ILON Drops New Single 'SELFISH LOVE' | We Chat About Working With FINNEAS & Lockdown
21-year-old Finnish singer-songwriter ILON emerged as a hotly-tipped newcomer before she even released her first single. Armed with an original voice and amazing songwriting skills, ILON has drawn a great deal of attention on the international music field: Grammy awarded FINNEAS (Billie Eilish, Halsey) fell in love with ILON’s original voice and had her record a song he wrote (unreleased to date). ILON has also performed live on Instagram with rising UK pop star JC Stewart.
Now ILON demonstrates what the fuss is all about by sharing her debut single ‘selfish love’. The vocal class that first got her noticed really stands out, as ILON demonstrates an innate skill for maximising the emotional punch of her despondent lyrics. It’s the sound of an artist with the confidence and grace to realise that a song’s power can be heightened by remaining understated.
The young talent writes her songs together with producer Ilkka Wirtanen. Together they tell memorable stories narrated by ILON’s dark and compelling voice and brought to life by Wirtanen’s original production. selfish love is the first peek into ILON’s mesmeric musical journey.
‘selfish love’ positions ILON as the next essential contender amongst a wave of Nordic artists who are making an international impact. The likes of Sigrid, Tove Lo and Mø have led the charge, but ILON offers something new.
Her voice has a timeless quality which is adept in any setting - she excels at performing songs by Khalid and Shawn Mendes just as much as she does when stepping back to interpret Leonard Cohen or Bonnie Raitt. Just as importantly, her own songwriting is relatable, accomplished and poised to make her a global proposition.
What is Selfish Love about?
Selfish love is about being hurt one too many times. The other person sees your vulnerability as a chance to abuse you, to pretend to love you to feel good about themselves. At this point you are already broken enough to see through their malevolence – You throw yourself into it completely, giving in to every emotion. Being in such a vulnerable state, it sucks to notice that the other person was never really in it wholeheartedly.”
The lyrical message of this song highlights vulnerability and desperation in a doomed relationship. Why is it important to you to explore messages like this through your music?
Writing songs about my feelings and experiences really helps me sort things out in my head. I like the fact that I can feel a million different things, then pick one of those feelings and really emphasize and explore it profoundly by turning it into a song. With ‘selfish love’, I just really felt the need to express my frustration in order to take a final step back and move on. Music definitely helps me understand difficult situations and grow from them.
‘You saw that I was blinded by, the ending of a story I would never find’ is a beautiful lyric about hope. Can you talk us through this?
Thank you! I wrote this line to summarize the situation where someone targets you at an extremely vulnerable state. You’re all up in your feelings about someone, and spend your days blindly longing for this idealistic scenario where your feelings are met by them. However, your transparency results in the other person using it to their advantage, since this makes you an easy target in their eyes.
Your work is beautifully understated. Is there something deliberate in this decision to softly express your work?
Thank you so much! I haven’t really put much thought into it – I guess it’s just what comes naturally to me when I sit down by the piano and start singing. However, I reckon being really shy as a kid might have had an impact on what type of music I gravitated towards since I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself and wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of putting on a big, bold show when performing in front of family and friends.
Can you talk us through your creative partnership with producer Ilkka Wirtanen?
Oh my, if I could only express how much I appreciate Ilkka and his work. In my eyes, he’s a musical genius. We have good chemistry and he’s really good at interpreting my visions and adding his own special touch to make them come to life. Making music with him feels effortless and is a lot of fun since we joke around a lot and try not to take ourselves too seriously. I guess mutual appreciation plays a big part in the music-making process, too... Ilkka rocks!!! He’s one of the sweetest people I know.
What’s it’s like having someone as widely known as Finneas as a fan of your music?
I’ve adored Finneas work for years, so hearing that I’d get to record one of his songs was a huge moment for me. I feel so grateful and honoured for having had the opportunity to do that.
Can you tell us anything about your upcoming release with Finneas?
Too soon to tell... ;-) It’s an emotional one!
You’ve said you started playing music in your bedroom when you were around ten years old. What kickstarted your love of music?
My dad plays the piano and the cello, and I think his love for music passed onto me and my brothers quite naturally. We used to sit by the piano and sing the same songs that he had sung together with his dad when he was a kid.
Can you talk about the influence of contemporary R&B, the likes of The Weeknd and Kehlani, on your work? You’ve posted covers of some of these artists’ work on your Instagram, stripping them back, and adding your soulful vocals.
I listen to all kinds of music, and I think they all have had some type of impact on the music I make. I never strive to make a certain type of music; I just like to play around with melodies and sounds and turn them into something that feels right. I do listen to R&B quite a lot, and always have, so I’m sure it’s had its impact on the melodies I go for etc. I love the soulful and laid-back vibe to it.
As lockdowns over the world ease, do you have any venues you’ve always dreamed of playing? What are they, and why are they important to you?
I’d love to play wherever, really. It would be awesome to get to play on some kind of festival next summer though. I'd love to perform abroad, so I hope I get to do that sometime soon. I’m quite new to this whole thing, so even the smallest venue would do! I just want to grow, learn and have fun.