Studio Kekkonen

Yesterday we had great fun recording some of Salla Luhtala's brilliant music for the Icebreaker / Jään vangit TV series. Maija Linkola and Jussi Vähälä are amazing, amazing musicians and such nice folks to boot!

Mikko Raita - Studio Kekkonen: Helsinki friends! Helsinki International Film Festival - Love & Anarchy programme is out, and Flow - an animated film will have 3 showings! I have also been invited to present the dialogueless film in the first one on saturday 21.9, as the mixer of the music by director-composer Gints Zilbalodis and composer Rihards Zalupe!

We don't yet know if the film will have a normal theatrical run in Finland or not, so better not miss this (tickets on monday) - it's truly one of a kind with a constant sense of wonder and a big emotional heart, best experienced with a large screen and a 7.1 sound system! I'll link the trailer and soundtrack singles in the comments. :)

Flow — Rakkautta & Anarkiaa 2024 Neuvokas pikkukissa pelastautuu suuren tulvan alta laivalle, jossa eläinten täytyy opetella selviytymään yhdessä. Immersiivisen kaunis animaatiomaailma häikäisee.

Last friday this last single from Dalia Stasevska's "Dalia's Mixtape" album with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Julia Wolfe's epic "Pretty" was released on Apple's Platoon label, along with the whole album! "Pretty" was stereo and immersive mixed, mastered and co-edited by me.

I also worked on several other tracks on the album; Lauri P***a's "Utu", Anna Meredith's "Nautilus", Judith Weir's "Still, Glowing" and Jóhann Jóhannsson's "They Being Dead Yet Speaketh". Thank you so much Dalia, Lauri & co for your faith in me!

Link to the full album in the comments.

Mikko Raita - Studio Kekkonen

Julia Wolfe: Pretty Provided to YouTube by PLATOON LTDJulia Wolfe: Pretty · Dalia Stasevska · BBC Symphony OrchestraDalia's Mixtape℗ 2024 Dalia StasevskaReleased on: 2024-08-30O...

Variety lists - an animated film on TWO categories as their predicted nominees for the Oscars - Best International Feature & Best Animated Feature. Music by director-composer Gints Zilbalodis and composer Rihards Zalupe mixed by Mikko Raita - Studio Kekkonen. Link to the first soundtrack single in the comments!

Oscars 2025: Early Buzz Builds for Lady Gaga, Zoe Saldana and ‘A Complete Unknown’ With Fall Film Festivals Set to Launch Awards Season 2025 Oscars Predictions in every category which include "Anora," "Emilia Perez," "Dune 2," "Gladiator 2," "Blitz," "Conclave" and "The Wild Robot."

The music by composers Rihards Zalupe and Gints Zilbalodis, that Mikko mixed for the animated feature "Flow" just won Best Score at Annecy Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy!

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC AWARD FOR A FEATURE FILM GOES TO ‘FLOW’!!! Congratulations to composers Rihards Zaļupe and Gints Zilbalodis!!! The Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy Special Prizes ceremony took place tonight and has brought our team the greatest news! Now - off to celebrate!

Mikko had a great recording day with Maija Kauhanen, Maria Kalaniemi and Charlotta Hagfors at Sonic Pump Studios for a upcoming biodiversity-themed album ("Luonnon monimuotoisuusprojekti"), such incredible musicians!

Of course with a 9.0.6 Atmos array up as well, now to edit and mix these beautiful songs and performances at Studio Kekkonen. :)

Today, Lauri P***a's amazing love letter to the universe, the album "Matter and Time" is released! Based on the texts of Esko Valtaoja with lyrics by Paula Vesala, sung by Ringa Manner and narrated by mr. Stephen Fry! Mikko: This has been one of the absolutely coolest and most musically rewarding projects I have gotten to be a part of, do have a listen to the link in comments! :)

For me, the journey towards this day started 3,5 years ago, when I sat on my summer cottage porch on a nighttime Zoom call, figuring out how the piece should best be recorded with Lauri and master orchestrator Vili Robert Ollila. Soon I was sitting at Pro Tools at the Musiikkitalo Paavo hall with co-recordist Matti Heinonen (whose brilliant Schoeps-based setup was in use) with the Vantaa Orchestra / Vantaan Viihdeorkesteri playing this amazing music with Dalia Stasevska conducting.

Lauri also asked me to edit the music and to prepare it for the next stages of production, with Tommi Vainikainen recording Olavi Louhivuori's drums. Ilkka Raul Ruutu recorded the Vaskivuori high school choir, Mikko Kosonen laid down furious guitar tracks and Mongo Aaltonen provided innovative percussion. Joonas Kaartti helped with additional editing. The Vantaa orchestra sessions also had some incredible players booked, like Seppo Kantonen on piano and keys and Jukka Eskola leading the trumpets.

