Ø (Mika Vainio)

Ø is the solo project of the Finnish musician Mika Vainio (1963-2017), born in Helsinki and best known as one half of Pan Sonic with Ilpo Väisänen. Ø began with stripped-down minimal techno and over time moved towards slower ambient pieces in which space and silence carry as much weight as sound. Ø released Metri in 1994. Later Ø records include Kantamoinen (2005), Oleva (2008) and the EP Heijastuva (2011). Konstellaatio came out on Sähkö Recordings in January 2014. Sähkö released much of Vainio's music. Vainio died in France in April 2017.