Weekly Mix: Iina Esko

Publisher and photographer Iina Esko is interested in working as a collective, also when listening to music. She thinks music is at its best when it’s shared. The playlist created for Helsinki Design Weekly evokes emotions and suits the endless summer nights, the pre-parties and after-parties.

Hi Iina, how are you? What kind of projects are you working on at the moment?

I’ve returned to photo art and photography for the longest time. Recently I’ve taken pictures of people in the mornings and sometimes naked people, and this work makes me able to focus on being present. I’ve enjoyed my own creations alongside the work I do at my publishing project Khaos. In the autumn, I’ll launch my own independent zine.

Do you listen to music while you work?

Not while I take photos, but during other work, yes. Music is part of the transitions in daily life that separate work and leisure time, for example.

What does music mean to you?

The meaning of music changes from time to time, but the sharing related to it is important. While making this playlist, I immediately shared it with a friend. It was super fun to come up with songs and decide the final order of them with others. Music nearly always involves a strong communal purpose. Lately I’ve been interested in busting the myth of the lonely genius in all areas of life. Regarding my taste in music, it means that sometimes I like what everyone else is liking and I can forget the underground stuff that nobody else knows about.

Situations change, of course, and so does music. Through music, one is able to find news sides and roles to oneself. We can represent our different sides in different media or social media channels in fun and liberating ways. In the same way, music can be used to reflect the different sides of a person in different situations, to represent oneself. Basically it’s about freedom.

What kind of a playlist have you put together for us?

The theme is a summer night from seven pm to seven am. The first songs suit the moment when you’re alone and on your way to a pre-party. After that comes the party, of course. The last part consists of the best after-party music. The underlying theme is emotion: each song evokes feelings. We must free our emotions and feel, big time, especially in the summer!