It’s not easy to talk about this. Music, especially electronic dance music, is born with the intention of celebrating and partying. Today, however, what we do with “First Contact” and the Victoria EP is to say goodbye and to pay tribute to the producer Joonas L. It was on 30 May 2019 when his family announced in this post that the Finn had left us due to a convulsion suffered in his home in Helsinki.
The news was totally unexpected and came by surprise, leaving their most intimate circles in a state of shock. Among them was Simina Grigoriu, who runs Kuukou Records and whom we spoke to to pay tribute to the music of Joonas L with a final posthumous release on the Berlin-based label.
These three tracks were produced by our friend Joonas before he left us. After his passing, I was contacted by his mum, Riitta, who asked me about his unreleased tracks and works in progress. I communicated with Riitta and offered her to release any and all tracks Joonas had produced, on my label Kuukou. It would be an honour to do this for him and for his family. She wanted to honour him by keeping his music alive, and we were thrilled to oblige. He would have been so happy to bring his last tracks out to the world. This was his lifeblood. His love of music and his dedication to his work defined him as an artist and he was deeply committed to what he was doing.
So, the Victoria EP will be released on October 2nd on the Kuukou Records label. It is made up of three tracks, each with its own personality. The first is “Victoria”, a techno-based track designed for big-rooms and with emotional melodic components created by synthesizers. The third is “Cut This”, which pays tribute to the more groovy and tech version of Joonas. And the second, which we are exclusively premiering today, is “First Contact”, a big-room techno track in which the acid components open up a space between melodic arpeggios to add rave flavours to the release: ““First Contact” is a serious dancefloor bomb. Joonas would love nothing else than to see a rave full of people going nuts to this track. That’s the situation in which I see it. I can guarantee you I will play this EP forever because he will live forever in our hearts. Joonas L and his music will never be forgotten.”
The EP pre-order is now available on the various digital platforms. For now, we don’t know when it will be possible to have a proper party, but we do know that, if Simina Grigoriu or any other artist from the Kuukou environment is in the DJ booth, we will look at the sky at some point in the night to thank Joonas L for his music.
Joonas was such a happy and outgoing guy. He loved his friends and family. He was probably the kindest person I know—always thinking of others before himself. He was dedicated to his craft and diligent at work. He was creative and he was always happy. His smile and energy lit up rooms. He is dearly missed by all who knew him.
Tracklist:
- Joonas L – Victoria
- Joonas L – First Contact
- Joonas L – Cut This
(Cover Image: © Kuukou Records)