AI gaming, off-grid cabins and luxury Mölkky

Finnish outdoor game Mölkky gets a luxury treatment in the hands of Dior. The French fashion house is selling a hornbeam wood version of the throwing pins game for 990 euros, writes Yle. According to the article, Mölkky was invented in 1996 and is based on the centuries-old Karelian game Kyykkä. 

Cyan Kicks has announced its debut UK tour. The Finnish alt-rock band will perform alongside Swedish electro-rockers Smashed Into Pieces on seven dates, Chaoszine reveals. The UK gigs are part of the band’s more expansive European tour, which kicks off in early November. 

Moomin books have been loved by fans all over the world for decades. In the US, however, their success is more recent, writes TheWorld. Their author, Tove Jansson, even rejected an offer from Walt Disney to buy the Moomin brand. 

Looking for an off-grid holiday experience? Take a look at the Majamaja eco cabins located in the Helsinki archipelago. Icon talked with Pekka Littow, the architect behind the project, about creating self-sufficient cabins and compact yet functional architecture. 

RootsWorld got its hands on Sähköpaimen’s (‘electric shepherd’) latest album, Iltahämärä (‘twilight’), and was left impressed. “They’re at their most powerful in the moments they throw off restraint and release their wildness; voices open in a cattle call or a bloody scream. […] Something’s going on here, and it’s very interesting.”

New Finnish gaming company Roleverse taps into generative AI to let users make their own games. “We have created a service or a platform where you can create a game by saying what kind of game you want to play,” CTO Jani Penttinen told GamesBeat. “You can say that you want the world to be more dangerous, and the AI will figure it out.” The company expects to release its platform in October 2023. 

The number of foreign tourists visiting Finland grew in June. Overnight stays by non-resident tourists increased by 17 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, Yle reports. Most of the visitors came from Germany, Sweden and the US. 

Helsinki-based Sonic Pump Studios has worked with many of the biggest names in Finnish music, including Amorphis, Lordi and The Rasmus. Headliner sat down with the studio’s Aleksi Wilberg to talk about “the local music scene, the trends shaping the studio market and the demand for immersive services”.

Finnish metalcore band Cleansing is back with a new single, Throne of Misery. Idioteq describes it as “channelling influences from legendary metal bands and the profound Finnish hardcore scene, aiming to deliver a sound that is emotionally charged, vile, and relevant to current trends”. The single release precedes the band’s debut full-length album, which comes out in late 2023. 

Paris-based Finnish fashion designer Jenny Hytönen has designed a capsule collection for the famous Galeries Lafayette department store. According to Fashion Network, the collaboration is based on Hytönen’s Hyères Fashion Festival-winning collection, Untitled. The six-item capsule collection will become available in October.