Mikko Savela
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Mikko Savela is a self-taught Finnish-Swedish guitarist, composer, and producer. He has over two decades of experience in experimental and improvised music. Based between Northern Europe and Asia, his work transforms the electric guitar into a unique sonic tool. He lays it flat as a horizontal sound table, plucks strings with both hands, and strikes the body with metallic objects—enhanced by contact microphones, transducers, and electronic layers for raw, tactile textures.
With a DIY spirit rooted in Umeå, Sweden, he has toured widely in Europe and Asia. Key collaborators include Will Guthrie, Jérôme Noetinger, Yan Jun, Hankil Ryu, and Hong Chulki. Since 2019, his duo with Austrian sound artist Paul Gründorfer fuses analog and digital electronic sounds with high-intensity light installations for multisensory experiences. In recent years, he has also experimented with electric arcs—high-voltage plasma with the sound of intense buzzing and hissing sparks.
His intensely physical performances blend percussive energy, electromagnetic explorations, and immersive improvisation. Critics describe them as "intensely noise-based (bruitiste)" with "tactile electronics," where "whispers and resonances build into repeating ritual rhythms."
Today, Mikko is producing new music in electronic soul and funk. He is open to live performances, studio work, sync licensing, and film scoring.
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Tour dates
2025
2015-05-14 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Aporon21, Graz. AT
2025-02-08 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Kluster, Luleå, SE
2025-03-15 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Geiger, Göteborg, SE
2024
2024-12-10 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Humus Libraire, Lausanne, CH
2024-12-11 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Cave 12, Geneva, CH
2023
2023-11-08 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Smog, Brussels, BE
2023-11-09 - w/ Paul Gründorfer - CCL, Lille, FR
2022
06 June - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Velak - Vienna, AT
17 June - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Verschubu - Innsbruck, AT
23 June - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Punctum - Praque, CZ
10 Dec - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Das Lot - Vienna, AT
2020
03 March - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Fiducia - Ostrava, CZ
28 February - w/ Paul Gründorfer - A2 (Punctum) - Prague, CZ
27 February - w/ Paul Gründorfer - Bludný kámen - Opava, CZ
2019
23 October - A4 - Bratislava, SK
24 October - Tresor - Linz, AT
26 October - Zentrale - Vienna, AT
21 April - Nord - Belluno, IT
20 April - Neo - Padua, IT
19 April - Bunker - Bolzano, IT
18 April - Bunker - Turin, IT
07 March - Ääniaalto - Helsinki, FI
2018
03 November - Data - Marseille, FR
01 November - Le 102 - Grenoble, FR
30 October - w/Olivier de Placido / Pascal Battus - Atelier de l'etoile - Besancon, FR
19 August - Cairo by Christoph Nicolaus - w/ Keith Rowe, Takahiro Kawaguchi, Gerard Lebik,
Sebastien Branche, Cyril Bondi, D'incise, Michal Libera - Sanatarium Dzwieku - Sokolowsko, PL
17 August - Sanatorium Dzwieku - Sokolowsko, PL
05 April - Klappfon - Basel, CH
06 April - WIM - Zürich, CH
2017
02 November - Rouen, FR
31 October - HS63 - Brussels, BE
29 October - Centrum voor Labiele Media - Dordrecht, NL
27 October - Helicopter - Haag, NL
26 October - OCCII - Amsterdam, NL
30 July - Festa Marziana - Venice, IT
