HK119

Finnish performance artist Heidi Kilpeläinen channels her affinity for science fiction and electronic sounds through the HK119 project, shaping witty multimedia works that dissect consumerism, pop culture, politics, and human behavior. She created the HK119 persona after encountering George Lucas’s pioneering film THX 1138 and began self-recording tracks on a digital 8-track while producing her own videos. After completing an M.A. in fine art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2004, she staged performances throughout London and issued early recordings that reached Warp artist Leila Arab. Arab passed the material to Björk, securing Kilpeläinen a contract with the One Little Indian label. The debut single “Pick Me Up” appeared in late 2005, and the album HK119 followed in 2006, incorporating several pieces developed during her degree studies. For the 2008 release Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, HK119 collaborated with Sheffield, England-based producers I Monster, who refined her lo-fi approach into a more polished and accessible sound. The remix album Fast and Cheap Mixes surfaced in 2010. In 2012 she began work on her third album, partnering with Fever Ray producer Christoffer Berg on an expansive collection inspired by fantasy, spirituality, and nature; the resulting Imaginature arrived in early 2013.