Hyvinkää

Searching among golden fields, emerald forests and blue skies, you might find a small haven of serenity.

Years ago, some friends and I came up with a grand idea: we were going to make a video game.

To nobody’s surprise, after a few weeks of hanging out together and working on a concept, some initial code and visuals, we got bored, and that game never happened. But during those few weeks, I did manage to compose a few rudimentary pieces of music for the game on a MIDI editor. One of those tunes was to be the theme for the main character’s hometown.

Through the years, that melody kept coming back to me, and I would think of ways to develop the material and to make it better. I also decided that I would wait for a proper opportunity to actually write a more complete version of the piece; partly because I felt that I wasn’t then at a level where I could do the idea justice. The years went, until I was about to graduate from university with a degree in music composition, and I needed to write something for my graduation recital.

And so, about 15 years later, Hyvinkää materialized as a piece built on the theme created for the video game that never happened. But instead of the main character’s hometown, the piece was now about my own. 

Never been to Hyvinkää? Well, now’s your chance.