Nikita Rafaelov is a Helsinki based composer, producer and keyboard player, who has established himself at the forefront of Finnish jazz scene. Among the things that inspires him are basketball, cats, jazz, synthesizers, analog gear, soviet nostalgia, as well as moody and melancholy aesthetics. His newest project, an album called ”Heart Does What Heart Wants” draws inspirations from all those things above, and deals with deeply personal themes of letting things go, the pain of loss, and creative power. Musically and sonically, the project is built by combining acoustic and electronic instruments, using samples, field recordings, various synthesizers and drum machines. Drawing influences from the aesthetics of jazz, hip-hop, new age and ambient, Rafaelov's album ventures somewhere in the worlds of jazz, ambient and alt pop, exploring and stretching boundaries between lo-fi and hi-fi, surrealism and realism, as well as maximalism and minimalism.