Mikko Alatalo - Siirtomaasuomen laulut
Kiiminki’s finest, Mikko Alatalo, has among other ventures, been a chronicler of rural life, migration, and the small human condition—and by any measure, he is one of Finland’s defining first-generation rock and pop artists.
One of his central works is the trilogy Siirtomaasuomen laulut 78-82 (11 virran maa, Iso joki tulvii, III tasavallan vieraana) roughly translated as Songs of Colonial Finland (1978–82): The Land of Eleven Rivers, The Great River Floods, and As a Guest of the Third Republic. At 2G Festival, he performs highlights from this trilogy—songs capturing the emotional landscape of Finland’s great migration through first-generation eyes.
“I got the idea from a 1970s book describing how wealthy southern Finland extracts resources, energy, even people from poorer regions—especially the north. I wrote about disappearing rural life, migration to Sweden, and urbanising people. Criticising the development didn’t feel exaggerated under a colonial title.” – Mikko Alatalo