Leija Lautamaja is a Helsinki-based artist and musician, who’s previously toured the world with several succesful folk bands such as Enkel and Floating Sofa. With her solo music, Leija takes a more domestic approach. The artist’s songs are gentle Finnish rock, made up of a path harmonium, a combination of an electric guitar and a retro rhythm machine. Her delightful sound, that holds the ability to reach even the deeper parts of your soul, carries similarities to likes of Samuli Putro and Gösta Sundqvist, while still maintaining its fresh and unique vibe.

Leija’s solo debut album Sydän tuli piilosta was released in May 2024 and has since garnered a lot of positive attention, critics calling it a convincing change of genre and applauded Lautamaja for creating a hit after hit.

“Here too, she draws deeply from the soil of traditions, but from those roots, she digs up something truly modern, present, and explosively current.”
-Pekka Laine

“Hypnotic, monotonous, and at the same time humorous. And then I was immediately confused. Not only am I a fan of the harmonium, but I also realized I’m a fan of this song.”
-Jussi Paasi, Levylautakunta

“Leija Lautamaja has succeeded in blending the sound of the harmonium with a dance beat. In the song ‘Kun rakkaus iski minuun,’ she utilizes the harmonium’s characteristic slow-building tone, which surprisingly resembles the ducking effect used in electronic dance music, where the underlying chord pumps to the beat of the bass drum. The unique atmosphere is topped off by Lautamaja’s joyful lyrics and the jouhikko played by Pekko Käppi.”
-Ilkka Mattila, HS