Mikko Hassinen Future Food Factory on tour in April

Mikko Hassinen Future Food Factory will perform on the Finnish Jazz Federation tour in Kotka, Kuopio, Oulu, Savonlinna, and Jyväskylä. The program features music from the ensemble’s debut album, reflecting the complex relationship with nature of award-winning percussionist and composer Mikko Hassinen.

Percussionist and composer Mikko Hassinen has returned to small ensemble music, inspired by his youthful and highly skilled band. The broad and layered wind orchestration of his earlier compositional work, the Espoo Big Band album Blood Red, transforms on the Future Food Factory debut into an intimate and focused interplay of a small collective, where acoustic jazz is infused with an electric layer.

On the album Future Food Factory (2024), Hassinen musically explores his own complex relationship with nature. The music is fundamentally acoustic and breathing, yet despite this acoustic foundation, it carries a subtle electric undertone. Many of the tracks have, in post-production, gained layers that diverge from traditional quartet jazz: recorded material has been altered and processed, and what begins as an acoustic album gradually evolves into something else.

To mark the Jazz Federation tour, Flame Jazz Records will release Hassinen’s new Future Food Factory solo album Anemoia on April 10. The material was created entirely in Hassinen’s home studio. The album centers on the concept of anemoia, a nostalgia for something never experienced.

Hassinen has built an exceptionally extensive career as a drummer, conductor, composer, arranger, and producer. His achievements have been recognized with honors including the Teosto Prize and the Yrjö Award from the Finnish Jazz Federation.

Mikko Hassinen Future Food Factory

Mikko Hassinen – drums, electronics
Max Zenger – alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Mikko Antila – vibraphone
Antti Ahoniemi – double bass

Concert dates and venues

Mon 13.4. at 19.00 Kotka, Restaurant Kairo / Kotka Jazz ry
Tue 14.4. at 19.00 Kuopio, Restaurant Teerenpeli / Kuopio Jazz & Blues ry
Wed 15.4. at 19.00 Oulu, RioLive / OMJ Jazz & Etno
Thu 16.4. at 19.00 Savonlinna, Kulttuurikellari / Olavin Jazz ry
Fri 17.4. at 19.00 Jyväskylä, Poppari / Jazz Jkl ry

The tour is supported by the Music Promotion Centre Finland (MES).

Jazz – heard and seen!

Finnish Jazz Federation’s essential form of operation is national touring. The annual touring activities enable approximately 100 concerts in 40 different locations all over Finland. The concerts mainly take place in their member organizations. Tours include both in-house productions and collaborations with external producers.

Photo: Mikko Hassinen