Puppe Magnetik: Aina Virtanen’s ‘Laudans Deum’ Merges Sacred Music with Sonic Extremity

Finnish musician Aina Virtanen will mark her formal entry into the international music scene with the release of ‘Laudans Deum,’ the debut album from her solo project, Puppe Magnetik. Scheduled for release on June 21, 2025, the album will be issued by Rune Serpent Europa and distributed worldwide via The Circle Music. The announcement has generated considerable anticipation within avant-garde and experimental music circles, owing to both the enigmatic presentation of the project and the pedigree of the artist behind it.

A classically trained multi-instrumentalist with an unconventional career trajectory, Virtanen has shaped ‘Laudans Deum’ as a work that resists categorisation while drawing from the rich and often disquieting traditions of European ritual and experimental music. The result is a collection of recordings that seek not only to challenge genre boundaries but to reframe the spiritual and emotional dimensions of sound within a distinctly Northern European context.

Aina Virtanen’s Background

Aina Virtanen’s path to creating ‘Laudans Deum’ is marked by both formal musical discipline and deeply personal upheaval. Trained in voice, violin, and piano at the prestigious Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin, Virtanen initially pursued a rigorous study of early twentieth-century operetta, with a particular fascination for the musical elegance and theatrical nuance of the 1920s and 1930s. Her early work reflected this sensibility, emphasizing ornate arrangements and the emotive stylings of a bygone era.

That trajectory was disrupted by a prolonged period of illness and a subsequent two-year hospitalization, during which Virtanen withdrew from public performance and creative output. The hiatus proved to be more than a break—it became a threshold. Upon her recovery, Virtanen relocated to the austere and remote regions of Northern Finland, where the isolation and folkloric atmosphere began to shape a new artistic identity.

In 2022, amidst the stillness of lakes, forests, and the unspoken weight of ancestral memory, she conceived Puppe Magnetik—a project conceived less as a continuation of her earlier pursuits than as a reckoning with them. Drawing from classical technique but no longer bound to it, Virtanen redirected her focus toward experimental soundscapes, ritualistic structures, and the disquieting intersections of sacred tradition and psychological introspection.

‘Laudans Deum’ Composition

‘Laudans Deum’ emerges as a compositionally complex and sonically layered album, shaped by a convergence of musical traditions that resist easy classification. At its core, the record draws from a spectrum of experimental disciplines—including death-industrial, avant-garde, and ritual ambient—often associated with introspective or transgressive expression. Rather than merely citing these styles, Virtanen absorbs their language into a sound uniquely her own, informed by formal training yet freed from classical constraints. The resulting work navigates a territory where ceremonial starkness meets sonic experimentation, creating a body of music that is both formally rigorous and emotionally unbounded.

The album’s sound design is distinguished by its expansive spatiality and deliberate pacing, characteristics that evoke the liturgical reverence of European sacred music while embracing the abrasive textures of industrial noise. Virtanen’s vocal performance functions as a central axis within this structure—her voice shifting seamlessly between operatic clarity, guttural incantation, and spoken word. It is not simply a display of technical ability, but an expressive tool used to punctuate, obscure, and challenge the listener’s emotional expectations. Each track presents a distinct sonic environment, with instrumentation ranging from dissonant strings and layered drones to percussive disruptions and ambient decay.

‘Laudans Deum’ introduces an additional layer of complexity, though fragmentary and often symbolic, the lyrics exhibit a precision of language and intention that stands in contrast to the genre’s frequent embrace of obscurity. Described by the album’s producers as “diamonds among the dark notes,” the lyrics function less as narrative and more as invocation—framing the music with meditations on loss, asceticism, identity, and ecstatic transformation. Despite the album’s tendency toward abstraction, there remains a sense of coherence, as each piece is tethered to a deliberate emotional and philosophical core. The balance between structural experimentation and lyrical refinement defines the album’s character, situating it as both a personal document and a formalist endeavor.

Album Release Details

‘Laudans Deum’ will be released through Rune Serpent Europa, an independent imprint known for its focus on experimental music and carefully considered visual presentation. In collaboration with The Circle Music, which oversees international distribution, the album will be made available to listeners worldwide. This partnership reflects a broader shift in the music industry toward supporting artists who operate outside mainstream channels, yet maintain dedicated followings across diverse regions. It also speaks to the sustained interest in physical formats, particularly among audiences who value the physical presence and curated design of musical works.

In keeping with the album’s esoteric nature, the physical release of ‘Laudans Deum’ is designed with intentional scarcity and attention to detail. The album will be issued in two limited vinyl editions: 100 copies pressed on black vinyl and 200 on red vinyl. Each copy includes a 30-by-30-centimeter printed insert and a hand-numbered sticker, to the sensory and design-driven qualities of the listening experience.

Far from being ornamental, these design elements align with the album’s thematic concerns, invoking a sense of ceremony and permanence in an era dominated by ephemeral digital consumption. The choice to anchor the release in vinyl format is not merely nostalgic but strategic, appealing to a segment of listeners for whom the object is as integral to the experience as the sound itself.

