Episode 4 – Unto Ek

Some people belong to a place so completely that, after a while, it becomes difficult to separate the person from the landscape.

In Episode 4 of SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere, the journey moves away from music and deeper into the forests of northern Finland.

This episode tells the story of Unto Ek — writer, border guard, hunter, outdoorsman and a man who seemed to live partly in a world of his own.

I met Unto many times when I was younger.

To me, he always remained a mysterious figure.

He knew the forests, the animals and the old ways of the North. He wrote about a world that was already beginning to disappear, preserving parts of northern Finland through words.

Unto was also connected to my own family in a very personal way.

He brought my mother her first Karelian Bear Dog, Vili.

Vili lived for around fifteen years. He was gentle, loyal and deeply attached to my mother — but like many Karelian Bear Dogs, he could also be fiercely protective when necessary.

After Vili died, Unto later brought her another bear dog.

Small memories like these are part of why Unto never became just a name in a book to me.

He was a real person from my childhood.

A man of the forest.

A storyteller.

And somehow, still a mystery.

SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere
Episode 4 – Unto Ek

Written, Narrated & Produced by
Aaro Luukinen

A Documentary Series from
Lähtökohta Podcast

Intro Music
"Way Back Home" — Simon Herody

#SALLA #StoriesFromTheMiddleOfNowhere #UntoEk #LähtökohtaPodcast #Lapland #NorthernFinland #FinnishHistory #Nature #Wilderness #KarelianBearDog #Documentary #Storytelling

Credits

Music doesn't belong to places. People do.

But sometimes a place quietly shapes the people who later shape the music.

Episode 3 of SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere follows musical journeys that connect a small community in northern Finland to a much wider world.

Kimmo Blom.
Nova Scotia.
Stalingrad Cowgirls.
Jaco Pastorius.

Different musicians. Different generations. Different journeys.

Nova Scotia emerged from Salla in the late 1980s, with Kimmo Blom among its members. Years later, another band from the same small northern community, Stalingrad Cowgirls, would take its music far beyond Finland — touring internationally and sharing stages with major international rock acts.

And behind this journey remains the discovery that started the entire SALLA project: an unexpected connection found while researching Jaco Pastorius.

Standing in Salla today, it is easy to hear only the wind.

To watch reindeer crossing a quiet road.

To see cranes returning every spring.

Or the first snow settling across the forest.

It feels timeless.

Yet from this peaceful place, music travelled remarkably far.

Looking back now, I no longer see these musicians as separate stories.

I see different journeys.

Different dreams.

Different generations.

Each found its own voice.
Each followed its own path.

But every journey needed a beginning.

Every melody begins with a single note.
Every journey begins with a single step.
And sometimes the smallest places leave the longest echoes.

Written, Narrated & Produced by
Aaro Luukinen

A Documentary Series from
Lähtökohta Podcast

Intro Music
"Way Back Home" — Simon Herody

#SALLA #StoriesFromTheMiddleOfNowhere #LähtökohtaPodcast #WhenMusicTravels #KimmoBlom #NovaScotia #StalingradCowgirls #JacoPastorius #Finland #Lapland #MusicHistory #DocumentaryPodcast

Credits

The café feels familiar.

Maybe too familiar.

A radio plays quietly in the background. Coffee is served. A train announcement drifts in from the station. Two people sit at a table, trying to remember what happened — and discovering that their memories no longer quite agree.

Small things begin to matter.

A time.
A receipt.
A pack of cigarettes.
Something missing.

And a barista who seems to know more than she should.

BEHIND THE NUMBER continues with The Usual — a story about memory, repetition, and the strange moment when something ordinary stops making sense.

Some things we remember.

Some things remember for us.

Music

• Hanging Motionless — Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig
• Care Is Heavy — Jeremy Korpas & Rick Barry

* Ancient Civilisations — Alex Jones & Xander Jones

Written, edited and produced by Aaro Luukinen
Lähtökohta Podcast

© 2026

BEHIND THE NUMBER — Episode 8: Between Station

They board the train at Platform Three.

