Yona - Pilvet liikkuu, minä en

Here’s an interesting new artist from Finland presenting a surprising mixture of influences blended with a beautiful voice almost comparable to the wonderful Johanna Iivanainen. What’s more, they have the same first name. In the cover above, Yona (Johanna Louhivuori) is standing in misty water like a spirit of the forest. In the back cover she’s standing in an empty container terminal wearing urban clothes. Inside the booklet she even does a breakdance move. These covers are actually very descriptive for this record that mixes jazz, iskelmä and hip-hop seamlessly. Even though the first two are most obvious on the record and fit well Yona’s voice, for me the highlights of the album are “Pilvet liikkuu, minä en”, “Kevätfiilis” and “Vedenpaisumus” all of which combine elements of all three music styles and also show Yona’s skills as a lyricist. Like the music, the lyrics combine elements of traditional Finnish poetic song-writing and rhythmic and rhyming writing of hip-hop artists. Not all songs on the record are as capturing as these, but this album feels like a new approach and makes me enjoy some musical element I have despised before. Pilvet liikkuu, minä en is also a must listen album next midsummer.

Yona @ Myspace