Mikko Joensuu knew he had to get away.
The Scandinavia artist was tired of it all, tired of the rigours placed on him by everyday life. Heading out to a small cabin, the songwriter set up home by a lake in Northern Finland, and began to re-assess his art.
Songs came tumbling forth. Eventually, Mikko realised that what he was working on was actually three albums – material that will now be released as a trilogy.
'Amen 1' arrives on June 10th, and it taps into the recent American folk resurgence – think elements of Bon Iver, Josh T. Pearson or Townes Van Zandt. Clash is able to kick things off with the glacial beauty of 'Sometimes You Have To Go Far'.
A beautiful lament, Mikko introduces the project thus: Mikko explains:
"In the summer of 2012 I built a studio in a small cabin by a lake in northern Finland. I spent a month staring towards the lake, writing and recording. During that time I realized what I had was actually three different albums, all stemming from the same state of mind, expressing various sides to the same story. From the three, 'Amen 1' is perhaps the most fragile. It’s an effort to find balance between great sadness and beauty, and to understand the very strange state when one’s mind is close to collapse and yet at the same time more alive than ever."
Check it out now.