The doors close.

The journey begins.

But the station remains.

Time no longer agrees with itself. The familiar becomes uncertain, and a number that has followed them before returns in a different way.

Are they moving?

Are they dreaming?

Or is the journey taking them somewhere that cannot be measured in distance?

BEHIND THE NUMBER
A cinematic audio mystery about memory, time, identity and the things we notice only when we begin to listen.

🎧 Headphones recommended.

Music

• Say It Like It Is — Sun Machine & Go By Ocean
• Ancient Civilisations — Alex Jones & Xander Jones
• Hanging Motionless — Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig
• Care Is Heavy — Jeremy Korpas & Rick Barry

Written, edited and produced by Aaro Luukinen

© 2026

Episode 2 – Matti Luukinen: The Master Builder

Some stories are carried through words. Others are carried through what we leave behind.

In Episode 2 of SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere, the journey turns to my father, Matti Luukinen — accordion builder, tuner and craftsman.

His workshop was a world of its own.

Accordions were built, repaired and tuned. Musicians came and went. Coffee was shared, stories were told, and as a child, I watched this world from close by.

Matti's craftsmanship became known far beyond Salla. Instruments arrived at his workshop from across Finland and the Nordic countries, and his work earned respect among fellow accordion builders and musicians.

He had learned the demanding craft of accordion tuning from master tuner Aki Lievonen — knowledge passed from one craftsman to another.

Matti died in 2007 before he could fulfil a promise to pass that knowledge on once more.

But craftsmanship has a way of continuing.

Years later, I would find myself at a workbench of my own, building accordions and becoming part of another extraordinary journey.

This is the story of a craftsman, a workshop, and a legacy that did not disappear when the tools fell silent.

A documentary about Matti's work as an accordion builder, repairer and teacher, originally broadcast by Yle TV1 in 1997:

Matti Luukinen – harmonikan tekijä ja korjaaja | YouTube

Written, Narrated & Produced by
Aaro Luukinen

A Documentary Series from
Lähtökohta Podcast

Intro Music
"Way Back Home" — Simon Herody

#SALLA #StoriesFromTheMiddleOfNowhere #LähtökohtaPodcast #MattiLuukinen #Accordion #AccordionBuilder #Craftsmanship #Finland #Music #Heritage #DocumentaryPodcast

Watch Matti LuukinenCredits

SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere

Every story has a beginning.

What began as research into the legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius unexpectedly became a journey into the history, people and heritage of Salla, a small community in northern Finland.

Across seven documentary episodes, this series explores remarkable lives connected by one place. Through music, craftsmanship, nature and memory, the story follows unexpected connections that reach far beyond the Arctic.

Meet master accordion builder Matti Luukinen, singer Kimmo Blom, writer and outdoorsman Unto Ek, the internationally touring Stalingrad Cowgirls, and discover the unique story of the Kauri Accordions—three handcrafted instruments built from ancient New Zealand Kauri wood, each beginning its own journey in a different part of the world.

This is more than a documentary about Salla.

It is a story about curiosity.

About craftsmanship.

About music.

About nature.

About history.

And about how one unexpected discovery can change the direction of an entire journey.

Welcome to SALLA – Stories from the Middle of Nowhere.

A Documentary Series from Lähtökohta Podcast.

