the tracks were composed during the winter months in helsinki, finland in 2019-2021. railo (finnish for >a crack in the ice< or >crevasse<) can be seen as on ode to winter, the richness of the seasons and different weather conditions which have been an inspiration to karjalainens work. the arc of the album follows seasons from autumn to spring, starting from cold autumn winds (viima) and ending to the melting of the ice (sula). different winter phenomena are explored on the way, including >routa< (finnish for >ground frost<), >kuura< (rime) and >kelirikko< (a term known especially in the archipelago meaning a time at the end of winter when the frozen sea does not support transportation anymore but boat traffic is neither possible). yet, the album is being suffused with a sadness stemming from the threatening permanent changes in the diversity and balance of nature trough the climate change caused by us. hannu karjalainen is an internationally acclaimed electronic musician, video artist and photographer based in helsinki, finland. his albums have been released on international record labels since 2007, lately on the renowned german label karaoke kalk. domestically karjalainen is known as the recipient of young artist of the year (in 2009), one of finlands biggest art awards. his video art works and photographs have been exhibited in new york, berlin, zürich, paris and helsinki, among other places.