Islaja

{{Short description|Musical artist (born 1979)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Islaja

| image = Islaja Avanto 2006.jpg

| caption =

| image_size = 240

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Merja Kokkonen

| alias = Islaja

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|5|19|df=y}}

|birth_place =Helsinki, Finland

| death_date =

| origin = Finland

| instrument =

| genre = Folk, experimental, acid folk

| occupation = Singer, songwriter, musician

| years_active = 2004–present

| label = Fonal

| associated_acts = Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät, Hertta Lussu Ässä

| website = {{url|https://islaja.com/}}

}}

Merja Kokkonen (born 19 May 1979), better known by her stage name Islaja, is a singer-songwriter and musician from Helsinki, Finland.{{cite journal |last1=Leitko |first1=Aaron |title=Islaja: Keraaminen Pää |journal=Pitchfork |date=23 August 2010 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14578-keraaminen-paa |access-date=14 January 2021}} Besides her solo career, she is a member of free improv and psychedelic folk bands Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät, and the trio Hertta Lussu Ässä.{{cite journal |last1=Stosuy |first1=Brandon |title=Islaja: Ulual Yyy |journal=Pitchfork |date=19 September 2007 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10652-ulual-yyy |access-date=14 January 2021}}

She has been compared to Björk, Syd Barrett, and Nico.

Her music is psychedelic and intimate using a large variety of instruments. She is a multi-instrumentalist.{{cite journal|last=Derek|first=|journal=The Wire|title=Islaja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UypMAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=14 January 2021|issue=278|year=2007|page=12}}

As of 2017, she is based in Berlin.{{cite journal |last1=Hannah |first1=Andrew |title=Finland’s Islaja unveils the huge, glitching glacier of new track “Sadetta” |journal=The Line of Best Fit |date=13 December 2017 |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/islaja-sadetta |access-date=14 January 2021}}