We’re serious about it, but we also want to enjoy this journey. (Juhana)
Do you have sort of a vision with which to go with your band?
J: Well, yeah. We have hopes and dreams… We have set goals though. We are composing new material for our first full-length album, and we hope to get that out sometime in the future. And of course, we are playing gigs now and in the autumn and winter we’ll play around Berlin. Step by step we’re working towards increasing our number of listeners and getting our music out there. As I have said before we have played in other bands and we are quite experienced musicians, so we know the ropes. We set out from the start to make everything professionally and not just for fun. Like for all the scheduling, recordings and music videos, we work with actual pros. We’re serious about it, but we also want to enjoy this journey.
Could you compare the first songs that you’ve written, or the songs from your first EP, to the songs that you’re writing now? How would you describe the stylistic evolution?
A: I think our sound is really coming together now. There is more of everything: more and more heaviness, and more melody.
J: On the first EP, we were still trying to find our sound; it wasn’t quite there yet. But on the second EP, which came out last spring, there were more backing vocals and shouts. It has more melodic parts while also being heavier at the same time. It was also darker, and the evolution is going in this direction on the new album that we are writing.
We’re close, like brothers, really.(Juhana)
Since you guys have played in bands for a while now, you are familiar with lineup changes. Sometimes band members come and go and it hardly makes an impact. But sometimes one position alters changes everythng in the band’s sound. So how important is the current constellation in the band right now, especially if, as you’ve mentioned, a lot in your music is the result of your chemistry?
J: We’re close, like brothers, really. So I can’t imagine anyone leaving now. We have such good chemistry now that I don’t want anything to change. It works great for us and hopefully that doesn’t change in the future.
Jerre, or Mr Machine
Do you guys want to introduce the band members that are not here right now? Do you think you could compare them to some fictional characters so that our readers get a deeper sense of what kind of people they really are?
J: Okay, let’s start from Jere. He’s the other guitarist and another main songwriter. He’s the engine of the band in many ways. He’s involved in the management of the band as well. I’m not sure to what character to compare him though…
What are his best traits then? What do you love him for?
A: He’s a very empathetic person, easy going and really determined.
Lauri, the true artist
How about the rest?
J: Lauri, the second guitarist – he’s also involved in songwriting. He’s a pretty chill guy..
A: He’s the artist.
J: Yeah he’s the most artistic person in the band. He’s a gentle, nice person. He’s like a big teddy bear [laughs].
Ville the working class hero
A: And then we have our drummer Ville. He’s the working class hero.
J: Yes he is. He also has the best ideas AND the worst ideas in our band. And he always comes up with new ideas when we’re working on something.
He must be really creative then if he comes up with so many different ideas… Do you think he’s more of a technical kind of drummer or is he more about playing drums with feeling?
J: Yeah, he’s leaning more towards feeling, his technique is good obviously, but it’s not his main focus. He likes to play around with ideas from other genres, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad…
Brother and Father
Okay, do you guys want to describe each other now?
J: Okay I’ll describe Antti then. He’s the funniest guy in the band. He will sometimes say things with a straight face that will make all the others crack up. And like I said before, to me he’s like a brother. He’s a fun guy and a funny guy.
A: Juhana is our father figure. He’s the oldest so we call him daddy [laugh]. He’s kind of like the voice of reason in the band. He’s a great guy and a great bass player.
But I just love playing (Juhana)
Okay, let me ask Juhana about bass playing, because bassists are so underrated. It’s a stereotype that bassists are people who weren’t good enough to be guitarists. But I know there are bassists who love their instrument and wouldn’t change it fo a guitar.
J: I started as a guitarist but then I switched to bass when their bassist left. It felt right to me from the start. That was way back in the nineties and I’ve played bass ever since. I’m not a technical player, I don’t practice hours on end, but I just love playing. I’ve played many different musical styles – metal, funk, punk rock, rock, but never hardcore. Playing hardcore really gets me excited, cause I’m evolving and learning new stuff. I also lean into feeling, I’m not a technical junkie.
Punk’s Not Dead
What do you guys think happened to the ‘punk idea’? Does it still live on in hardcore?
A: I have no idea, maybe Jerre could tell you more about it. He’s the most punk among us. He plays in a punk band and their next gig is at some festival under a bridge. That’s punk for you right there. With this band we just want to do whatever feels good to us, we don’t want to be restricted to one particular genre. Yes, our music is based on hardcore, but we put other elements into it. We’re expanding in different ways, but the goal is to make straightforward, impactful music.
J: We just don’t want to suck.
That actually sounds very punk. You guys shouldn’t be so humble though. With that, thank you for taking the time to make this interview.
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Photos and interview by Muumi Katja
Editing by Royal Blunt