Crafted by Finnish-American Bay Area saxophonist Rent Romus and award winning Finnish composer Heikki Koskinen, Itkuja Suite pronounced (eet-koo-yaw), is an original ethno-music research project fusing large ensemble jazz, free improvisation, and mythopoetics inspired by the oral traditions and healing practices of the lament from Finland and Finno-Ugric culture.

The tradition of song through lament has served as a form of community expression spanning millennia, invoking processes of healing in profound ways. The Finnish word itkuja literally means crying, but hidden within this translation embodies deeper undercurrents of meaning. Itkuja surpasses the biopic Western acceptance of polar opposites (i.e. happy/sad, good/bad), drawing a more all-encompassing world view of the definition of existence, loss, and change.

Storytelling has a profound effect on Romus’ musical endeavors. The first of many experimental musical theatrical presentations began in the late 1990s, creating a series of works inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, Philip K Dick, and Frank Herbert. After reading multiple versions of the Finnish National Epic, the Kalevala, he discovered that music based on interpretations of his cultural heritage could serve as a path towards a deeper understanding. While on tour with fellow composer.musician Heikki Kosinen in 2019, they visited the Cultural Center in Joensuu Finland to see the lament exhibit. This experience sparked discussions and further research blossoming new musical ideas based on this oral-tradition. This project completes the Otherworld Trilogy which includes the 2015 release of the Otheworld Cycle and the 2020 release of Manala on Edgetone Records.

"This piece is palpably a process of restoration and reparation, how the self is always in conversation with cultural belonging, and how where one comes from is deeply intertwined with identity, ancestral healing, existential survival, and resistance to cultural erasure. Lament is healing; music is medicine." - Elise Mills, White Crate