After that, Tuomo Prättälä came on board to co-produce and create astonishing soundscape treatmets and helping to shape the overall "album sound", with Alpo Nummelin also providing tracks and guidance. Tuomas Norvio created electronic tracks for the original live production, some of which were also used on the album.

In the end, I also had the immense pleasure of mixing the full album in 2 languages, first in stereo in close collaboration with Lauri and Tuomo, and eventually also in Dolby Atmos, with Svante Forsbäck mastering the stereo version and co-mastering the Atmos version with me.

Thank you so much Lauri for the confidence and the good times at the studio. Congrats on the album release, to us all!

Tomorrow, Lauri Lauri P***a's album Matter and Time will be released (english version)! It is one of the absolutely coolest and most ambitious musical works I have gotten to work on, both in the recording and editing phase as well as mixing it in stereo and Dolby Atmos. Some reviews are already out, like from The Independent:

An atheist’s answer to the religious masses of the great classical composers, Lauri P***a’s epic premiered in 2018 with the Vantaa orchestra, and tracks range from the Big Bang through life on Earth, on beyond the death of our sun to the unknown emptiness that follows.

A bold, beautiful and bonkers suite, it uses the words of astronomer Esko Valtaoja, narrated by Stephen Fry – here an intergalactic Sir David Attenborough, illuminating the journey of the carbon atom which serves as our central protagonist.

P***a, descended from composer Sibelius, has written a beautiful orchestral score, with his other musical life as the bassist in heavy metal band Stratovarius making its presence felt in frequent rock guitar solos. His wife, renowned composer Dalia Stasevska, presides over the disparate elements which coalesce in prog-rock, War Of The Worlds territory.

Evolution is the high point of a first half, marking staging posts in the emergence of life, before The End arrives jarringly early in track six of 10.

After Fall Of Man comes an increasingly out-there sequence of the gorgeous Requiem Mundi; Epilogue – all Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and gene-edited post-human beings; and Future, the most euphoric five and a half minutes of chanted binary code you will ever hear – which is unlikely to be a high bar, but is a surprisingly effective finale.

Score: 8/10

(Review by Tom White)

Pearl Jam and Lucy Rose are among the acts hitting the right notes with their latest album releases Composer Lauri P***a and Liverpudlian musician Banners are also releasing new music this week.

Aineen ja ajan messun suomenkielisiä versioita ulkona! Finnish versions of Matter & Time singles out now with a video, mixed, edited and co-recorded by Mikko, also in Dolby Atmos.

Lauri P***a pohtii ikuisuuden kysymyksiä - Ensinäytössä aikaa luonnon kierron kautta katsova Tietoisuus-video

Big news! The BBC Symphony Orchestra playing Anna Meredith's "Nautilus", first single off conductor Dalia Stasevska's upcoming Dalia's Mixtape album, released by Apple's Platoon label. Stereo & immersive Dolby Atmos mixing, editing and stereo & Atmos sound mastering by Mikko.

Produced by Lauri P***a, recorded by Mike Hatch / Floating Earth at the BBC Maida Vale studios.

Anna Meredith, Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra - Nautilus Listen to Nautilus by Anna Meredith, Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Mikon miksaaama Sampo Lassila Narinkka - Finnish klezmer -yhtyeen albumi julkaistiin tänään!

Tänään on Suomiklezmer 2 - albumin virallinen julkaisupäivä! Albumi on nyt striimattavissa yhtyeen www.narinkka.com sivuilla!
http://www.narinkka.com/suomiklezmer-2-albumi/

Sekä striimattavissa myös yhtyeen bandcamp-sivuilla, myös ladattavissa (!):
https://sampolassilanarinkka.bandcamp.com/album/suomiklezmer-2

Fyysisen cd:n voi tällä erää ostaa Musiikkitalosta Fugan levykaupasta, lisää paikkoja tulossa piakkoin!

Ja Narinkka tänään Savonlinnassa Kulttuurikellarissa klo 19!

Ja tässä vaiheessa jo VALTAISA kiitos kaikille albumin tekoon osallistuneille ja sitä tukeneille!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Aivan mahtava tiimi Tekijöitä!

!

A fun day of ambisonics -> Dolby Atmos mixing/mastering with Pekka Aikio and Niillas Holmberg!