29 July - Huiu Gallery Pula, Croatia, HR
06 June - Ex Nihilo - Besancon, FR
04 June - Le Non Jazz - Paris, FR
02 June - SET/30 - Nantes, FR
21 April - 76A - Naples, IT
18 April - About - Venice, IT
15 April - Zavod Sploh - Ljubljana, SL
2016
08 October - GEIGER Festival - Gothenburg, SE
02 September - mo.ë - Vienna, AT
01 September - Interpenetration - Graz, AT
25 August - Eufemia - Warszawa, PL
22 August - concert and artist talk - Hypernatural Sounds, Liebig12 - Berlin, DE
01 April - Velak - Vienna, AT
31 March - Skolska 28 - Prague, CZ
30 March - Bludny Kamen - Ostrava, CZ
09 March - Cave12 - Genèva, CH
06 March - DAF-Festival - Genèva, CH
05 March - Klappfon - Basel, CH
03 March - Wandler - Zürich, CH
2015
28 October - Yucatan, presented by Agharta - Vilnius, LT
26 October - Chomsky - Riga, LV
24 October - Improtest - Tallinn, EE
23 October - Äänen Lumo - Helsinki, FI
27 May - Cafe XX - Hangzhou, CH
23 May - Soup - Tokyo, JP
22 May - w/ Masayoshi Watabiki/Kayu Nakata - Pool - Tokyo, JP
20 May - Club Stomp - Osaka, JP
19 May - Urbanguild - Kyoto, JP
12 May - w/ Yan Jun - Miji Concert 24, Meridian Space - Beijing, CH
08 May - w/ Ryu Hankil/Hong Chulki - Dotolim - Seoul, KR
04 April - Lacking Sound Fest. - Taipei, TW
15 March - Rockbund Art Museum - Shanghai, CH
2014
09 December - Old Heaven Books - Shenzhen, CH
07 December - solo and duo w/ Yu Yiyi - 191 Space - Guangzhou, CH
05 December - concert and workshop -Wuhan, CH
14 November - w/ Yan Jun (solo and duo) - Chronus Art Center - Shanghai, CH
01 November - Dotolim - Seoul, KR
30 October - w/ Hankil Ryu - No Continent - Seoul, KR
25 October - solo and duo w/ Miki Naoe - Bitches Brew - Yokohama, JP
24 October - w/ Masayoshi Watabiki, Takahiro Kawaguchi (solo and trio) - Pool - Tokyo, JP
23 October - Urga - Tokyo, JP
22 October - Figya - Osaka, JP
20 October - Hokage - Osaka, JP
19 October - Ftarri - Tokyo, JP
18 October - Nishiazabu Bullets - Tokyo, JP
30 May - w/ Hong Chulki - Dotolim - South Korea, KR
13 May - XP Club - Beijing, CH
09 May - solo and trio with Li Jianhong and Yan Jun - XP Club - Beijing, CH
29 April - NOIShanghai LXIV - Shanghai, CH
27 April - Kill The Silence - Hong Kong, HK
26 April - Kill The Silence - Macau
2012
3 November - w/ Jérôme Noetinger - SubSpace - Umeå, SE
27 July - Norbergfestival - Norberg, SE
9 June - Kluster, Luleå, SE
27 April - SubSpace, Umeå, SE
24 March - Ny Musikk, Stavanger, NO
2011
5 November - Sound of MU, Oslo, NO
3 November - Fylkingen, Stockholm, SE
16 April - Klubb Kanin, Trondheim, NO
8 April - Nymus Festival, Härnösand, SE
2010
27 April - w/ Will Guthrie - Bergen, NO
28 April - w/ Will Guthrie - Trondheim, NO
29 April - w/ Will Guthrie - Oslo, NO
2009
24 October - w/ Will Guthrie- Umeå Jazz Festival, SE
7 March - w/ Will Guthrie, Keith Rowe - Umeå, SE
5 March - w/ Will Guthrie - Fylkingen, Stockholm, SE
2008
18 December - Cable #19, Nantes, FR
25 October - Umeå Jazz Festival, SE
16 May - Moonshake - Umeå, SE
2006
14 November - Moonshake - Umeå, SE
29 September w/ Marko Savela, Mats Öberg - Feedback, Umeå, SE
9 September - Moonshake - Umeå, SE
28 January - Moonshake - Umeå, SE
2005
29 October - Umeå Jazz Festival, SE
31 July - Schmäck, Umeå, SE
13 May - Umeå Jazz Dagar, SE
2004
23 July - w/ Marko Savela - Zappanale 15# - Bad Doberan, GER
11 June - w/ Mike Keneally Band - Umeå International Chamber Music Festival, SE
22 January - w/ Karl-Henrys - Jazz i studion - Umeå, SE
2003
24 October - w/Karl-Henrys - Umeå Jazz Festival, SE
6 June - w/ The Zappa Corner Band - Umeå Chamber Music Festival, SE
