Islaja
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.
Also recorded as Merja Kokkonen
Islaja
caninhas from Spain · Islaja · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Islaja
- Birth Name
- Merja Kokkonen
- Born
- 19 May 1979
- Birthplace
- Helsinki, Finland
- Occupation
- Singer, songwriter, musician
- Nationality
- Finland
- Fields
- traditional folk music
- Languages
- Finnish
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Islaja. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2029133
In this article
Biography
Biography
Her music is psychedelic and intimate using a large variety of instruments. She is a multi-instrumentalist.
IslajaIslaja, Kulttuuriareena Gloria, Avanto Festival, Helsinki, 18/11/2006
caninhas from Spain
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Islaja • Birth Name — Merja Kokkonen • Alias — Islaja • Born — 19 May 1979 • Birthplace — Helsinki, Finland • Origin — Finland • Genre — Folk, experimental, acid folk • Occupation — Singer, songwriter, musician • Years Active — 2004–present • Label — Fonal • Associated Acts — Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät, Hertta Lussu Ässä • Website — https: islaja.com/
Also appears on
Also appears on
• Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia (3CD, Nascente 2011)
Images
Images
• Illustration — Islaja, 2006 • Illustration — Islaja, 2006
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Islaja was born at Helsinki.
Birthplace
Helsinki.
Birth place
Discography
• Meritie (Fonal, 2004) • Palaa aurinkoon (Fonal, 2005) • Ulual Yyy (Fonal, 2007) • Blaze Mountain Recordings (Ecstatic Peace, 2008) • Keraaminen Pää (Fonal, 2010) • S U U (Monika Enterprise, 2014) • Tarrantulla (Svart Records, 2017) • Angel Tape (Other Power, 2023)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Islaja, revision 1324487090 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
44,023 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Isidore IsouPerson
- Isidore LegouixPerson
- Isidro MaizteguiPerson
- Iskandar WidjajaPerson
- Islam ElbeitiPerson
- Islam ItlyashevPerson
- Island Def JamOrganisation
- Island RecordsOrganisation
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Islaja?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.