Ida Elina began playing the kantele at the age of 13 and was immediately sold. Now she has two custom-built concert kanteles, three albums out and a busy schedule of appearances.
Born Päivi Ollikainen in Oulainen, Northern Ostrobothnia, she decided to use her two middle names as her artistic name.
YouTube epiphany
Elina graduated from Helsinki's Sibelius Academy with a degree in music education in 2012, having played kantele as her main instrument at the conservatory.
Three years later, she began to tire of playing classical kantele and almost gave up on the zither-like instrument. Then she saw a video on YouTube of a slap guitarist.
"The guitarist was playing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" in an amazing way, really rhythmically. That's when it dawned on me what pop on a kantele could be."
Gradually she began adding vocals to the mix, partly inspired by her own studies of Whitney Houston's singing.
"For a long time I wondered whether I should be a kantele player or a singer. At some point I realised that, I can do these at the same time," Elina recalls with a laugh.
Gospel to house
Besides Jackson and Houston, her other role models include other American R&B stars such as Alicia Keys and Pharrell Williams, as well as Swedish electronic producer Avicii. She recently released her third album, Hello World, which features eight originals plus covers tunes including "Billie Jean". Elina's own music is close to gospel, subtly reflecting her Christian views and upbringing. Her mix of styles and interpretations has struck a chord, keeping her busy with concerts around the Nordic countries and in central Europe. Yet she's particularly excited about a series of concerts for Finnish schoolchildren next autumn.
"It's great that I can show kids and young people that you can come up with your own things based on old traditions," she says. Between gigs, Elina teaches young kantele players her unique playing technique. They have reacted enthusiastically and there are signs of a new generation of more pop-minded kantele players to come.