anni pohto
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Andrew Viitalahde-Pountain
"My voice, my piano, my beats."
Anni Pohto’s music is like the northern sun. It is raw and wild, filled with strong contradictions taking us from the depths of endless darkness into the magic of nightless summer nights. Sensitive yet powerful, her songs embrace topics from personal to politics and beyond.
In music, Anni Pohto found her rebellion and her therapy. She began writing songs and stories at the age of 6. Growing up in the political atmosphere of the 90s Finland, she witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union next door and the Balkan war in the news. Wanting to understand the dark side of humanity, while craving to learn ways to express her inner visions, she dove deep into the creative worlds of songwriters and authors. She searched for solace and empowerment as much in classical and jazz piano as in feminist icons from Princess Leia to the girl power of Spice Girls.
Through her 20s, Anni Pohto worked her way in the domestic and international music industry. She got her first major label deal while still a student at the local music college, and continued to write with some of the biggest artists in Finland. The international scene opened to her after receiving a scholarship to Berklee College of Music. After living and breathing the East Coast music scene, she got back to Helsinki. In addition to music, another dream was unfolding: she was about to become a Master of Political Science majoring in world politics.
Despite the credentials and the drive, Anni Pohto struggled to find her place in this world. Though being a successful songwriter and having her own indie career in Finland, somehow she felt like never enough and yet always too much. Instead of trying to fit in, in 2017, she decided to fully embrace her dualism – the yin & yang of femininity and masculinity, intellect and intuition, mind and body. From that commitment stemmed her journey to reconnect with the sacred creativity, which was also the beginning of The Rising.
Since the release of DEEP, the first song on her concept album The Rising representing the 17 stages of emotional vibrations, her career has started to ascend. During the process, Anni Pohto has worked with award-winning filmmakers, her “everywoman” music video has gone viral on YouTube, and the song can also be heard as the title song of a TV-series by the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Her every single has been placed on the official Spotify Finland playlists and her music has been consistently played on several key national radio stations such as YleX, Radio Helsinki, and Radio Suomi.
Be it in art, sports, or politics, Finnish women have been making global headlines during the last years. And no wonder: their no-BS attitude is like a refreshing breeze in an often shallow and impatient world. They don’t just walk the talk, they dance the talk. Anni Pohto’s album will be released in the spring 2023, and based on the determination and eloquence with she is taking every step, it is evident that #TheRisingHasStarted.
