“I had been afraid that I would lose my father for a really long time”

Vesa-Matti Loirin is said to have met his death with curiosity.

When the master left the stage, what remained were the songs, roles and interpretations that touched the nation.

Son of a legend Sampo Loiri, 27, has stayed out of the spotlight all his life, and he doesn’t want it now either. He is giving this rare interview because he wants to honor his father’s memory.

– I will always miss my father’s presence, because he was a great person and friend. I did not grieve for nothing, because I was mentally prepared and ready to accept my father’s death. I have experienced sadness mixed with gratitude and joy that I got to know him, Sampo Loiri tells Iltalehte.

Father’s flute plays as he interprets Ilkka Vainio The sky flute– with a commemorative piece that saw the light of day on May 19. Originally, Vesku was supposed to sing and play the song himself, but he didn’t have time to do it.

The flute is now in Sampo Loir’s hands and it plays beautifully.

Peace in the heart

At the beginning of 2022, Vesku Loiri heard that he had two cancers, and that there was not much time left. He quietly began to say goodbye to those closest to him. In August, he was already gone.

Sampo Loiri says that he is with you with everything that happened.

– Getting sick wasn’t a shock for me. To be honest, I had been afraid of losing my father for a really long time.

– He didn’t take very good care of himself and he often came close to death. He was often in poor oxygen. I love him, and especially when I was younger, when we couldn’t see that often, I prayed that my dad would stay here long enough for us to spend time together. We got enough time, he says now.

The entertainer got to live through windy, eventful years, experience top moments and touch Finns. In his career, Vesku had time to see and do almost everything.

Although Vesa-Matti Loiri was not a traditional father, Sampo says that he inherited a whole world of values ​​from him, which has had a huge impact on him.

– He did not adapt to the role of father very well. I lived my childhood with my mother and two sisters. My father and I rarely saw each other. However, we have always had a deep connection and friendship with my father. All the moments we saw each other were deeply meaningful. When I grew up, we spent a lot more time together – especially in the last moments. Vesku was a very spiritual and deep person. He had a shamanistic side hidden deep inside him.

According to Sampo Loir, nothing was left unsaid.

– It helped how ready Vesku was to go. It gave me peace inside. I trust in the continuity of life and that death is not the end. It’s not like we just fall to the ground and that’s it. I trust that after this life we ​​will continue forward in spirit.

– You have to accept what is. We must all humble ourselves before nature. We know even before we lose our loved ones that everything will eventually die. It also reminds me of my own death. When you become you with the reality of life, you are able to transcend your limits. You realize that we only have this one, precious life. We have to live and enjoy it. This time must not be wasted.

In the boy’s opinion, Vesa-Matti Loiri didn’t waste time while living: he lived and did everything to the fullest.

– You could see through the art how dynamic that way of doing things was. He took sorrows and joys into that art, and didn’t shy away from showing anything. In the midst of all the commotion, there was a red thread that kept drawing him to the deeper aspects of life.

A tender memorial song

It also tells about these deep undercurrents The sky flute. In the song, Loiri is an eagle flying free from the shackles of worldly life.

The flute playing in the song has an important meaning. It is the same flute that Vesku once donated Jope Ruonansuu. It is also the last flute that Vesku was able to play with due to his broken string.

According to Ilkka Vainio, the author of the song, it feels right that the legendary Sampo boy plays the flute.

– It’s my most sensitive song. The song is a thank you to Vesku for everything he gave us. He was the most spirited person I have ever met. I learned a lot of spiritual things from him, says Ilkka Vainio to Iltalehte.

The entertainment legend became familiar to Vainio already during his childhood years in Haukilahti. In a decades-long friendship, we sometimes saw each other more often, sometimes less often, but the background support was always guaranteed.

– When I got cancer, Vesku was one of the first to call. He said that “you have work to do, if you leave here, I’ll drag you to the ground”. She gave me emotional support and recommended natural products that helped. Even today, I put pakur in porridge. We were supposed to watch the soccer world cup together and go to the sports games, but we didn’t do that.

He hopes that the song could serve as a strength song for all those who have lost a loved one.

Vainio considers Loir a special person. It was always just as wonderful when Vesku could suddenly come to mind, and soon the phone rang: the master himself was at the end of the line.

– I also won’t forget how he used to sing about my father Juha Vainio songs and put Albatross take flight. It was memorable to choose those songs at the Kaapelitehta and to talk spiritedly and sometimes to go to Jaska’s grill to get a nightcap. Later, in the Kauniainen and Tapiolan homes, I had the most spiritual sessions of my life with Vesa-Mat. He understood everyone upstairs and downstairs. Vesku had its antennas up.

The music video for Taivaanhuilu was shot in the nature of Järvenpää in the middle of the forest, and it also features Sampo Loir’s Nandi dog, who is half Akita and half Alaskan Malamute.

– I thought that Ile had the right intention. He is a wonderful, good-natured person. It was an honor to participate in this song, Loir’s son smiles.

You can see the music video below or from here.

Father’s values ​​carry

Authenticity and a kind of transparency are values ​​that Sampo Loiri says he adopted from his father.

– Naturally, I have also had those deeper qualities. I’ve always followed my own path. There is nothing more valuable than truth and honesty.

He says he lives according to his own rhythm and listens to himself. He has never wanted to go on the path of music because of his father’s name. Sampo Loiri says that he discovered the joy of playing through his own process.

Sampo Loiri often hears that he resembles his father in appearance. It feels just as special every time. He is not so interested in the exterior, but more in the inner qualities.

– I feel that my father is some kind of spirit guide for me, now that he is no longer here. He is in the spirit. He said he was going to come and haunt us loved ones, and he has. I have come to sleep and sometimes I feel that presence very strongly. Sometimes when I play music, it feels strong.

He particularly admires one thing.

– Father did things with his whole being. He dared to bring the whole emotional world out of himself. Sadness and negative emotions create depth for us. The deeper a tree’s roots go underground, the higher it can grow up to the sky. Sorrows and deep tragedies have their meaning – if you don’t get over it, you won’t be able to experience joy and gratitude.

The death of his own father was a hard place, but Sampo Loiri says he gave the grief time to settle.

– I have gone into that empty space, wherever we are. I’ve let it simmer. It’s life and you have to accept it. I have more tears of gratitude that Vesku was a part of my life. He was a great guy.

– I love my father very much and he lives in my heart.