Arrival City is my second album as Ilpo, and it fuses various West African musical influences with new urban pop and experimental electronic music. The album features vocal contributions from Diana Bada, Wanja Kimani, Sade Aboderin, Lee Clough, Gabriel Teko, Gustave Dylamour and John Follass – in sung, spoken and abstract forms – as well as Lagos soundscapes by Emeka Ogboh.

The album has been inspired by the idea of global metropolises where people all over the world migrate in the search of a better life: the new ecosystems they create, human stories within them, and the new opportunities, scenes and downfalls they present. It’s also been inspired by more invisible geographies created by people collaborating, sharing and connecting globally. The record has been shaped and recorded in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Finland, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

The album is available digitally on all the major music download and streaming services worldwide.

Composed, performed and mixed by Ilpo Jauhiainen

Arrival City & It’s Gonna Shine – written by Ilpo Jauhiainen and Veli-Matti Kimanen
Lagos Space & Spore – written by Ilpo Jauhiainen and Diana Bada
Wild At Dusk – written by Ilpo Jauhiainen, Wanja Kimani, Gabriel Teko and Veli-Matti Kimanen

Recorded at Frostbite Studios, Lagos – recording engineer: Lucky Joseph Emunemu (Lowkeyz); MD-Studio, Helsinki – Pro Tools and studio assistance: Jeppe Cavonius; Villa Karo, Grand-Popo

Produced by Ilpo Jauhiainen
Mastered by Niklas Silén at Good Will Mastering

Cover art, design and typography – Linda Förstner

The inside album graphic ‘Wonder Here’ by Ilpo Jauhiainen. It contains images of the paintings ‘Double Edge’ by Odili Donald Odita and ‘Before You Speak IV’ by Mari Rantanen. Used with the kind permission of the artists and Kuvasto ry (2013)

Released October 10, 2013