Désirée Saarela

Seaside Sounds from Finland

Désirée Saarela, Photo:Andreas Haals

“The lyrics, the stories, and the feelings held within them form the core of my music. I’m inspired by my surroundings – people and relations, the forest, sea and open landscapes, nature itself – all of which becomes songs.”

Désirée Saarela (born 1980) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish singer-songwriter and folk singer, whose songs are deeply-rooted in a folksy expression. She first became interested in folk music via Irish music and her songs have been compared to among others Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Ulf Lundell. She sings,  plays guitar and mandolin.

The Finnish-Swedish folk music and Désirée Saarela’s own songs meet each other in a borderland between traditional and newly composed. With her strong storytelling gift she brings songs and stories from the past back to our time. She performs solo and with ensembles like Désirée Saarela & Triskel and Désirée Saarela & Maria Kalaniemi, as well as with the children’s music duo Skrubiluttan Å Skrubilej together with Marianne Maans. She has also published several records with her own material, together with these ensembles.

Désirée Saarela was born and raised in Helsinki but now lives in Pedersöre in Ostrobothnia (on the central west coast of Finland). The experience of having moved back and forth between the city and the sparsely populated countryside has left its mark in Désirée’s life and is also to be seen in her songs and lyrics. She holds a Bachelor in Culture and Arts from the Novia University of Applied Sciences (music education, with folk singing as her major subject) and a Master’s degree in folk music from the Sibelius-Academy

More information: www.desireesaarela.fi