Reviews
Kosto
Vilma Jää, album
2023
On Kosto, Jää combines cattle calls with 2020s pop and even Latin American R&B expression, and the result is mesmerizing.
— Ilkka Mattila
2023
Vilma Jää’s crystal-clear voice makes a strong impression. – – [Kosto] is a convincing and unique debut album, presenting a cohesive thematic vision.
— Arttu Seppänen
2023
Folk musician Vilma Jää’s full-length album is one of the most intriguing releases of the year. – – Kosto is a record you want to spin on vinyl. It’s a remarkable album, where each listen becomes a new adventure with beautiful art.
— Antti Kurko
Kansanmusiikki-lehti
2023
Through melodies and lyrics, Jää captures feelings of depression, anxiety, frustration, and despair with chilling precision. – – Even “powerful” feels like too mild a word for this exceptional album!
— Soja Murto
2023
Kosto is a strong and moving album. – – I can only admire the fervor and intensity with which the artist tackles her themes, channeling more cycles, tension, and a fiery spirit that reaches the edge of madness.
— Mika Roth
2023
The ethereal Markéta of [Saariaho’s opera] Innocence transforms in Kosto into a diabolical conjurer of masculine evil, a summoner of death, a howler of birth pains. A powerful artistic release of trauma.
— Marja Mustakallio
Live
Helsingin juhlaviikot, 2024
In my book, the self-produced artist behind last year’s best Finnish pop album delivered an intensely fresh and powerful set of feminist, folk-infused electronic pop with her band, all dressed in white.
– – The Huvila audience had arrived early to witness this comet in action.
— Aleksi Kinnunen
Turun musiikkijuhlat, 2024
The singing is surprisingly delicate and beautiful for such grim and dangerous tales.
– – It’s strikingly clear that this pop has a deeper message than its sound alone suggests, telling the story of womanhood with themes and motifs rooted in folk traditions.
— Kari Salminen
Festivaali, 2024
A masterful musician who combines the heritage of runolaulu with electropop and draws lyrical inspiration from Finnish and Karelian folk poetry. Vilma Jää’s performance by the beautiful shores of Lake Pyhäjärvi was downright enchanting!
— Anna Elina Isoaro
Etno-Espa, 2021
The cool electronic sounds complemented Jää’s clear voice perfectly. The dark content created a dramatic contrast with the bright soundscape.
— Harri Römpötti
Innocence
Kaija Saariaho, opera
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
And the most powerful moments in the music, text, and direction were found in the scenes Kaija Saariaho wrote specifically for Vilma Jää.
She isn’t an opera singer, so her voice is amplified. But amplification is hardly necessary during the climaxes where Jää reveals herself as a master of Viena Karelian yoik and traditional cattle calls.
Dear lord, the intensity these techniques bring to Saariaho’s extraordinarily demanding melodic lines!
— Vesa Sirén
Le Monde
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
In the centre, the exceptional figure of the young Marketa, half angel half demon, youthful timbre and animal vocality, whose technique, linked to Scandinavian folk song, is one of the most striking elements of the score (incredible Vilma Jää).
— Marie-Aude Roux
The Times
Royal Opera House, 2023
The range of vocal delivery required is virtuosic. It includes an extraordinary part for a ghost (played by the Finnish folk singer Vilma Jää), who sings in an unearthly Nordic kulning, or cow herding style.
— Richard Morrison
The New York Times
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
“The waitress’s daughter, Marketa (a memorably rapt Vilma Jää), appears as a kind of phantom, singing in the eerily plain style of Finnish folk music.”
— Zachary Woolfe
Reviews
Kosto
Vilma Jää, album
2023
On Kosto, Jää combines cattle calls with 2020s pop and even Latin American R&B expression, and the result is mesmerizing.
— Ilkka Mattila
2023
Vilma Jää’s crystal-clear voice makes a strong impression. – – [Kosto] is a convincing and unique debut album, presenting a cohesive thematic vision.
— Arttu Seppänen
2023
Folk musician Vilma Jää’s full-length album is one of the most intriguing releases of the year. – – Kosto is a record you want to spin on vinyl. It’s a remarkable album, where each listen becomes a new adventure with beautiful art.
— Antti Kurko
Kansanmusiikki-lehti
2023
Through melodies and lyrics, Jää captures feelings of depression, anxiety, frustration, and despair with chilling precision. – – Even “powerful” feels like too mild a word for this exceptional album!
— Soja Murto
2023
Kosto is a strong and moving album. – – I can only admire the fervor and intensity with which the artist tackles her themes, channeling more cycles, tension, and a fiery spirit that reaches the edge of madness.
— Mika Roth
2023
The ethereal Markéta of [Saariaho’s opera] Innocence transforms in Kosto into a diabolical conjurer of masculine evil, a summoner of death, a howler of birth pains. A powerful artistic release of trauma.
— Marja Mustakallio
Live
Helsingin juhlaviikot, 2024
In my book, the self-produced artist behind last year’s best Finnish pop album delivered an intensely fresh and powerful set of feminist, folk-infused electronic pop with her band, all dressed in white.
– – The Huvila audience had arrived early to witness this comet in action.
— Aleksi Kinnunen
Turun musiikkijuhlat, 2024
The singing is surprisingly delicate and beautiful for such grim and dangerous tales.
– – It’s strikingly clear that this pop has a deeper message than its sound alone suggests, telling the story of womanhood with themes and motifs rooted in folk traditions.
— Kari Salminen
Festivaali, 2024
A masterful musician who combines the heritage of runolaulu with electropop and draws lyrical inspiration from Finnish and Karelian folk poetry. Vilma Jää’s performance by the beautiful shores of Lake Pyhäjärvi was downright enchanting!
— Anna Elina Isoaro
Etno-Espa, 2021
The cool electronic sounds complemented Jää’s clear voice perfectly. The dark content created a dramatic contrast with the bright soundscape.
— Harri Römpötti
Innocence
Kaija Saariaho, opera
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
And the most powerful moments in the music, text, and direction were found in the scenes Kaija Saariaho wrote specifically for Vilma Jää.
She isn’t an opera singer, so her voice is amplified. But amplification is hardly necessary during the climaxes where Jää reveals herself as a master of Viena Karelian yoik and traditional cattle calls.
Dear lord, the intensity these techniques bring to Saariaho’s extraordinarily demanding melodic lines!
— Vesa Sirén
Le Monde
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
In the centre, the exceptional figure of the young Marketa, half angel half demon, youthful timbre and animal vocality, whose technique, linked to Scandinavian folk song, is one of the most striking elements of the score (incredible Vilma Jää).
— Marie-Aude Roux
The Times
Royal Opera House, 2023
The range of vocal delivery required is virtuosic. It includes an extraordinary part for a ghost (played by the Finnish folk singer Vilma Jää), who sings in an unearthly Nordic kulning, or cow herding style.
— Richard Morrison
The New York Times
Aix-en-Provence, 2021
“The waitress’s daughter, Marketa (a memorably rapt Vilma Jää), appears as a kind of phantom, singing in the eerily plain style of Finnish folk music.”
— Zachary Woolfe