Ilkka Arola Sound Tagine is a five-person ethno-jazz band, whose music combines powerful non-verbal storytelling with the hypnotic sounds and rhythms of the Middle East and Nordic Jazz. The band leader Ilkka Arola plays a four-valve Quartertone trumpet, which enables the sharp and pulsating tones of Middle Eastern melodies in his compositions.

Formed by some of Finland's leading musicians, the band mixes folk, ethno and jazz expressions with ease and cooks multi-nuanced musical soul food with them. The band is known for intense gigs full of emotional expression and addictive rhythms. Alongside Arola, the band's rich and immersive music is interpreted by a diverse line-up: drummer Okko Saastamoinen, guitarist Topi Korhonen, bassist Esko Grundström and percussionist Juuso Hannukainen.

Ilkka Arola Sound Tagine is set to record their next album in the spring of 2024. When composing the music for the upcoming album, Arola has drawn influences from various sources, including the psychedelic ethno-jazz-funk fusion of the 1970s (such as Miles Davis) and the Turkish disco of the same era (such as Erkin Koray).