Bio

(suomeksi)

Venla Ilona Blom is a multi-award-winning Finnish vocalist and composer whose work bridges contemporary performance and deeply rooted vocal traditions.

Working with extended vocal techniques, including beatboxing, her artistry draws on Scandinavian and Finno-Ugric singing practices to create a highly distinctive and physically expressive vocal language. She is widely recognised for her ability to integrate traditional vocal forms with contemporary sound, movement, and interdisciplinary performance.

For over a decade, she has toured internationally with the acclaimed vocal ensemble Tuuletar, performing across five continents and in nearly 30 countries. The ensemble has received several major awards, including the Finnish Music Award Emma for Best Ethno Album (2017) and the Border Breaking Act of the Year award (2019), and is known for its innovative approach to voice, combining folk traditions with contemporary expression.

Blom holds a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy and has worked as a professional musician since 2009. Alongside her ensemble work, she has appeared as a soloist in a wide range of productions with orchestras, ensembles, and choirs, and has collaborated extensively in interdisciplinary contexts.

In spring 2025, she made her opera debut at the Semperoper Dresden in Innocence by Kaija Saariaho, performing the role of Markéta, a part specifically written for a singer with Finno-Ugric vocal traditions. She will return to the role in the 2026/27 season at Theater Bremen.

Her work also extends to film and large-scale concert productions. As a member of Tuuletar, she appears as a featured vocalist in the award-winning nature film Tunturin tarina(2021), with music by Panu Aaltio performed alongside Tapiola Sinfonietta. The live concert version, combining film and music, has toured extensively in Finland to sold-out audiences.

Blom is an active recording artist whose voice, both as a soloist and as part of Tuuletar, has been featured in film soundtracks, television, and trailers, including Game of Thrones. Her debut album NEVRAK (2024, Nordic Notes) weaves together Nordic folk influences, electronic sound, and field recordings collected from locations such as the Lofoten Islands and Kathmandu, forming a rich and cinematic sonic landscape.

As a creator, Blom works across disciplines, developing stage works that combine voice, movement, and theatrical elements. Her solo performance Woman Machine premiered in 2022 at Mad House Helsinki, exploring the relationship between technology, the human body, and mental experience.

At the core of her artistic practice is the exploration of the human voice as a physical, cultural, and expressive instrument, one that connects body, sound, and identity across time, place, and tradition.