Mikko Iivanainen (born 1975) is a remarkably versatile guitarist who has collaborated with e.g. Johanna Iivanainen, Maria Kalaniemi, Timo Alakotila, Edu Kettunen and Juhani Aaltonen. The project as a solo artist started in 2019 and is characterized by an equal relationship between playing the guitar and composing. They are like two sides of a coin that feed each other. The guitar artist who paints with a large sound palette has released three solo albums: The prog-tinged ensemble album Last Room (2014) and the solo guitar albums A River Runs through It (2020) and most recently Lullaby for Lost Souls (2023). Iivanainen performs his songs with both acoustic and electric guitar.
‘Music has a really big and varied meaning for me. Comfort is one thing I get as both a listener and performer. I feel some kind of responsibility to produce music in which this element would be present. The idea that we are not alone in this universe no matter how messed up the world around us is. If I can make even a small movement happen in one of the listeners, then I feel I have succeeded’.
“Iivanainen is, above all, a master of the sound palette, there is a huge range of tones in the touch and instruments” – Suomijazz
“Mikko Iivanainen bends, swells and suddenly stops notes at the most microscopic level, as if Jeff Beck had dedicated himself exclusively to jazz over the past 30 years.” -All About Jazz
Mikko Iivanainen Solo
Sun 1.10. at 16 (doors 15.30), Art Hall
Tickets in advance 20/15€, from the door 25€
EARLY BIRD TICKETS -5€ 15.6. untill!