Appropriately described as a “ Finnish dream-pop mystery man,” Jaakko Eino Kalevi’s electronic sound has this way of bringing you into a nightmarish daze.
Listening to his music makes me feel like I’m existing in this in-between space where I’m connecting with my wider surroundings, yet feeling a little bit isolated from it all. I was already drawn by his idiosyncratic image—structured, minimal attire and long, flowing tresses, reminiscent of a modern Scandinavian sprite—and I would fall in love even further with his releases on Weird World Records after I listened to his albums while walking around the Kallio district in Helsinki this past summer, deemed to be the indie area of the city.
Jaakko Eino Kalevi gained greater international acclaim following the release of his self-titled full-length album, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, in 2015 featuring mystical and eerie tracks like “Deeper Shadows” and “Hush Down,” which add a bouncy, pop element to the darker side of indie music. The combination is simply electric.
“Double Talk” off his latest album is hazy, blended, yet refined; reminding you of the most romantic and melancholic points in your life. His tracks cross many genre boundaries: synth-pop, electronic pop and rock, which makes sense once you know that Jaakko Eino Kalevi grew up listing to progressive metal in Helsinki.
Jaakko currently resides in Berlin, which is quite an adjustment from Finland. Surprisingly, he found inspiration from rap songs, which he plays around with through the use of repetition in his latest self-titled album. The first track “JEK” off this album is a primary example of this influence.
The most visceral aspect for me regarding Jaakko Eino Kalevi’s music is that, despite its dreamlike quality, you would imagine that it would allow for some out-of-body-esque experience, but the fascinating thing about the music is that it allows you to connect further with the present moment and the physical space that you occupy in that moment, and it’s a very special thing when music can achieve that.
Listening to his music is always a cathartic and self-realizing experience for me. His music reminds me that it’s always better to be in the moment and to be exploring somewhere new. It reminds of the truth that we, as humans, occupy a strange space between banal realities, the spaciousness of music, and an infinite universe.