What would you say to your younger self? It'd probably be vaguely encouraging — "It gets better" and "don't stop being weird" — or something practical: "Avoid getting bangs at 16." Laura Naukkarinen, who makes beautiful and wandering folk music as Lau Nau, sings a gentle and poetic peace to "Elina."

"'Elina' is a message that I wrote for a ten-year old, younger, depressed me," Naukkarinen tells NPR. "You can see it as a comforting song for a friend who is feeling very tired. I finished the composition in a residency at ZDB in Lisbon where I was able to take a break from everything else. I think you can hear the ease of that moment in the song."

Translated from Finnish, it reads and sings like a lullaby, cradled by wind and string instruments: "I'd take the baby in my arms / You'd rest there by my side / Your hair is a drawing on the pillow / Hear the whispers of the willows." Over a decade into her career, "Elina" is one of Lau Nau's most enchanting works, a dream smoothed over by stone. Here it receives a video directed by Hannes Renvall, as Naukkarinen wanders through the snow and forests of Kemiönsaari (the island she lives on) and Turku in Finland.

Poseidon is out now via Beacon Sound (U.S.) and Fonal (Europe).

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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