Mikon uusi Atmos-miksaus ja masterointi on ulkona, miksattu 9.1.6 -kuuntelulla, m***a tarkoitettu myös kuulokekuunteluun. Dolby Binaural -versio (ei Applen) tällä kertaa julkaistu myös tämän normaalinen stereoraitana, eli kuunneltavissa millä vaan laitteella ja alustalla. Ei-Atmos stereomiksaus siis bändin eri julkaisuna samalla nimelllä ja kansikuvalla.

Audiophiles heads up!
❤️💙❤️
Mosaic Days has been mixed and mastered for Atmos setups everywhere by Mikko Raita!
This Atmos (and binaural headphones version) can be found on Apple music, Tidal and Amazon.
Link in bio. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

ig: mosaicdaysofficial

Tuomas Paukku Scription: Earthbeat Tuomas Paukku Scription: Earthbeat – Music videoTuomas Paukku – guitarArtturi Rönkä – pianoJori Huhtala – bassTomi Saikkonen – drumsComposed by Tuomas Paukku...

Aki Rissanen julkaisee uuden soololevyn ja hyvin uniikilla instrumentaatiolla, äänitys ja miksaus Mikko Raita - Studio Kekkonen!

Finnish Pianist Aki Rissanen returns this year with a brand new album like no other. Find out more at editionrecords.com/aki-rissanen-releases-a-new-solo-album-with-a-difference

Mikko sai valmiiksi tulevan Aki Rissanen - sooloalbumin äänitykset ja miksaukset, erittäin hienoa tulossa!

Aki's new solo album is finished and coming out on Edition Records, recording setups and mixing by Mikko!

Mikon äänittämä ja miksaama DANTCHEV DOMAIN valittiin vuoden kansanmusiikkilevypalkinnon saajaksi, onnea!

Antti Poutan toinen albumi ”Välivuodet” nyt Spotifyssä! Tuottamassa Juppu. Klo 19 levynjulkkarit Studio Kekkosen YouTube-kanavalla (youtube.com/studiokekkonen) ja keikan jälkeen juttutuokio Antin ja Jupun kanssa!

Kiitos Antti, muusikot Jaakko Murros, Jari Salminen, Juho Kanervo, Ylva Haru, Elisa Kuismanen, Tero Hyväluoma, Netta Madetoja ja Artturi Taira, Tuomas Ilmavirta M.dulor ja Jaakko Viitalähde Virtalähde Mastering

https://open.spotify.com/album/0UMjlDov6nPSY3h96mV6Kl?si=QfP7CxRnScuJlUAdyJulAA

Välivuodet Antti Pouta · Album · 2021 · 10 songs.

Mikon miksaamat Yarin musiikit käytiin säätämässä loppuun Meguru film sound oy:llä, Rikinkeltainen taivas / Den svavelgula himlen on pian valmis ja Solar Films Inc. tuottaa!

Viimeisenä elokuvanteossa on loppumiksaus jossa elokuvan äänet sekä musiikki viilataan kohdalleen.
Se on aina juhlavan tuntuista.
Pitkät elokuvat miksataan usein Katajanokan Meguru studiolla joka on elokuvateatteri ilman penkkirivejä.
Siellä viimeisteltiin myös ensimmäinen yhteinen elokuvamme Clasun kanssa, Elvis-Kissan jäljillä, syksyllä 1986. Noista ajoista tekniikka on kehittynyt aika lailla m***a puitteet on samat: keskellä salia on miksauspöytä jossa nappuloita riittää. Valot ja säätimet vilkkuvat hienosti kun Micke Nyström hioo kaiken paikoilleen.
Mukana tiimissä ohjaajan lisäksi myös musiikin miksaaja Mikko Raita

Pitkän päivän jälkeen sitten ansaitulle illalliselle, Claes Olsson tietää aina parhaat paikat ja myös tämä Tehtaankadulla sijaitseva ”SameSame - But different” on aivan huippu. *****

Ihan valmiiksi elokuva ei tosin vieläkään tullut, vaan lopputekstien musiikkia täytyy vielä säätää.

Emma Gaala -ehdokkuuksia tuli taaskin Kekkoselle! Jupun työstämä Oranssi Pazuzun albumi Mestarin kynsi on ehdolla metallikategoriassa ja Mikko on jälleen edustettuna jazz-kategoriassa Verneri Pohjolan albumilla The Dead Don't Dream. Onnea kaikille ehdokkaille!

https://www.emmagaala.fi/fi/ehdokkaat

Emma Gaala - Ehdokkaat

Mikko ja Joonas äänittivät Pertti Sajaniemen lauluja, esittäjinä Emma Salokoski & Jarmo Saari. Ihana päivä!