Join us for the listening party of Aki Yli-Salomäki & Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä's Whitelabrecs debut 'Viriää'. You'll hear the album play through in full for the first time, alongside the rest of the community. The artists will be there to read and respond to your comments and questions. We look forward to listening along with you!
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
This special limited edition release is in a run of 100 copies, modelled around the classic gatefold vinyl LP. It includes printed front, rear and inner sleeves featuring photography by Bob Burnett, with design by Andrew Heath. There is also a card sleeve housing a silver vinyl-effect CDr.
Includes digital pre-order of Viriää.
You get 3 tracks now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
digital album releases August 22, 2026
item ships out on or around August 24, 2026
Purchasable with gift card
£9GBPor more
Streaming + Download
Pre-order of Viriää. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
Purchasable with gift card
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
releases August 22, 2026
£5GBP or more
Shirt
A white Whitelabrecs logo printed onto the iconic Stanley/Stella Creator unisex t-shirt, made from 100% organic ring-spun combed cotton.
The fit is medium, but if you prefer a relaxed fit it is recommend to up a size.
- Sizes available: XS - 3XL
- Weight: 180gsm
- Set-in sleeve
- 1x1 rib at neck collar
- Inside back neck tape in self fabric
- Sleeve hem and bottom hem with wide double needle topstitch
Care Instructions:
Machine wash 30°
Do not bleach
Tumble dry at low heat.
Iron inside out, at low temperature.
Don't iron the print.
Do not dry clean.
...more
ships out within 10 days
Purchasable with gift card
£20GBPor more
Bag
Eco Essentials Stanley/Stella Tote Bag in black, with a white Whitelabrecs logo on one side.
Perfect for trips to a record shop; houses vinyl and...CDs too of course!
Top edge double folded for strength and clean finish
Long handles with reinforced cross stitch
80% Recycled Cotton, 20% Polyester
Weight: 300gsm Size - One Size
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Finnish composer and sound artist Aki Yli-Salomäki has spent decades developing a deeply personal musical language rooted in contemporary classical traditions while gradually expanding toward Ambient and textural sound art. Based in Vantaa and active as a freelance composer since the early 2000s, his catalogue spans more than 80 works including orchestral and chamber music as well as numerous concertos. Alongside his work under his own name, he has also explored more atmospheric territory through his Ambient project Osa7029. For this Whitelabrecs debut called Viriää, he collaborates with Helsinki-based violinist and violist Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä, whose sensitive and accomplished performances play a central role in shaping the album’s intimate character.
At first listen, Viriää presents itself through the familiar timbres of violin and viola, drawing from the language of contemporary classical music, but the album reveals a deeper sonic dimension through Yli-Salomäki’s careful sonic shaping and subtle electronic undercurrents. Built around the interplay between acoustic strings and subtle synthesizer textures, the record focuses on what the composer describes as “slowly unfolding structures” shaped by timbre, resonance and attentive listening. Across the album, Heikkilä’s layered string performances are combined with electronic elements to create what feels like a unified sonic environment, where melody and texture move in quiet dialogue.
Rather than following a strict narrative, the album forms what Yli-Salomäki describes as a “unified listening space” guided by lingering stillness. Much of the work is centred on exploring how a single tone evolves over time and how small, almost imperceptible changes can shape the emotional trajectory of a piece. This attention to detail is reflected in the recording process, where preserving subtle dynamics, natural space and a sense of closeness was essential. The string recordings intentionally avoid excessive reverberation, instead maintaining what Aki describes as “a sense of acoustic closeness and direct sonic contact” allowing the listener to feel physically near to the instruments.
The album’s title, Viriää, is a Finnish word suggesting emergence, awakening and the gaining of new energy; an idea reflected in the music’s gentle sense of motion and renewal. Keeping the track titles in Finnish was also a deliberate artistic decision, reflecting both the nuances of language and a wider reflection on cultural diversity, and the quiet disappearance of smaller linguistic identities. At its heart, Viriää is as much about collaboration as it is about sound itself, with Yli-Salomäki noting that Heikkilä’s expressive playing became a major source of inspiration, helping shape an album that invites listeners into a space of presence, patience and attentive listening.
credits
releases August 22, 2026
All music composed by Aki Yli-Salomäki
Personnel
Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä – violin and viola (1, 2, 4, 10)
Aki Yli-Salomäki – synthesizers
Recording & Production
Aki Yli-Salomäki – recording, mixing, mastering and production
Recorded in Vantaa, July–December 2025
Photography by Bob Burnett
Art and design by Andrew Heath
Whitelabrecs is a record label from Lincolnshire (UK) established in 2016,
specialising in highly limited runs of vinyl-effect CDrs and digital-only editions. The label is managed by its founder Harry Towell, who records music as Glåsbird.
The label's discography focuses on contemporary Ambient music, including Drone, Modern Classical and Electro Acoustic....more
Margaret Hermant drifts between ambient and contemporary classical on her latest, creating ghostly songs that stir the soul. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 13, 2026
