Islaja is Merja Kokkonen, a visual artist and musician working and living in Helsinki. Islaja´s strange but beautiful songs are sung in Finnish and have gained attention on the international scene. Sonic Youths Thurston Moore was so impressed by Islaja that he decided to release the live album “Blaze Mountain Recordings” on his Ecstatic Peace label. Islaja will have a new studio album out in early 2007.

At Herkät Korvat Islaja will give a special solo performance accompanied by an installation made exclusively for this night.