Photo: Aaro Koskinen · Attribution · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Islaja
Person · female · Finland · Helsinki · born 1979 · recording since 2004
Finnish singer
official homepageofficial homepagesocialdatabasedatabase
Also known as Ислайя
Timeline
10 events▣ Album 8◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1970s
2000s
· Debut release
Debut release: Meritie
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography86 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1324487090
Biography
Merja Kokkonen (born 19 May 1979), better known by her stage name Islaja, is a singer-songwriter and musician from Helsinki, Finland. Besides her solo career, she is a member of free improv and psychedelic folk bands Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät, and the trio Hertta Lussu Ässä.
She has been compared to Björk, Syd Barrett, and Nico.
Her music is psychedelic and intimate using a large variety of instruments. She is a multi-instrumentalist.
As of 2017, she is based in Berlin.
Also appears on
Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia (3CD, Nascente 2011)
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 19 | 43.6th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (10 release groups · 8 studio albums)
Albums · 8
2004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 38:57
1Kristallipallosilmät3:482Kenen maa4:153Emoa ikävä2:194Kämmen, kynsi, kieli3:015Kukkia3:146Haikea, kirkas2:027Sata naakkaa sitten2:538Majassani nukut, kataja2:169Valo vedestä2:2210Viimeisellä rannalla4:1111Harhojen perhe2:0012Halpaa kultaa2:0313Aallot ja äänet4:332005 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 42:22
1Laivat saapuu2:572Rohkaisulaulu4:253Uni pöllönä olemisesta4:114Palaa aurinkoon5:065Haaveilija3:126Senkun tanssitaan3:347Sateen tullessa4:218Rukki3:449Tule puutarhaan3:5310Vaeltajan laulu3:0911Rukous3:502007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 41:16
1Kutsukaa sydäntä2:392Sydänten ahmija4:053Pete P3:304Laulu jo menneestä4:245Pysähtyneet planeetat4:346Muusimaa4:517Varjokuvastin2:398Muukalais-silmä4:549Suru ei9:402008 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 30:47
1Kämmen, Kynsi, Kieli4:002Sateen Tullessa4:203Uni Pöllönä Olemisesta3:524Emoa Ikävä4:105Palaa Aurinkoon5:146Pete P3:137Silmä-Ämlis2:148Kristallipallosilmät3:442010 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 35:13
1Joku toi radion3:542Suzy Sudenkita3:453Dadahuulet4:084Pimeyttä kohti4:345Otakun uhkaus3:456Rakkauden palvelija / 14. käsky3:207Ihmispuku4:148Ajanlaskun aatto3:349Yövalo3:592014 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 43:42
1Skeleton Walk3:512See No Sun3:593Chaos Pilot3:554Temporary Haven3:305Travel Light3:316Siren Call3:117Shit Hit the Fan3:218Music Is Mine3:569Dust From Heaven3:4310Sandals of Alice6:0511Lay by My Side4:402017 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 38:32
1Ghost From the Future4:332Emosein3:443Sadetta5:394Tactile Material4:235Peace Pilot4:116Earthy Side4:507Robot Arm4:268Sävel mun suussa3:279Sun luona taas3:192023 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 33:10
1Urvogel4:132Pulpit Rising5:483Electus3:254Oh Divine3:075Angel Tape6:016Featherless3:457Teresa's Song6:51
Single · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Melodi Melodika / Kämmen, Kynsi, KieliSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 5:43AMelodi Melodika3:03 BKämmen, Kynsi, Kieli2:40 | 2006 | ||
| 2010 | Tsuki No Seika Volume ThreeSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracksAUnessa et... BWill of the People | 2010 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Islaja head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 10 | 82.3th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | 19 | 43.6th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Attribution · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Islaja_Avanto_2006.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b9ffe330-729d-434b-b34b-9dce5bad0f70discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b9ffe330-729d-434b-b34b-9dce5bad0f70core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2029133genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2029133seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islajabiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islaja
Why this artist is in the database
- List of folk musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Aaro Koskinen · Attribution · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q2029133 · MusicBrainz: b9ffe330-729d-434b-b34b-9dce5bad0f70
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