Place: The town of Kaskinen /Kaskö in Finland
Timeframe: Mid-term, long term
Organiser: The municipality in a close co-operation with local artists, inhabitants and companies
Participants: A producer, a composer, a film maker and several musicians together with local inhabitants and companies.
Goal: Co-create a artistic musicvideo to strengthen inhabitans sense of belonging and to promote the town.
Planning and producing a music video was a part of the events planned for the Baltic Sea Region Cultural Pearl title year 2025 for Kaskinen/Kaskö. It is the smallest town in Finland and famous of its old wooden houses and beautiful nature.
Co-operation between producer and musicians and the local inhabitants created the music video together with the municipality and companies. The municipality partnered with Tuomas “Gary” Keskinen, a local producer and executive, to create a music video that would serve as a reminder of what a beautiful, amazing and unique place to live Kaskinen is. The project aimed to shift the perception of locals about their home city, create positive value, popularize the city in Finland, put it on the map, increase tourism in the area, and strengthen connections to the world. The collaboration involved local artists from Kaskinen, creating both music and film.
The music video presenting Kaskinen/Kaskö succeeded beyond expectations:
Local pride through music. Kaskinen is located on an island in the western coast of Finland. The town has faced many years of numerous challenges, and people have forgotten the beauty of the place and how well everyone could work together.
Outcomes: Through the pilot project, an entirely new song called “Meren Valo-Havets Ljus -The Light of the Sea” was created. The team collaborated with professional composers and found a magnificent arrangement for the new song. The lyrics, also written by professionals, tell a story about the sea and the light of a lighthouse. Symbolically, the lyrics reflect the people in the region-both those who live there and those who have moved away -yet the love for Kaskinen has always remained. For the vocals, the team found Abela, an artist originally from Kaskinen, who is now pursuing a music career in Sweden, and one of the Finland’s top artists, Antti Railio. On the production side, the song features internationally renowned star Jukka Backlund, with string and orchestral arrangements handled by Visa Mertanen.
For the music video, local events in Kaskinen were filmed, along with beautiful aerial footage from both winter and summer. A central part of the video is the Kaskinen lighthouse. The focus of the filming was on the people of Kaskinen and their sense of community, portrayed in a sensitive and beautiful way. The video also highlights local identity, stunning nature and the “Light of the Sea”. The video was produced by 720 Factory (Jouni and Jukka Hillberg) with aerial footage of Joni Keskinen. Some material filmed by the Kaskinen Sea Resque Unit was also used. Aerial photograhs : Reino Sahakangas and Joni Keskinen the rest of the photos.
Visibility : The music video was presented the first time 20.11 2025 in Kaskinen/Kaskö. The single is released digitally and published on YouTube and Spotify. The world premier was at C4R Forum in Varde, Denmark 26.11.2025. Elina Virta from the municipality had the main responsibility to produce the video and organize the practical issues together with a producer and musicians.
Feedback: The organizers from the municipality have got only positive feedback:
“I don’t remember ever crying because of a music video before, but this one really touched me.”
“Amazing video! Well-made and an incredibly beautiful song.”
“If we want people to move to Kaskinen, we just need to show them this video and then everyone will want to move here.”