Anatomy of the Album

The structure of ‘Laudans Deum’ unfolds across thirteen tracks, each contributing to a larger narrative architecture that is less linear than atmospheric. Titles such as ‘Act. XXII,’ ‘The Invisible Garden,’ and ‘The Pregnant Nun’ suggest a dramaturgical sensibility, one that places each composition within a loosely defined liturgical or theatrical framework. These pieces are not isolated movements but parts of a cohesive whole, sequenced to mirror psychological descent, spiritual rupture, or perhaps a kind of secular devotion. The album departs from traditional song formats but reveals a clear intentionality in its track arrangement, guiding the listener through escalating moments of tension, release, and reflection.drawing from the rich and often disquieting traditions of European sacred music, neofolk, and dark ambient.

At the center of this procession is ‘Who Will Sing This Sorrow?,’ a track that has been positioned as both a preview and a summation of the album’s artistic vision. It opens with sparse instrumentation—distant choral textures and low-register drones—before gradually layering dissonant harmonics and rhythmic pulses. Virtanen’s voice emerges not as a focal point, but as a spectral presence—at times melodic, at times almost whispering beneath the surface of the mix.

The track’s title functions as an unanswered question, underscoring the album’s broader engagement with themes of abandonment, ritual mourning, and the search for voice in the aftermath of rupture. As a standalone piece, it illustrates Virtanen’s technical discipline and her commitment to emotional restraint; within the album, it serves as a hinge, connecting the abstract with the corporeal.

Perspectives on the Release

Even in the absence of formal reviews, the album has drawn strong internal support from its label, signaling a project of considerable ambition and impact. Luke Murray, founder of Rune Serpent Europa, described his response to the album as immediate and visceral. “The music of Aina Virtanen and her Magnetic Doll has shocked my soul,” he said, referring to Puppe Magnetik’s debut effort as a defining moment for the label. Murray’s characterization of the work as “crepuscular, apocalyptic and mystical, but at the same time, blasphemous, hysterical, and sweet,” highlights the contradictions that animate the album’s aesthetic: it is at once composed and volatile, reverent and irreverent.

Murray emphasized the album’s technical precision, likening its sonic environment to “catacombs, buried in the field,” a phrase that speaks to both the spatial depth of the recording and its atmospheric density. His remarks reflect not only a producer’s pride but an implicit acknowledgment of the risks involved in championing a debut record that resists easy consumption. Puppe Magnetik was, according to Murray, the first emerging act the label chose to support, a decision driven not by commercial viability but by a shared vision of what he describes as “extreme music while maintaining a high level.” In that regard, ‘Laudans Deum’ appears poised to operate less as a conventional release and more as a statement of intent—for the artist, the label, and the community of listeners drawn to work that challenges both genre conventions and emotional complacency.

Situating the Sound

Within the broader landscape of contemporary experimental music, ‘Laudans Deum’ occupies a distinct and deliberate position. Though rooted in long-standing traditions, it reshapes them through a contemporary and disorienting lens. This convergence produces a listening experience that is both immersive and disorienting—anchored in recognizable tonal references yet continually resisting resolution. It is a work that amplifies tradition while refracting it through a personal and often disquieting lens.

The resulting synthesis invites comparison with a select group of artists who have similarly explored the intersection of the sacred and the profane. Dead Can Dance, with their integration of ancient musical forms and modern arrangements, and Aghast, whose spectral compositions remain foundational within the dark ambient canon, offer relevant reference points. Yet ‘Laudans Deum’ maintains a singular identity, shaped by Virtanen’s classical training and the psychological intensity of her artistic trajectory. Where those predecessors may have employed mythological or abstract themes, Virtanen’s work is grounded in lived experience and interior reckoning, making its thematic engagement less theatrical and more existential. In doing so, the album does not merely reflect its genre but reconfigures its parameters—suggesting a broader range of emotional and conceptual possibilities within a space that often values aesthetic over articulation.

Conclusion

With its release on the horizon, ‘Laudans Deum’ offers a deliberate and sharply defined entry into the artistic world of Aina Virtanen. The album reflects the precision of her classical training while charting the divergence that followed—a path shaped by personal rupture and artistic reinvention. Unconcerned with prevailing trends or commercial appeal, the work positions itself within a more contemplative terrain: one that is technically exacting, spiritually opaque, and resistant to easy classification. As Puppe Magnetik, Virtanen engages less in genre adherence than in a deeper exploration of structure, expression, and sonic intent.

The limited-edition vinyl release offers a physical manifestation of that vision, one that favors purpose over scale and invites engagement not just with the music but with the physical experience of listening. Distributed globally by The Circle Music and supported by Rune Serpent Europa, the album is positioned to connect with an international audience attuned to the undercurrents of contemporary experimental music. For those familiar with the aesthetic of ritual sound or drawn to music that rewards close attention and repeated listening, ‘Laudans Deum’ marks the emergence of a singular voice rooted in tradition yet unbound by it.

What does Puppe Magnetik’s music evoke for you? Share your reflections, memories, or live experiences in the comments below.