Johanna Elina Sulkunen is a composer, vocalist and performer based in Copenhagen, working at the intersection of voice, electronics and audiovisual performance. Through her ongoing project SONORITY, she explores the voice as both instrument and compositional system across concerts, recordings and installations. Alongside her solo work, she collaborates internationally, currently developing a new release with Japanese koto player Michiyo Yagi, extending her practice into a cross-cultural dialogue between voice and traditional instrumentation.
CURRENT PROJECTS:
SONORITY
IKI
JOHANNA SULKUNEN X BJØRN SVIN
JOHANNA SULKUNEN X MICHIYO YAGI
Shivers (Lisa Ullén, Burkhard Beins, Louise Jensen, Henrik Olsson)
Scandinavian Art Ensemble (octet, 2 albums released with Tomasz Stanko)
Calum Builder (self constructed organ, voices: Zola Mennenoeh, Johanna Sulkunen)
Tomasz Dabrovski - Individual Beings (septet)
Currently producing a duo album with the Japanese Koto player Michiyo Yagi. A duo album will be released in 2027. Developed through residencies, commissions, and live performances in Denmark and Japan. Voice meets koto — two instruments deeply rooted in the body, in breath, in resonance. The album captures a practice of listening in real time, where tradition moves rather than stands still. Michiyo Yagi is one of Japan's most internationally acclaimed experimental musicians, known for collaborations with Peter Brotzmann, Keiji Haino, Fred Frith, and Otomo Yoshihide.
INSTRUMENTS & PRODUCTION
Voice (extended techniques, breath)
Live electronics · Ableton Live
Roland sampler · Modular synthesis (Make Noise, Verbos Electronics)
Moog Matriarch · OP-1 · Synths
Violin · Guitar
Languages: English, Danish, Finnish, Swedish
SELECTED WORKS
2025 — Body, IKI (TILA) , Sonic Diplomacy Japan tour
2024 — COEXISTENCE, SONORITY (TILA) , Hotel Proforma/ Flammenwerfer w. Blixa Bargeld
2023 — Masses, IKI, commissioned 'Elusoria', CPH Jazz Festival
2021 — TERRA, SONORITY , 'Terror/Is/Me' at Odense Theatre
2018 — KOAN, SONORITY (ILK)
2011 — IKI — Danish Music Award winner