MIKKO H. HAAPOJA

In his solo project, Haapoja combines new electroacoustic folk music with soundscapes from all around the globe. Haapoja’s debut solo album Unheard Landscapes was nominated at #16 on WMCE global music charts in September 2023. Haapoja plays jouhikko, a Finnish bowed lyre, and its bass version as his main instruments. The many layers of his music feature also electronic beats, singing, Finnish zither kantele and soundscapes from nature and cities like Tokyo, New York, Helsinki and Bamako. While Haapoja has composed the Unheard Landscapes music partly for the contemporary circus pieces Fragile (2022) and Unleashed (to be premiered in 2025), in Japan he tours alone with his bowed lyres, beats and soundscapes.

Listen to Unheard Landscapes on streaming platforms

Helsingin reitit – The Routes of Helsinki is a long-term soundscape project initiated by media artist and music producer Mikko H. Haapoja (MMus) in 2010. The project is about listening and capturing the sonic image of Helsinki, Finland and creating radiophonic pieces, audiovisual installations and multidisciplinary art performances of it.

The Routes of Helsinki installations in April 2025 are the first-ever Finnish soundscape art solo exhibitions in Japan, featuring a new multichannel audio-visual installation, in addition to another video piece (The First Route, 2014/2017) and multiple binaural sound works for headphones. There will be also multidisciplinary art performances and artist talks with Haapoja and Kira Leskinen (MA), who together are designing the visual side of the exhibitions.

Along with having the gallery exhibitions in Japan, Mikko H. Haapoja release a mobile sound work, a generative binaural version of his piece ’Luotisuora’ (Beeline) about summer 2015 in the central Helsinki. The new site specific Beeline can be experienced in the bustle of central Tokyo using a GPS based mobile web app. The original piece is part of the Helsinki City Museum’s permanent exhibition.

For the 15th anniversary of The Routes of Helsinki project, Haapoja will also release a compilation album Helsingin reitit – Helsinki Soundtrack – a special urban experience collage for ears.