Musician Aki Sirkesalo would have celebrated his birthday today.
Aki Sirkesalo died when he was 42 years old. JARI TERTTI
Musician and music journalist Aki Sirkesalo 18 years have passed since his death this year, but his fate has never been forgotten by Finns.
Mysteriet (Mystery) and A female devil -the musician known for his hit songs would have turned 60 today, July 25.
Aki and his wife Johannaand children Sampo and Get it perished in the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. At the same time, a 12-meter high tidal wave hit the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, killing more than 230,000 people. In addition to Sirkesalo, there were 179 Finns. Most of the Finns were vacationing in Khao Lak, Thailand, where Sirkesaloto was also at the time of the accident.
Aki was only 42 years old when he died on the fateful St. Stephen’s Day – Johanna was 38 years old, Sampo was 8 years old and Saana was 4 years old.
Aki and well-known dancer Johanna Sirkesalo (née Aura) got married in 1998. The couple started dating already in JARI TERTTI
Sampo was born in 1996 and Saana in 2000. PDO
The family’s fate was not immediately known, as their bodies were not found until March-April 2005. Johanna’s father Erkki Aura told Iltalehti in 2019 that the family was killed immediately after a wave hit the bungalow where they were all inside.
The bodies were flown to Finland and the Sirkesalos received their final resting place in the Akaan Toijala cemetery.
The family’s coffins arrived in Finland in the spring. JOHN PALMEN
Candles at the grave of Sirkesalo on Boxing Day 2005. Brother Matti A. Pitkänen
The fate of Sirkesalos shocked the Finns deeply, because Aki had been a well-known artist in Finland throughout his career.
Aki’s last album was completed just before his death. The album was released in February 2005. The album immediately rose to the first place in the official list of Finland. Hits can be found on the last album, among other things Mullonikaväsu and A better time. The album sold more than 400,000 copies.
Aki Sirkesalo’s first album Mielenrauhaa was released in 1996. It stayed on the official Finnish album chart for 33 weeks. Evening newspaper
Aki Sirkesalo’s second album, Aika, was released in 1996. Photo from the same year. Evening newspaper
Aki’s biography Aki Sirkesalo – music is playing, published in June. In the book, Aki’s close circle remembers the beloved musician.
The book states that Aki would have had the potential for an even bigger career. Arto Tamminen says in the book that he believes that Aki would have been able to adapt to changes in the music industry if he had been allowed to live.
– He was analytical and a media professional. He had seen many artists’ fates and arcs up close. Yes, he must have been well aware of the pitfalls.
Aki’s good friend Sami Saari described Akia to Iltalehte in 2019 as a person who was known as an intelligent and civilized person.
– Aki was a small-town boy from Toijala, and this identity remained even in the years of success. We milled for hours about different things. He was a geeky type and loved culture and languages. He was even so smart that it was looked down the nose in music circles.