CreditsWritten, Narrated & Produced by
Aaro Luukinen

A Documentary Series from
Lähtökohta Podcast

Music
"Way Back Home" — Simon Herody

#SALLA
#StoriesFromTheMiddleOfNowhere
#LähtökohtaPodcast
#Documentary
#DocumentaryPodcast
#History
#Finland
#NorthernFinland
#Music
#Heritage
#Storytelling
#JacoPastorius
#MattiLuukinen
#KimmoBlom
#UntoEk
#StalingradCowgirls
#Accordion
#KauriAccordion
#Craftsmanship
#Nature

BEHIND THE NUMBER Episode 7 – Platform ThreeTwo people return to the café where everything began.The rain hasn't stopped.Neither have the questions.A familiar place begins to feel unfamiliar as memories no longer agree.Did they meet at this table?Who sat by the window?Why does everyone walk toward Platform Three... when no train ever arrives?Some places remember us better than we remember ourselves.BEHIND THE NUMBER is a cinematic audio story where mystery grows through silence, memory, atmosphere, and the small details we usually ignore.Close your eyes.Listen carefully.And if you hear the train...look twice.🎧 Headphones recommended for the best immersive experience.Music• Say It Like It Is — Sun Machine & Go By Ocean• Ancient Civilisations — Alex Jones & Xander Jones• Hanging Motionless — Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig• Care Is Heavy — Jeremy Korpas & Rick BarryWritten, edited and produced by Aaro Luukinen© 2026#BehindTheNumber #AudioDrama #Mystery #PsychologicalMystery #PlatformThree #Storytelling #Atmospheric #CinematicAudio #Rain #Philosophy #Podcast #SlowCinema #TwinPeaksInspired #PsychologicalThriller

BEHIND THE NUMBEREpisode 6 – Two SeventeenTwo people.Two rooms.The same minute.A question without a sender.A phone that should not have changed.A moment that neither of them can explain.At 2:17, nothing seems to happen.Yet from that moment on, neither of them can be certain what is real, what is memory... or what has already begun.Sometimes the greatest mysteries are not the ones we see.They are the ones we remember differently.BEHIND THE NUMBER is a cinematic mystery told through sound, silence, atmosphere, and imagination.Close your eyes.Listen carefully.🎧 Headphones recommended.Music• Say It Like It Is — Sun Machine & Go By Ocean• Ancient Civilisations — Alex Jones & Xander Jones• Hanging Motionless — Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig• Care Is Heavy — Jeremy Korpas & Rick BarryWritten, edited and produced by Aaro Luukinen© 2026#BehindTheNumber #AudioDrama #Mystery #PsychologicalMystery #Atmospheric #Storytelling #CinematicAudio #Rain #Suspense #TwoSeventeen

Two people leave the same table and walk in opposite directions.The woman walks east.The man walks west.The rain follows them through a small town, past old streets, a bridge, city lights and a road that eventually becomes gravel.They carry questions neither expected to ask.Questions about memory.About silence.About who we are when no one is watching.Nothing unusual happens.Until, at exactly 6:17, two screens light up.Two people.Two places.The same minute.And the same three words:Are you listening?BEHIND THE NUMBER — Episode 5: The Way HomeA cinematic audio story about people, memory, technology, and the invisible patterns that connect our lives.Some questions don't ask to be answered.They ask to be carried.Close your eyes.Listen carefully.Imagine freely.Music in this episode:🎵 Say It Like It Is – Go By Ocean & Sun Machine 🎵 Hanging Motionless – Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig 🎵 Care Is Heavy – Jeremy Korpas & Rick Barry 🎵 Ancient Civilisations – Alex Jones & Xander Jones

Two people. One table by the window. A quiet conversation on an ordinary morning.

Outside, the rain falls over a small town. Inside, two people sit across from each other and begin to talk.

About silence.

About memory.

About the choices we make without noticing.

Nothing extraordinary happens.

And yet...

something changes.

BEHIND THE NUMBER — Episode 4: The Window Table

A cinematic audio story about people, memory, technology, and the invisible patterns that connect our lives.

Close your eyes.

Listen carefully.

Imagine freely.

Music by

* Ancient Civilisations — Alex Jones & Xander Jones

* Hanging Motionless — Mark Karan, Scott Guberman, Angeline Saris & Jeremy Hoenig

* Care Is Heavy — Jeremy Korpas & Rick Barry

If you enjoy Behind the Number, please like the video and subscribe to the channel.

It helps more people discover the story.

Thank you for listening.