its own past.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Sanna Lehto
The Helsinki-based Siinai may be a newcomer to the indie scene, but its music is far from the pleasantly loud traditional indie sound. That could hardly even be expected from a band that wants to create a theme album for the Olympics.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Vesa Mäkinen
Workspaces are joining forces in Helsinki. The Mushrooming network is expected to bear all kinds fruits of cooperation – or should we say mushrooms.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Veikko Kähkönen
Patterns and prints of Project Papillon, launched in the autumn 2011, are based on art therapy creations of prisoners of Sörnäinen prison.
Text Petra Vuolanen
What is allowed and appropriate? Continuing the long-lasting debate over appropriateness and freedom of speech, this summer the focus has been on SlutWalk marches, England’s week of riots and at one point on a Finnish horse story that circulated on the Internet.
Text Eero Vassinen
Illustration Jaakko Pallasvuo
The furious live ensemble made up of nine guys combines hip hop with everything from reggae to folk and 50s Finnish schlagers to ska.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Swan has made the album entirely on her own, interpreting Pavement’s boyish, guitar-dominated college rock through a female voice which is accompanied by a piano, keyboards and drum machine.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Hertta Lussu Ässä’s album gets its influences from ominous ambience, bright minimalism, sleepy folk and repetitive krautrock.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Kerkko Koskinen’s fourth album approaches the 60s big band jazz through eleven original compositions.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Lofoten, the summer of ‘89 or ‘90. Oh well, flashes are more important than facts. We stopped to swim in the freezing cold sea where the high tide almost left us stuck on a sandbank. Our Norwegian ice cream melted all over the place. The strongest memories, however, were created by music.
Text Simo Vassinen and Antti Vassinen
Photos Vassinen family’s photo album
One night only theater performances, new poetry, music, visual arts, open-air cinema, this summer the Kalasatama Container Square is full of events and people.
Text Taru Torikka
Photos Noora Lehtovuori
A bicycle is a must during the summer in Helsinki. Fierce competition in the field forces the companies to specialize.
Text Ville Matilainen
Photos Juuso Noronkoski
Just spending a moment in an allotment garden makes your imagination run wild. The cottages are highly sought-after, but everyone is invited to walk around in the green oases or enjoy the public saunas.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Hanne Granberg
Three years ago, the French-Finnish band The Dø delighted us with their experimental and slightly naive indie pop of their debut album. The likable duo will make a comeback at Flow Festival in August, with the second album that will be released in the fall.
Text Teemu Fiilin
gTIE, a collection with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude, includes ties and other neckwear made of leather, feathers, fur, lace, chains and even fish skin.
Text Heini Lehtinen
During the past 15 years, the Finnish jazz and rhythm talent Teppo Mäkynen has played in a number of bands and recorded albums under different names, however never under his own name.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Johannes Romppanen
Helsinki was appointed as the World Design Capital for 2012 in the fall of 2009. The city was only given two years to organize the giant project, which is less than half the time that Turku had to prepare for their year as European Capital of Culture.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Images Tuomas Toivonen & Nene Tsuboi
Even though the trio of Finnish indie veterans named their tenth studio album after the 1980s cult sports car, it doesn’t bow down to the ‘80s or other decades, just to itself.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Clear 
20X0 – A Journey into the Future
8. October 2011
Heureka – The Finnish Science Centre
Seven Connections – Finnish Architecture Abroad
11. January 2012
Museum of Finnish Architecture
Yellow City – Illustrated Stories from Helsinki
16. January 2012
All around the city
20. January 2012
Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art
DesignWorld – Designing the New World
27. January 2012
Design Museum
Bi-monthly magazine about Helsinki. In Finnish and in English.
