Unplanned journeys are often the best way to travel. Just the road, some wits and maybe a toothbrush.

In 1997 Timo Jalkanen kissed the music industry goodbye (or maybe kicked it goodbye). When record labels start telling you what colour and style your hair should be, as well as what songs to write, it’s always time to call it quits.

Static Icon was too nebulous a creature for a synthpop record company. But that was 1998. They released two albums on Berlin’s Machinery Records, Sin Machine (1996) and Slave (1997). Their third album Metropolis Mind Funk (2014) was released independently.

Cut to 2019. The world of music is eclectic and broad. In Australia the sky is blue and vast. Hay is made while the sun shines.

Over 22 years, Timo gradually fell in love again with the music that initially took him on the road to Berlin. There were songs in his head and melodies he couldn’t shake. His fingers were beyond itchy to play the keys again. The time was right.

Montage Collective was formed as an outlet for a rekindled passion. It’s a journey back to the creation of soundscapes and melodic stories. It’s a soundtrack.

No longer the weary traveler. Now replenished, the journey continues.

After the amazing response to Interstitial, Montage Collective released one remix each month in 2021 by a range of artists, culminating in the album European DNA.

In 2022, Timo will be releasing a collaboration under the name of Sonar 4. He is also producing an upcoming debut album by another artist to be announced.