Mika Vainio started making a Ø album in 2014. He almost finalized the record before his too early passing in 2017. »Sysivalo« is this very album, the 9th out of 8 full scale albums, released under the Ø alias. »Sysivalo« was recorded during 2014-2017 and is a 60-minute long album with 20 tracks. Vainio described the record as a distinct Ø album that was going to include several shorter tracks: Études. The title combines the Finnish words sysi (dark or sinister) and valo (light).
Like life itself, the album carries a quiet darkness – honest and full of hidden light. Most of the tracks are beatless: subtle soundtracks of eclipsed emotions. Like an incapacitated creature waiting for something to happen.
The closing track »Loputon (Endless)« is among the most beautiful tracks Vainio has ever written, Vainio's last word.