Satu is a sexy synth hottie.
It starts with a laser, like every good song ever…
Then comes the insisting, driving octave-bassline, which forms the backbone of this 1982 finnish synth-orgy. The rest is history.
Satu Pentikäinen, who at the time of this single’s release was barely 20, had four years earlier had her first big hit with “Menolippu“, but this cover of Kim Wilde‘s beautiful Cambodia with a finnish title Matka Tuntemattomaan (A Journey into the Unknown) was distinctly more synthetic and therefore more interesting for me, myself & I. The song slowly grows with additional synth elements coming into play in every verse. I really really like Ricky Wilde‘s (Kim’s brother, who wrote and produced most of her hits.) songwriting and sense of melody on this and somehow the finnish lyrics for this ain’t half bad either.
From the cover it’s hard to imagine Satu to be in her late teens/early twenties. She looks more like 38, but I guess that was the style back then. Matka Tuntemattomaan is actually the B-side to this 7″. On the A-side there’s an unbearable version of a really awful Buck’s Fizz hit – The Land Of Make Believe – from 1981. Sometimes record companies just don’t get it.
Anyways, have a break from work and take a trip to the unknown, sponsored by the good people in Turku Synth Club.
Tomi / Turku Synth Club
Turku Synth Club Blog 
Cool stuff, I always thought this FI-version was well done and I also think the original producer is a tasteful and talented guy!
This reminds me… Too bad that a cool song like Blondie’s – Call Me has the synth part drastically reduced on the finnish version by Mona Carita – Soita Mulle, which is mostly all guitars and pretty much only has a synth solo, lacking the Epic Moroder-synth in the mix in general. Otherwise that song and version is pretty god damn well done I’ll say.
Anyhow, nice post and please continue with this, it’s fun!
– Jesse –
Thanks. I seem to be a little bit addicted to posting these obscure synth songs from my record collection. Many of these aren’t available on youtube or any other site for that matter. It’s my civic duty to bring these long forgotten songs to people’s attention.