Bio
With her revolutionary example Ida Elina has shown what the Finnish nationalinstrument, the kantele can be in the Twenty-Tens. She is an outstanding singerand pop kantele diva, as well as a YouTube phenomenon, thanks to her covers ofhits by for example Michael Jackson, Adele and Toto, which have reachedhundreds of thousands of views and received praises from all over the world.She also has a strong own voice as a songwriter and in her own songs you canhear gospel influences side by side with pop. Trained as a classical musician,Ida Elina invented her unique way of playing her instrument by watching YouTubeslap-guitar players.
As a solo artist Ida Elina oftensurprises her audience by magically making her big concert kantele sound like awhole orchestra – dreamy harmonies, groovy bass lines and even catchy drums. Atthe same time she kicks it off singing in several languages, in Finnish andEnglish as well as Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and French.
Ida Elina has been busy giving concertsin Finland and around the world, in Europe as well as in China, Japan and theUnited States. She has performed together with Grammy winner John Lloyd Youngand toured with the iconic Finnish punk band Apulanta.
Ida Elina holds a Master degree from theSibelius Academy and has also studied at Hokkaido University of Education. Shehas won an Evento Award as Performer of the Year 2017 and a first prize in the1st International Kantele Competition 2011. She was granted the Kantele of theYear Award by the Finnish Kantele Association in 2015. Ida Elina released herdebut album Songs of Freedom in 2012 and has regularly released new music eversince, the latest album "Capital Letters" saw the daylight in summer2022.
“When the vocals had a strong dosis of vibrant and strong r'n'b, I foundmyself enthusiastic about kantele music. Ida Elina's third album is a mix ofown songs and kantele versions of hit songs. This talent shows that the kanteleis suitable for both grand big band-feelings as confessional gospel songs.” Jukkapekka Varjonen, Satakunnan Kansa2.12.2015
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