Processory: Change Is Gradual

Processory’s futuristic, melancholic and dark and occasionally gloomy electronic pop is not all dim. Behind all that lies an atmospheric melody with stylishly light production.

Text Teemu Fiilin

Sansa: Savior

Sansa knows how to compose a top-class pop song with an emotional dimension and she is also able to sing them in a touching, slightly fragile and husky voice.

Text Teemu Fiilin

NT’s White Trash: Mourning Becomes Electric

NT’s White Trash’s three-minute distortion pop songs are well composed, catchy and production-wise withstand international comparison.

Text Teemu Fiilin

Midsummer in Helsinki!

Get ready for Juhannus/Midsummer in Helsinki! The city might be empty, but there are still things to do. Check out our picks!

Design helps

Design Forum Finland invites people, companies and associations to participate in a design auction for Japan. We love!

At the face of the food strategy

Organic food for kids, farming in the city, great parties, pop-up restaurants and new food stores. Food strategy of the City of Helsinki seems to be all that is up-to-date in food.

Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Sanna Lehto

Spirit of the lakes

Mirel Wagner is like a music lover’s daydream. The young singer-songwriter from Espoo appeared out of the blue in 2010 and managed to convince even the most dedicated music lovers with her blues-folk sound. Now, Wagner is moving on to win the hearts of the rest of the world’s population.

Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Hertta Kiiski

Potatoes with ambient music

…Or a caffè latte with raw milk? Both options will be available at the Eat&Joy marketplace in Kluuvi, offering food products from small Finnish farms as of October.

Text Heini Lehtinen
Photos Sanna Lehto

It all comes down to luck

Rubik can, for a good reason, be called Finland’s biggest indie band. The band’s indie approach is illustrated not only in its style of music but also in its way of thinking and the channel through which it releases its albums.

Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Matti Tanskanen

Portfolio: Noora Isoeskeli

Artist Noora Isoeskeli’s photographs, illustrations and paintings discuss small insights with the visitor.

Text Heini Lehtinen

A glass of wine, anyone?

Several wine bars have opened in Helsinki within the last year. It seems, however, that there could be more.

Text Juhana Hurula
Photos Anna Kiuru

Vassinen: Sleepy turkey

In the city, people make a fuss about propellants, rain forests, pesticides and carbon emissions, depending on what the hot topic of the decade is. The people by the lake may or may not listen. The debate topics in the studios change, but the calm and firm hands keep putting the dried milk cartons in the fireplace as always.

Text Antti Vassinen and Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig

Towards WDC 2012: Information for all

Statistics can also be sexy. Open data produced by the cities within the Helsinki Region will now be available to everybody through an online service that is part of the Helsinki Region Infoshare project launched in March.

Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photo Anna Kiuru

Shine 2009: Realism

This summer’s Finnish indie phenomenon will undoubtedly be the debut album from the Shine 2009 duo. While the sounds point to the Hacienda club in Manchester, the songs work better on the couch at home.

Text Teemu Fiilin

Mummypowder: Centuries Later

Mummypowder still trusts its key competence – music with tons of melodic hooks, drawing its inspiration from 60s harmonic baroque pop, 70s power pop and the 90s classic indie.

Text Teemu Fiilin

TV-Resistori: TV-Resistori

TV-Resistori made its name playing slightly naive indie pop, but its new sounds are softer, more like popular music and less amateurish.

Text Teemu Fiilin

Felix Zenger: Won’t Say A Thing

Finland’s or perhaps the world’s most talented beatboxer Felix Zenger’s debut album is thankfully not only about showing off his beatboxing skills, but of course it’s part of the deal.

Text Teemu Fiilin

Hoxton–Punavuori

Column by Maryam Razavi

The overall atmosphere shows how proud Helsinkians are of their young designers. Everybody recognizes Antti Asplund’s cross, Makia’s down jackets, R/H’s eye trinket, Minna Parikka’s shoes and Tiia Vanhatapio’s dresses.

Photo Osma Harvilahti

Style – In Swedish

Finns who speak Swedish as their native language (Finnswedes) are famous for their casual stylishness. Urban A and Nómad bring their Finnswede owners’ style to Helsinki shoppers. Inspite of this, the owners don’t want to emphasize their Finnswedishness.

Text Sara Karlsson
Photos Niklas Sandström

Delicately organic

A restaurant of your own is like a child: it takes lots of love and care, say Chef & Sommelier’s Sasu Laukkonen and Johan Borgar.

Text Juhana Hurula
Photos Anna Kiuru

Riding the wave

French Films has shot to indie fame quite quickly. It’s undoubtedly the most blogged about Finnish pop band and one of the first Finnish bands to make waves outside of Finland thanks to foreign music blogs. This year the band is set to fulfill the expectations they have created.

Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Sanna Lehto

Hallelujah to slowness

These days, geographical distances don’t prevent keeping a band together, although they may slow things down. Le Futur Pompiste’s timeless pop is a good example.

Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Sauli Sirviö

Portfolio: Dusty

Clothing designer Marjut Uotila’s mens’ collection Dusty is an insightful and experimentational avantgarde-esque collection that has gathered a lot of attention at fashion fairs from Paris to Florence.

Text Heini Lehtinen
Photos Juha Arvid Helminen

Art of modesty

2OR+BYYAT quietly launched a new flagship store in August 2010. One of Finland’s most interesting fashion designers doesn’t want to make a fuss about himself.

Text Sara Karlsson
Photos Hertta Kiiski

Vassinen: A shitty thing

Public peeing is part of a bigger stream that adds up to over 13 million euros annually. Every euro spent on maintenance could be transformed into other activities. How could we turn Helsinki from a pissoar into a cozy hobby space?

Text Antti Vassinen and Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig