T U L I V U O R I

UNIEN SAVONLINNA

2010-09-27T02:18:00.078+03:00

TEXT: MIKAEL RECHARDT ; PICS: MIKAEL RECHARDT AND LAURI AINALA

"I pray, and to all gods, that the battery of the laptop doesn't run out", unshaved and Mayhem-shirted Lauri Ainala says as we walk down a street washed by early september.

"Because there's no electricity in the place where we are going to."

What or where that place actually is, I have no idea. I was invited to their "murju" ('hovel') a week before to come to see the recently finished Unien Savonlinna ('Savonlinna of Dreams') DVD. As we talk I'm being led away from the suburban area where we just met, but not really far. We cross a road and dive into the woods; Lauri asked me to leave the location unnamed, though there's definitely no address to the place where we are going to.

Since the last time we met he has become a father and has moved to a new apartment with his wife and daughter. When I ask about the state of his music projects, especially Paavoharju, he tells me to ask his brother Olli about that since he's the one who writes the songs mostly. But Harmaa Getto are making a new album, this time inspired more by Rage Against the Machine and Korn (!) than Cypress Hill. Didn't see that one coming, but as their listeners already know, any ingridient will practically transform in their hands.

There's also something totally new on a planning level that really makes sense also written down: a black metal collaboration of Lauri and ex-Callisto singer Markus Myllykangas, Lauri being there more of a producer. His talk about cutting and looping the other guy's screeching mess sounds exciting to say the least. If he approaches black metal the way he approaches folk, pop and hip-hop, one can expect something exceptional coming from their camp in future. After a few minutes of walking, talking and pushing branches out of the way I can already smell smoke and hear continuous speaking from a distance.

I say hello to people I've seen in several pictures, videos, gigs - they are part of the loose Savonlinna collective which includes acts like Harmaa getto, Paavoharju and Joose Keskitalo. Frankly, calling them a collective sounds wrong, sort of planned and organized, which is misleading knowing that their

art rises from their friendship and not the other way around. Sometimes they do refer to themselves as 'Tuotteen pojat' (boys of Tuote), after the old dairy they used to live in. Which is more based on the way they live than the actual music, but then again, in their world these seem not to be two seperate things. This is what Unien Savonlinna is about.

There they are, Lauri's brother Olli, long-haired jolly fellow called Ragnar Rock and artist/showman Murska Murre drinking and fixing fire. Their hovel turns out to be a couple of abandoned and sprayed containers. They've built a stairway to one of them of old wheels and planks, I climb there after Lauri, inside the container through a white curtain. It's darker inside, Lauri lights a few more candles and hands me headphones connected to an old laptop. The container is crappy, mouldy and not balanced at all, but maybe it's better that all the liquids drain to one side.

"I bet it's going to be cold, how do you keep yourself warm here?" I ask.

"Oh well.. " Lauri says and seems like he had never thought about that before.

"Let's see what we could get for you. You could sure take some booze."

Lauri disappears, I put the headphones on and open a bottle of cheap redwine I brought with me. I think about drunks, power cuts, Russia, rabbits, woods. The chair I sit on is soft and comfortable and I actually don't feel cold at all. They've carried some sofas here too.. And what's that thing hanging from the ceiling? Man, this dim candlelight and all .. Lauri brings me a pullover and goes away again, I start watching the film.

Unien Savonlinna feels very familiar immediately. It is the same continuum with their music, artwork, images and video clips seen before. It's the same world spread in front of you, but what comes out is somewhat unpredictable. During the first minutes images and events dance on the screen accompanied by 'Kevätrumpu', so many that one has to let it go subliminal and take the linear collage as it comes.

Unien Savonlinna is made of footage Lauri has collected during the last few years with his digital camera that has travelled with them. He got the memory stick full with gigs, rehearsals, their adventures in forests, hanging out in deserted places they've found, building their own sauna, swimming.. Anything.

Unien Savonlinna is definitely not a rockumentary. The only interviews and monologues that there are include no subtle self-hype (like recalling Roskilde backstage highlight moments.. which they could have done). And it hardly includes any eyes half open self-analysis nor feasting too much on their exceptional biography. Instead it's more of a pixelized dream, with haunted stories, abstract clips of artificial poltergeist. Despite all the talk and documented events there is something unsolved to it. Like a mute self-image, low fidelity Tarkovsky.

But they do tell a story, a surreal bedtime story, that is. It is not made up, it's truly their life but what makes it surreal is that it doesn't happen within the urban frames, modern society norms. And this means more than eating gulls, it's about embracing all the filth in the world. Tempting to say that it's Nietzsche in practice, but these guys don't want only to provoke, they just seem to see world this way and think it's gorgeous.

Stylistically the footage is diverse, containing detective-style detached mumbled storytelling, music videos, unexplained atmospheric moving images and interviews, everything covered with their music, of course. One of the more entertaining moments, Harmaa getto's "Harmaata ku harmaata" music video has that right defiant attitude that makes you know that hip-hop is sure dead but it crawled back from its grave. It's basically just Lauri and band member Arwi Lind jumping around in the very same place where I watch the film.

One of the more normal moments are seen when finnish long-term troubadour Ville Leinonen and Sami Sänpäkkilä share their memories of Paavoharju on a balcony somewhere, speaking surprisingly as outsiders despite their work with the band. Sami tells the story behind finding and signing Paavoharju, a revealing little story somehow.

Emotionally the most twisting moment is a few minute incoherent talk of the original Paavoharju lead singer, classicaly trained and opera-oriented Soila. In dark, she tells weird things about the first days of the band, of collecting mirrors, teasing a bee in a jar and recording it. She also tells about how she lost her mind back then, which obviously is the reason for her smaller role in the band now. She's still around though, you can hear her as the higher flying siren in Paavoharju's records.

The film ends to an autumnal feel, in the way probably all the little creatures in our backyards experience it - the summer is gone and where do we go now. Before I had stopped the film for a while to find a pen and my notebook from the bag and to take some more wine, and then behind the walls of the container I could hear the guys speak about their health problems and other issues. These and other things shared with me during the night - face-to-face or not - are of a private kind, but it can be told that some of these guys have had some really hard times lately.

Oh yes, the reality, from the button-your-shirt brush-your-teeth point of view. Though it's nothing like in the dollar world thanks to our socialdemocratic roots, it is still rather difficult to be an economically succesful artist in Finland. As they're not involved in the so-called (rather well-supported) high-culture nor the radio hit mega tour bus world, some of the guys' main source of income is the unemployment support from the government. Now we are by the fire warming our hands and waiting for the chicken to be well-made. I think about this sense of ascetic gravity there is in their life, and of some reason I say it out loud: they want to live at the bottom.

"At the bottom but at the top at the same time" continues a long-haired friend of theirs.

"No, this is not living at the bottom at all. Not at all." Lauri reacts strongly.

More and more people come and join us, now it's like a weird nocturnal grill party, beer, chicken, sausages. It's really dark and I slip as I walk down from the container, wet wheels make nasty stairs. Other guys come to help me up and ask if something happened, but I'm fine.

Later in the dark forest, a sofa making a nice seat for the audience, Murska Murre gives us a great, intense melon crushing fire show starting with his gloves in flames, giving his friends a heart attack since they know that Murre doesn't know any of that shit. He also presents some of his freestyle rap skills after some more booze, have a look:

I talk with Lauri and Olli about their creative work, latter having some sort of a writer's block right now. He has worked on some solo material for a while but nothing's happening these days. He also had some sad news: a while ago he left the fuzzy and warm cassette pop band Cocein where he used to play keyboard and guitar. Lauri has some rather modest wishes about the impact of his work, referring to the DVD mostly:

"It's enough if someone can be just inspired by this, just like the guys who built the sauna."

A group of their fans had built a sauna by themselves as a tribute to the one built by these fellows some years ago in the middle of nowhere. It can be seen on the cover of one of Joose's records, for instance. The fans contacted them and they are going to drop by there a couple of days later. Lauri also emphasizes that the whole DVD (and music) was made with equipment that basically everyone has, a cheap digital camera and a slightly outdated laptop, as if putting them on a same level with everyone. But somehow this just adds mystery, making them some sort of wizards who create a lot out of nothing, with nothing.

I say goodbye to Lauri who stays at the party. I leave with a few guys but there's even more coming to the woods as we go. Before we spread into the night, Murska Murre hands me the mask he wore in his show to have as a memory.

- - -

The next morning I wake up rather late. The clothes next to my bed have that camp smell, they were fully smoked last night. I go to the bathroom and notice a contusion on my leg from slipping last night. There's dirt and soot under my fingernails, I look at my hands wincing mildly like a decent man would. But then I see myself in the mirror and I smile.

Unien Savonlinna DVD will be released in october-november 2010 via Helmi Levyt and Fonal Records. The DVD has two sides: one for PAL and the other for NTSC, and it includes subtitles in english and a 20-page booklet with images and english text.

Unien Savonlinna
Lauri Ainala
Harmaa Getto
Paavoharju
Joose Keskitalo

14 QUESTIONS FOR SAMI SÄNPÄKKILÄ

2010-04-28T02:25:00.010+03:00

TEXT: MIKAEL RECHARDT ; PHOTO : LIV LÆSSØE

This time the man typing us answers is Sami Sänpäkkilä - best known from/as the influental one-man band ES and as the founder, head and heart of Fonal records. And the heart is wide, beating for obscure and sincere musical explorers in the very spirit of Finland's legendary Love records. As you can see from the photo above, he really wants to be a tree. But what sort of a tree and why?

Hello Sami, what's up? What have you been doing after the release of your latest album?

I'm fine and busy, thanks! I've focused mostly on making music videos lately. Also the record label is filled with work again after a long pause.

It's been 10 months since the release of Kesämaan lapset. What does it sound like now? What sort of relationship do you have with your old releases, do you listen to them?

10 months is still a bit too short time to be able to say much about my own work, but now I can tell you that when I heard it some time ago by accident - or parts of it - it sounded better than what I gave credit to it when it was released. I still don't consider it as my most ambitious record or the best one at all. I like its songs but they're nothing new, just same old safe. That's not always bad of course.

When was the last time you recorded something and what was it?

I recorded my gig in Italy and it sounded incredibly good! I've learned how to keep my shows minimal and straight-forward, I improvise a lot on simple melodies. I follow the lighthouses and try to get into the mood.

When is a piece of music finished?

A piece of music?

What music have you been listening to lately? Any new bands we should hear too?

I listen to music extremely seldom, usually when I'm at home I sit in silence. The latest thing I got excited about was a band called Index, it sounds a bit like my previous exciter Dead Moon.

What was the last band you saw live?

Pierced Arrows was the last one I liked enormously.

If you were a plant, which one would you be?

Some tree as tall as possible. Though trees can't see I could at least imagine seeing some beautiful landscapes.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?

Becoming a film director was my dream, and then as a teenager I realized it's not possible so then I wanted to be a musician. And now that I realize it's done I guess I have to go back to the dream of being a director...

How does Finland's music scene look in the year 2010?

A bit lifeless. In the beginning of 2000's there seemed to be some much happening and at least compared to that the sort of music culture I'm interested in seems to be quiet.

What do you think about the current direction of music industry? Do you have Spotify?

I do have Spotify but I don't use it, partly because I don't listen to music that much, like I mentioned before. But also because I don't like it that much. I've never really liked music industry. Nowadays I'm really interested in it and wonder how to deal with it all the time. For example how to achieve something inside that industry with some of the Fonal bands.

What advice would you give to someone planning to start a record label?

Release exactly the sort of music you like and that's it.

With which person in history you identify most?

Well, I have to say I'm too busy to identify with anyone! I try to identify with my friends and learn from their example. I cannot imagine identifying with anyone, in fact, isn't that the whole point that you find your own voice and then toot with it, haha.

What is your favorite color?

Today orange!

What does ES mean?

Here I'll take a shortcut and put a link to my site where I just wrote a small blog on this subject:
http://samisanpakkila.com/2010/03/es-whats-in-a-name/

FONAL RECORDS
SAMI SÄNPÄKKILÄ / ES etc

TIDESHEMN

2009-08-06T15:18:00.010+03:00

TEXT : PIETU ARVOLA ; PICS : TIDESHEMN

Quotations: Erik Tawastjerna: Jean Sibelius I (1965). Quotations are freely translated from Finnish to English.

Warning: the beginning of this following blog text contains a brief historical introduction of two bands most of you have never heard of.

During the year 2008 a band named Väre, which was known only in very, very small circles had come to a certain point of burnout. Band members felt that they had lost their interest on the previous style which mixed pop-orientated melancholia with overlong song structures (in this case, regressive is a better definition than progressive). A new kind of a direction was needed in order to keep the band project alive.

In the spring a longtime friend of the band members approached them, telling them of a possibility of going into a good studio without practically paying for anything else than gasoline. After a few discussions everyone agreed, considering it a good possibility to take a break from Väre. The line-up changed from a trio to a quartet. Five songs were composed, some of them improvised in the studio. At this point it became apparent that the therapy project, carrying the name Tideshemn would become the main focus for everyone.

The sessions themselves were mostly successful. Some of the songs were left untouched after the mixing but the rest of them became problematic. The following diary depicts the metamorphoses of one of these songs, titled Geistlos.

Before we went to studio our guitarist recorded a demo version of the song:

5.10.2008

We've received the final version of Geistlos and after a certain time and countless listenings it's quite apparent that the song didn't end up as we wanted it. Instead of a dim closure it sounds more like a camp tune which from the beginning is just stuck in the same dull mood, lacking dynamics and emotion. Nomen est omen, the song's name apparently described the song better than we hoped (Geistlos = Soulless).

22.2.1892

I really must extend my days over nights in order to make this in time. My self criticism is a judge of a harsher sort and its judgement causes so much work to go into waste. At the moment I have three scenes ready and three left. I visit the ear doctor every second day.

This is really hopeless. All the good ideas I previously had are gone and I find myself running the instruments one after another through Kaoss Pads, trying to set the song out of its well-trodden rails. Result: Tons of reverb and delay, noise backgrounds and weird samples in the air. Not good. I triple the vocals or alter the pitch just for my own fun (sorry Maria!) just to realize how pointless this is. Days go by with really bad headaches. I accidentally attend a gothic/glam/rock gig because my friend is mixing it. I forget my ear plugs home. Life is hell.

You know I really can't sketch the fourth scene. My imagination does not share with me a musical idea resembling a painting. Martin [Wegelius] claims that I am not able to finish this piece by April but I believe I can.

The bloody laptop is down again. Why the hell did we have to go digital? I bet the guys back in the analog ages didn't have to do tons of updates and virus removals before starting to record stuff. And the cords! My whole apartment floor is filled with cords. If it wasn't for the band members' positive reactions I had received so far I wouldn't even consider trying to alter Geistlos. I hope I will finish this song in a few weeks as long as I get more patient with the equipment.

A marvelous idea has sparked upon my mind for the 4th scenery. The part ”with joy [!] I went to war” will be dealt with literally. It will hold few marching themes that shift to a crescendo. Yesterday desperation shadowed me as I felt the themes to be so miserable, I went to meet Martin and played them for him. He happened to be on a musical mood and his excitement was of the uttermost sort. He has seen my third scenery, the one with the choir and the orchestra. He believes the women are not into such and refuse to sing along. ---In case the women do not fancy this I rather take a man choir. Martin said I've tremendously caught an epic tone; this I consider idiocy. Yet he also speaks ill of a few roughnesses which I consider unjustified – idiocy as well.

Computer, I love you! I found an effect for glitch making. Glitches make cuts to the recording, and they can be used as a percussion of sorts, giving the song a certain rhythm. I ran the organs through it, slicing the sound in both channels differently so that the song has an awkward polyrhythm going on throughout the song. A whole new direction is found for the song now.

Ironically, the song was originally created for guitars and then it was decided to strip them off since they didn't feel like fitting in anymore. The vocal part stays untouched since its clarity gives a stark contrast to the dreamlike mayhem of instruments. After hearing the version, some friends of the band members said that the original one with the traditional overtone was a better version. Well who cares? Sane people who want to make obscure artsy music don't consider doing their music in order to get money or girls, sane people know that there's most likely only five listeners for the album (including mom and dad)!

Yet I'm still not content with the song. Mikko considers the song to be in a perfect form, and I think he's justgrown a tumor in his brain which blocks the flow of criticism. I hope he will be cured.

23.3.1892

For a few days I've been clinging on the verge of depression. I've thought of taking my own life etc. We'll see if I can finish the symphony before spring.

Now I'm really pissed off. I haven't had any ideas in weeks and it starts to feel like the song is just a big pile of noise and chaos falling apart any moment. It's one of those feelings when you start to explore your real feelings about music, or whether there is any whatsoever. Suddenly the questions arise. What if you just wanted to play in a band because all your friends were? What if you don't actually even enjoy playing music? Or listening to it? Where could I sell my instruments on a Saturday night? Why am I sitting in front of my computer on a Saturday night? I think I should start fishing or skiing.

Thankfully the mental health usually balances back into its usual state during Sunday morning. Usually.

4.4.1892

...transcribing and arranging is a real nuisance. Last night was the tenth I spent working till 8 in the morning. There is still 5 days and then I wish it will be ready.

Mellotron! I'll add a nice little mellotron to the final part to end the song. It's really annoying to record them since the computer buffers the signal really long and therefore the sound is coming in at the wrong time. It took me 3 weeks to record it since I've been on a lazy mood lately. The guitars are back again, this time flowing in slowly and fading then out. Also the previous problem with chaos and mess has been solved by normalizing some parts of the song, like the glitchy organs. I've asked a friend of mine to mix this whole thing and after that I'll never touch this song again.

...Now some time has passed, Geistlos has been finished for some time already and its final state has been dividing opinions inside the band. Some members consider the post-studio acoustic version the best, while others prefer the new style. The only consensus we’ve made is that the mood of the first demo captured the song’s essence in the best way. What do you think?

Tideshemn - Geistlos
mp3 - 320 kbps (right click, "save target as")

hear the song:

a clip from the abandoned version:

Tideshemn's myspace

14 QUESTIONS FOR PHIL ELVERUM

2009-06-23T15:01:00.000+03:00

TEXT : MIKAEL RECHARDT ; PHOTO : WHEAT WURTZBURGER

Phil Elverum, a tape hiss hero behind the Microphones and Mount Eerie, gave some of his precious time to answer a few questions via email. Now we finally know what his favorite color is and what animal he respects.

Hey Phil, what have you been up to lately? What keeps you busy?

many things
-dealing with all the details that come with manufacturing and releasing a new album
-arranging and promoting a growing local music festival, What The Heck Fest
-gardening
-cleaning up messes around the house
-packing orders and going to the post office
-answering emails
-eating food
-preparing some huge photographs for an art show I'm having
-many more things

Any big releases coming from P.W.Elverum & Sun in near future?

Yeah, I have a new album called Wind's Poem. I'm really happy with it.

It's pretty obvious that you are really productive... but do you consider yourself as a determined and hardworking person? Are you haunted by dusty to-do- lists?

I think I'm always too busy. I don't know what the solution is. I like to do so many things myself, but I should learn to ask for help. I don't make lists, but I should. That would probably help my stress. Yes, I do consider myself to be hard working, but I am never satisfied. Every day I am disappointed that the sun is going down and I've only accomplished 25% of the things I'd hoped to do that day.
And then I look at a cat sitting in the sun and I wonder why I live like this.

What is your favorite phase in writing and producing your own music?

It all happens at the same time. I develop the song as it's being recorded. It's all one weird process. I like being in the studio and spacing out alone for hours and thinking exclusively in sounds, no logical thoughts.

Is there anything specific that you want to achieve with your music?

I would like to make something that sounds massive and beautiful and dark. I keep trying to do this in different ways, but this is my main goal. To create the feeling of a mountain.

What is the biggest difference between the Microphones and Mount Eerie?

none

You already have a respected musical career behind you. How does it feel like? Does it weigh too much?

I try to ignore that kind of thought.
I am making music primarily for myself anyways, so I try to focus on how it sounds to me alone, the same as I did when I was 15.

Have you heard any good new bands lately?

I don't pay attention very much,
but I like the music of this guy in Toronto who plays as "Wyrd Visions"
and also this band from Olympia, "Wolves In The Throne Room"
and "Menace Ruine" from Montreal

We're almost in the end of this decade.. It's maybe a bit too soon for analysis, but what was this decade all about? What does 00's sound like?

INSANITY!
INTERNET WORLD BEGINS!

If you could change something in today's music business and media - or even music itself - what would it be?

Only one thing?
I think the industry around music is so foul. I would want to change almost everything, even the way that much "independent music" is done.
I guess the main thing I would change is liquor laws that exclude young people from most concerts. After that I would eliminate the career of "booking agent".

What is your favorite release from your own catalogue?

I can't pick a favorite. No way.

What is your favorite color?

see-through

Do you have any pets?

no, but I respect cats.

What does Mount Eerie mean?

eerie mountain
looming dark presence

P.W. ELVERUM & SUN

EXPLORING THE PATHS OF DIY

2009-05-31T21:39:00.007+03:00

a quickstart guide to home recording: 5 steps - instant success

TEXT : EERO STENFORS

Online tutorials are usually unprofessional and lame, and this one is no exception. If you already know what you're doing, I recommend you to find something proper to read from the all artists-section. But if home recording is something you'd like to try out and don't know where to start from, you might get some ideas here. Rememeber that if there was only one way to make music, the whole art wouldn't be any different from simple sports like running or swimming.

Okay, let's assume your budget is somewhere around 0-50 $ / € / £. And even if you have money, let's pretend you don't, because expensive equipment + no practical skills nor ideas = just sad. This principle leads us to the first step:

1. You need an idea

It doesn't have to be artificial or anything that you could write down. You have to understand that ideas - good ones - are rarely conscious... You just have it somewhere in the dungeons of your head, and you get a vague feeling of wanting to create something. Don't confuse this with inspiration. Consider that ecstatic feeling as a positive side effect that comes after working (mentally or manually) until you get results. You can control your inspiration!

Then you should start channelling your creative urges somehow. For some people this might be hard since there's an ocean of possibilities here. Would it be a man and a guitar? Just a cappella? Or maybe a traditional power trio? Maybe you already play some instrument and want to build your stuff around it... Or you've just bought a sampler.. This is only how the music will be done and won't take you far, a tool won't do any work for you.

Exploring new areas is always interesting, but you don't have to be any artsier than you are. If you want to build your music strongly on traditions, remember to fill it with meaning. J.S. Bach himself was considered oldfashioned when he lived, but now he's the cornerstone of western classical music. One can be good and progressive in so many ways.

2. Get some recording equipment

If you've found an old 2-track reel to reel recorder or a cassette 4-track, smile and take good care of your gear. Maybe you've seen photos of five meters long mixers and huge monitors (=speakers) and think that's where you should be going... Forget it. Guided By Voices recorded their classic album Bee Thousand with a 4-track-recorder, Animal Collective recorded Campfire Songs with three minidisc recorders etc.. I'm not telling this to make you imitate them, but keep in mind how little this whole thing is about the gear. If you have a machine that is so simple that you forget it and concentrate on music, it's a good machine.

For those not familiar with the terminology: track recorder is a machine that makes it possible to overdub, so that you can, for example, first record drums, then bass and guitar so that you hear them playback simultaneously, as if a band was playing.
If you don't find anything from ebay or want to use computer anyway, there is some free software available for this purpose: Audacity, for instance.

Basically you need a recorder and a microphone.. If you want to do everything live (with no overdubs), a regular minidisc recorder or even My first sony will do - the latter has a mic and everything!

3. Make music and record it

Try out different things. Record without planning, plan without recording.. Record alone in your bedroom and with your friends... Record record record. See the big picture; what will the song sound like if I start it with drums and percussion? Or add them later like the Flaming Lips did in The Soft Bulletin? Play, record, listen, re-record and repeat this until you are satisfied. I'd emphasise word you; you don't have to be someone else or make music for anyone else. This is where the true independency is, you can make music with its own conditions... I've noticed that many people have almost an opposite understanding of the word 'independent'.

This is kinda what you should be doing all the time. Routine is not always bad, it is vital that you know your equipment and musical vocabulary just like you know your car. Travelling is the point!

Don't stop when you feel like there's something you don't do right. Make a sketch of the whole work and go to details later. If you get stuck with one song, leave it for a while and work on another one.

4. Mix and master

You know, there are people who make their living just by mixing or mastering.. So they are not just any phases, but really really important parts of creating music. But if you have good ears, vision and stamina, you have no worries.

Mixing is basically like positioning elements into a photo collage so that one can see every detail but still enjoy the whole picture. Distorting the picture into an ambiguous mess is one option too. (My Bloody Valentine's Loveless is a good example) You can move tracks from left to right (pan) or put some gain on any frequency (eq).. Control the volume, add some effects etc.

As a home producer, mastering would be same as moving your music into your computer in stereo format. You can still adjust the volume, eq etc, but it will effect every instrument. You can't control the little objects in the collage anymore, it's like a one big jpg now. Compressing is one of the most critical and important things in both mixing and mastering, be careful with that! (This is a subject you could do a bit studying on instead of learning by making mistakes) Maybe it's a good idea to compare your master recording to any good sounding album. What's different? Usually pro masters sound loud and bright.

5. Share

Myspace isn't as bad as some people say. Could be better, but making demos that don't get sold is an expensive hobby, and via Myspace you can reach random people, not just your friends or the ones that come to see your gig. If you don't need a profile or just want to share your music with friends, a mediafire downlad link should do.

Have fun! And oh, you can send your creations to Mikael. (morearchives@gmail.com)

I mean, who knows?

BARRY ANDREWSIN DISKO

2009-05-13T13:41:00.023+03:00

TEXT: JUKKA HERVA, PICS: KAISA KUNELIUS & JUKKA HERVA

I bought a 4-track cassette recorder two years ago. That's when I really
started to record a lot. I had been using the name 'Barry Andrews' for a few
years before that, I made a few crappy christmas albums for my friends. At
that time I recorded very seldom and only using computer. I never got
really excited about it. I took the name because it sounded like some cheesy
soul singer, later I found out that some guy called Barry Andrews was a
member of King Crimson for some time in the late 70s.

We played also one gig maybe five years ago as 'Barry Andrews Band' at Kirjastorokki. We had really nice costumes and the concert was really fun: my friend Ville (Puiset Heilat) who was dressed as a bear and played drums had a leather jacket under his costume and sweat ran on his face.

I played a long and noisy guitar solo and other members of the band carried me out of stage. The best part was when the gnome and bear danced a waltz. I have played four gigs on my own. The first went quite bad because I tried to do everything live: use sampler, sing, play bass, chords and melodies, use all the effects. Since then I've made the backgrounds ready and only
played melodies and sang.

Sorry, I got carried away. Barry Andrewsin Disko is really about doing
something on my own. I play in several bands (Riukupastori!, Avaruuskaiut,
Vindi Karlos, Aikuinen nainen) and it's sort of therapy to make all
decisions on my own. Most of my tunes are a sort of 'sound structures' that don't have a much other meaning than music. It's mostly just music, nothing more. Of
course It's always a little bit different when there are some lyrics.
'Lampaita' is about insomnia, 'Pam Pam' about self-pity. Sometimes it's
mainly about how words sound:
“Be-bob-a-lula-a-lula-shaka-boom-be-bob-till-you-drop-boom-shaka-boom-boom-boom...”.

Rauhantorjuntaliitto is a small indie label ran by few of my friends. They
released my first record Boom Boom vol. 1 last autumn. It was only a cdr,
but I'm quite happy with that. It will be released also as a cassette and
hopefully someday on vinyl. Lately I've been little fed up with this whole
'barrything'. I have composed only for my bands and will concentrate on
them more. I have got a plenty of music ready. I'll finish them when I feel
like it. One album might consist of spoken word and a sort of traditional,
simple romantic pieces. I have also tons of electronical and experimental
that I'll maybe release some day.

Here's some of the gear I use. I didn't use any guitars or acoustic
instruments on this one:

Casio MT-70

This is my favourite organ. I have used it maybe for ten years. I borrowed
one from my cousins. My aunt had bought it in the eighties. Unfortunately
they wanted it back maybe a year ago. Luckily I found a new one from Ebay
for a quite cheap price. It's not maybe that great, but I have got used to
it.

DOD Delay 585 Performer

My friend sold this to me when he moved to Sweden and got rid of his
belongings. I think I really use this too much. 'Performer' has nothing in
common with typical delay pedals. It oscillates easily and sound is really
distorted. You really have to learn how to use it. This can be heard on
most of my recordings.

Yamaha VS-200

This is some sort of a 'sampler synth'. You can sample something from
microphone and then play with it. The samples are on really low bitrate.

also:

Fostex X-18H-4-track cassette recorder
Eko Tiger 61
Roland SP-404
Drumcomputer MFB-502
Zoom GFX-707 and some other effects
Cassette deck
Reel tape machine
Guitars
Some toy organs

RECORDING

30.03.2009

This song started when playing with my drumcomputer. I made a simple pulsating beat. I wanted to develop an idea that I recorded a some while ago in which two organ tracks overlapped each other. It makes the harmony little bit weird because just when the chord or harmony begins to clear it
disappears. This makes the harmony sort of fragile and all the time evolving.

Lately I have been listening to Bo Hansson, The Raincoats and also piano music by Erik Satie and Béla Bartók.

As usually I made the basic tracks with the 4-track casette recorder. First I recorded the drummachine through SP-404 and DOD performer (strange analog delay). I put in a little ring modulator from Sampler and some delay and oscillations from delay. I often improvise the structure while recording.
This was how I did this.

The organ tracks are overlapping. This reminds me of one demotape
which I made maybe a year ago. Organs sound quite same as in the original.
I used my favourite organ, Casio MT-70, a cheap homeorgan from the
eighties. I filtered and delayed it with my crappy Zoom GFX-707.
The organ harmony is the theme of this song. The Chords are something like:
Dm - Cm/D - F#dim/D - Gm/D - F/D - A+/D. The main idea is the contrast
between the static bass and the dissonance of the chords.

I also recorded bass which doubles the drum rhythm. Bass stays in D pedal
point during the whole song. Bass sound was also from MT-70. I boosted the
bass a little bit with my Zoom.

In the evening my back was quite sore because I don't remember to keep my
posture while recording. We listened to the song with my girlfriend. I
trust in her opinions and luckily she liked it. Sometimes she also sings
on my songs. Sometimes I need her help for finishing the lyrics. When
listening to the recording I wondered if I had put too heavy effects on
drum track.

31.03.2009

I improvised some chord strumming with keyboard and got an idea how to
continue. First I recorded the 4-track to computer and mixed it right. This
isn't really a big job, but it's really depressing if the mixing turns out
to be bad when I begin to add new tracks on the computer. I use a basic
multitrack programme. Usually I only add some reverb or eq with computer.
I really dislike making music with computers. I know it's just a tool, but
I'd rather not see how the tracks actually look. Maybe I'll someday buy a
hard disk recorder.

01.04.2009

I recorded some organs that I practiced yesterday. I played them with my
Casio and overdrive and reverb. It's a sort of sound I like to use quite
often.

02.04.2009

In the evening I recorded some dizzy synths with my Yamaha VS-200.

I also sampled some laughter on it also because it sounded so cold and harsh.

22.04.2009

I listened to the song and was quite happy with it though it's not the
best song I've made. I sampled a hectic drumloop from some cheap latin
classic-record. It's heard in the end. I use sampling occasionally when
recording. When sampling tunes sometimes come out really easily. I like to
sample from some cheap records that I usually get from flea markets.

I also mixed and mastered it. As often in my songs there's some tape
noise and hiss in the background. I'm not sure if it's a good or band
thing. If I put this on some record I'll ask someone to master it
properly.

12.05.2009

I had to master it again to get it brighter.

I had problems with naming this tune. 'Nykyaika' means 'Modern Times'. It
reminds me of the Chaplin classic. There might even be some connection as
I tried to laugh at my tune which turned out to be quite 'modern' and
cold.

It's a sunny day. Hope you like it!

Barry Andrewsin Disko - Nykyaika
mp3 - 256kbps

click the player to hear the song

www.myspace.com/barryandrewsindisko

my record and some other interesting releases are available at:
www.myspace.com/rauhantorjuntaliitto

FILM ME SLEEPING

2009-04-28T22:47:00.006+03:00

TEXT & PIC : FILM ME SLEEPING

consept and/or context

film me sleeping is first and foremost an escape from routine, structure, arranging, and when it comes around, thinking. on the other hand its purely intuitive process to record the foundations of the songs. a state of an idle run. it's an attempt to steer clear of everything one is normally concerned when composing songs; sound quality, flawless playing, etc.. on the other hand, after the material has been recorded, it turns to be quite the opposite. there might be a certain 'jekyll and hyde' thing going here.

i don't know. you tell me.

process and/or evolution

the goal or the purpose on the first leg of the process is not to make songs. the recording is done without any planning, any ideas. me, a piano, some privacy, some kind of a recording device and a good five to seven hours. from the first minute to the last the rec is continuously on. the fact that i'm not a pianist is very audible in these works but that's the thing itself. it is a choice of weapons of getting the job done properly. it's easier not to be concerned about nuances when you're not familiar with the instrument. some call that ridicilous, i call it punk. the second leg is for the jekyll-side, the scientist-side. all material is ransacked in the search for a theme, a mood, an affinity. some portions are discarded, others are kept and edited to be a part of the whole, which is the so called song. optimal running time could be somewhere around 30 minutes or so. some parts heavily effected, some parts left untouched. anything that serves the drama. if in need of other instruments such as drums or anything these two steps are repeated. conclusion: doing without thinking too much to create something worth thinking to.

i don't know. again, you tell me.

Film Me Sleeping - An emissary of everything worth anything (part 1)
mp3 - 256kbps

click the player to hear the song.

film me sleeping's myspace.

OUS MAL

2009-04-14T19:14:00.007+03:00

Development in electronic music seems to correlate with computer technology - meaning that it's fast as hell. (Anyone still remember what 2001 sounded like?) When not too many electronic artists strive for sounding timeless instead of modern, it is always noteworthy when one creates, not beeping retro or futurism, but a here-and-now sonic world, pouring steaming peppermint tea into your ear.

Olli (20) and his girlfriend Iiris (19) together form Ous Mal, a sampler folk duo covered with dirt and pine cones. They're both from Oulu (FIN) but live in Helsinki nowadays. Relevant or not, there are no computers in their bedroom studio, just primitive recording equipment and piles of cassettes.

Here's what they wanted to share with you:

TEXT: OLLI AARNI, PICS AND VIDEO: OUS MAL

Almost everything in our music is sample-based. The basic set-up I use is a portable turntable connected to a sampler and an analog 4-track-recorder. I'm always scrolling through tapes and records, sometimes even the radio, to find interesting sounds. Most of the time spent in making tunes I'm just listening to music, not recording anything new. My way of making tunes is really similar to some hip hop producers, I think.

The fascinating thing about sampling is that every sound has a whole history (which I will never know) behind them. I don’t really do much processing on samples, because I want the crackle and atmosphere of the sound to be heard. Sometimes it feels almost like music is creating itself, because the sounds I use are originally created in a really different context. Nevertheless for me it has never been about purposely mixing different genres together. I really like little mistakes and details in a recording.

This time a friend borrowed us a suitcase full of his parents' old records. This song is mostly based on those discs. I like sampling sounds from recordings made in Finland because that way unknown people passing me by in the city might be musicians jamming with me. Nevertheless I tend to use whatever sounds good despite the recording location.

Sometimes the ideas don't develop into tunes right away. We save almost everything we record and use that stuff later, so there are some elements also in this tune that are at least three years old. I have high piles of cassettes full of older recordings lying around. I am sampling a lot of our own stuff all the time, so it’s sometimes hard to say where one tune ends and another begins.
When the sounds are starting to find their places we begin to add some melodies and sounds from live instruments in the mix. Some of the cello parts in this song are improvised while some of them are based on already existing melodies of this tune. The improvised parts were recorded as an experiment of using feedback and distortion effects on cello and were later added in the mix because they fit so well.

This song has a structure not far away from a pop song, but we have buried it under so many walls of sound it has gotten blurry. The structure is usually formed by accident when putting sounds together. I like to hide little things in the tunes, even though I don’t think they will affect anyone’s sub consciousness.

It was almost the darkest season of the year when we recorded this tune and it has probably affected the mood of this tune. Usually the room was only lit by the flashing leds of the equipment and the glow of the street lights coming in from the window. The atmosphere naturally affects the music, but we never have any specific plans when we start recording something new: it always depends on the sounds we use.

We are always working on plenty of tunes at once. Sometimes it takes a year to finish one, while some are put together really fast. This one took about a month or so to record.

Some sounds we used this time:

- some really old Finnish children songs and recordings made in the
Soviet Union
- found field recordings of melting ice and some guy walking in the rain
- amateur guitarist jamming classic rock (found from an
used tape on a flea market)

267 lattajjaa has just released Ous Mal's first CDR titled Riioraa.

Ous mal - Hämäränvietto
mp3 - 224 kbps

click the player for a preview.

ous mal's myspace.

PAAVOHARJU

2009-03-31T17:05:00.047+03:00

TEXT & PICS: MIKAEL RECHARDT

"Paavoharju is not a real band," says Lauri Ainala.

"Never was."

It is easy to agree that the word 'band' would rather describe their more stage-oriented Fonal comrades Risto, their sweaty club shows giving a clear picture of what they're all about, which obviously makes them easier to adopt in the finnish media. And even though Islaja's music isn't for everyone, her magazine cover face is. And when you add Kemialliset Ystävät to this soup, it is quite surprising to hear that Paavoharju is the best-selling act from Fonal Records, according to a message by Sami Sänpäkkilä (the label manager) at the Fonal message board. Surprising even for the group itself since they don't see it necessary to stay updated with these things, the number of sold records etc.

Paavoharju's world is truly confusing and pretty far from ipod heads that associate indie with the Killers and wearing certain type of shoes. Their pop is mixed with soundscapes that make your niece see nightmares, their sequencing lacks the sense of control one usually finds in electronic music... And their christianity isn't the sort you learn at your weekly bible study, man; with this amount of piss, blood, shit, vomit and alcohol we're talking about something totally different.

"You want a beer?" asks Lauri when I have hardly taken my coat off.

About two weeks before this I had sent an email to him asking if Paavoharju wanted to take part in this blog, record a new song and so on (see 'info' for more details), but he told me they are having "a creative break" and therefore are not writing any new material. He kindly invited me to his place, which is not in Savonlinna anymore but in the very center of Helsinki downtown, where he lives with his wife (married just a week before I went there) and a third roommate.

Calling their apartment simply bohemian wouldn't do justice to the unique feel there is to it. The walls are full of Lauri's art student wife's morbidly mesmerising works, surrounding their bed that is (self-)made of pieces of waste wood... Branches all around the bed and room, candles, conserved little birds in a jar, bones, the skull of some big animal, and furniture probably a lot older than what you call vintage. Next to his laptop is a book of finnish folk spells which they got as a wedding gift. And a crusifix hanging on the wall.

When I asked Lauri if he could show me some of his recording equipment, he said he could, but added that "Paavoharju is not about the gear". And now he has a proof: he brings me a cheap-looking digital camera, Hp R717.

"The church organ in Kirkonväki was recorded with this, just like most of the material in Savonlinna DVD."

That is the working name for a DVD they are making, coming out in late 2009, including Paavoharju's live footage, but also something that could be even more important: clips from Savonlinna, their Savonlinna, from deserted buildings they used to live in: cabins, a slaughterhouse, a cave, a dairy, even a boat, which they found and utilized... and all the 'houses' and saunas they've built. That life style also included dumpster diving and hanging out with local drunks aside from the society. But most of this is left to Savonlinna.

"Drunks in Savonlinna are not unpredictable and violent like those in Helsinki, and instead of always bumming something they often share their booze and cigarettes with you. I have no intentions of making friends with drunks in Helsinki."

The picture of a window in the back cover of Yhä hämärää is actually taken from a house where their drunk friends used to live in. I tell Lauri about an organisation in Helsinki called Oranssi, they squat old empty houses, renovate them and live in them, but Lauri says "it's not as exciting," and emphasises that there's nothing organized or ideological about their way of living.

Lauri shows me some of his tracker software on his computer, with "nothing special about them, just basic stuff".

"Is this where Paavoharju's music starts, from your computer?" I ask.

"My brother (Olli Ainala) writes the songs with keyboard and guitar, makes demos and sends them to me, and together we figure out what ideas we start to work on," he explains, and after a short pause he continues: "... That guy's been having some problems lately..."

Here he is, playing what is possibly a new Paavoharju song:

Lauri has always been against the idea of Paavoharju playing gigs - which must be the reason for the total absence of electronic layers in their shows, Lauri being the man behind the laptop - but now they have a good reason for not being on the road.
Olli Ainala, a married man with two kids, suffers from exceptionally bad Psoriasis, a skin condition which usually includes pain in the joints, rash or abscesses, but this guy got all of the symptoms. Sometimes his skin gets stuck on sheets while sleeping, and the skin in his hands is so thin that even touching an object hurts. So the gloves in the video are not just for looks.

Olli is the man behind the transcendental harmonies, whereas Lauri covers everything with misty hiss and lateral noises. Jenni naturally plays a major role with her significant approach to vocals, but more or less it's Lauri who puts it all together... Being more than a music producer; he takes care of the lyrics and the visual sector, artwork, videos etc. The role of the rest is vague, filling something here and there when necessary. One of those 'rest' is Joose Keskitalo, who joins us as we have managed to make it to Helmilevyt studio in Pihlajanmäki. Before that we had left Lauri's place, taken a wrong train (which we didn't notice until we already were in the neighbor town Vantaa) and some beer to survive all this. The studio is in the basement of an average suburban house, in a random place in a random condition - just like expected.

Joose writes something to a tiny notebook in the corner of the room when I do the dishes to have something to cook with: we brought some pasta and chicken with us. Lauri plays drums in the other room with an excitement that reminds me of jam sessions in junior high. He plays drums in their new hip-hop trio Harmaa Getto (='grey ghetto', a word play with Harmageddon) where besides Lauri and Joose there's Arwi Lind (Helmilevyt manager) doing some heavily drunken rapping.

"Have you listened to any hip-hop?" I ask actually assuming the answer already.
"Nah, not really, only some Cypress Hill..." Well, you can really hear that in their music, even though there are almost DJ Shadow-like moments in their song Harmaata ku harmaata. But that's not rap really.
"Or wait a second, I've got some Danger Mouse too, he's great."

"I don't really listen to music that much," he confesses when I ask him about his biggest influences. It's easy to believe after seeing only about thirty CDs back in their flat, including his own output and most of them being his wife's. He mentions Es and Burzum because "they are not about mastering any certain instrument. Instead they have a vision of what kind of elements they want in their music and build them with really simple blocks. But the funny thing is that Paavoharju isn't simple at all," he says smiling.

"Any certain Warp records artists?" I suggest.

"Well, a bit after finishing Yhä hämärää I checked out Boards of Canada, and liked Music Has Right to Children and Geogaddi. "

So these so called influences seem to be later attachments. He also mentions Portishead's Third and Joose Keskitalo's newest as the best records lately.
Despite their less serious approach to hip-hop, they're obviously making it to the cover of a relatively scene-loyal (mostly hip-hop and electro) Basso magazine, which in this case is more than eyebrow-raising. These guys don't seem to care how things "should" be done; everything from their musical and architectural consepts to theology couldn't be less dogmatic.

The air in the studio is getting filled with smoke from cigarettes between oily fingers, and conversation about god, existence and information society sci-fi utopia - highflown enough to make this listener just to consentrate on finishing the chicken.
After that we have a 20-minute jam session before leaving the place, me and Joose jumping from one instrument to another while Lauri gives an unfocused beat behind the drums. You can really sense some stage of exhaustion in the playing, after Joose's band rehearsal and our long and adventurous day. Which is why the recorded material will not be shared here. (Instead of that Paavoharju gives you a less heard track, which can't be found from their debut nor Laulu laakson kukista. It's titled Aurinkotuuleen (= 'into the solar wind'). Click the player below for preview.)

After this Joose heads to Kallio and after a few warm words and a handshake Lauri goes back to his wife to finish some champagne from week ago.

The biggest mystery about Paavoharju is that its music feels completely random, a total mess, but still makes sense in a remote way like the thoughts you have just before falling asleep. You can't put your finger on it. It is hard to avoid seeing a connection between their weird solutions for accommodation and music.

Lauri shows me a photo of one of their houses in Savonlinna, which is in an extremely chaotic condition, just imagine a shitty crack house, make it twice worse and you're close: "You know, all that stuff there... It wasn't there when we found the place. We brought it all there. It's our stuff."

Excactly, inside demarcating walls, it's their mess.

Paavoharju - Aurinkotuuleen
mp3 - 192kbps

click the player for a preview.

Paavoharju's myspace and website.

MISCELLANEOUS

2009-03-28T12:03:00.025+02:00

EXPLORING THE PATHS OF DIY (31.5.2009)
UNIEN SAVONLINNA (28.9.2010)

INTERVIEWS

2009-03-28T12:03:00.021+02:00

PAAVOHARJU (01.04.2009)
14 QUESTIONS FOR PHIL ELVERUM (23.6.2009)
14 QUESTIONS FOR SAMI SÄNPÄKKILÄ (28.4.2010)

REC REPORTS

2009-03-28T12:02:00.014+02:00

BARRY ANDREWSIN DISKO (13.5.2009)
FILM ME SLEEPING (28.4.2009)
OUS MAL (14.4.2009)
TIDESHEMN (6.8.2009)

ALL ARTISTS

2009-03-28T12:01:00.040+02:00

BARRY ANDREWSIN DISKO
ES
FILM ME SLEEPING
THE MICROPHONES / MOUNT EERIE
OUS MAL
PAAVOHARJU (see also: UNIEN SAVONLINNA)
TIDESHEMN

THE IDEA / INFO / CONTACT

2009-03-23T12:24:00.019+02:00

THE IDEA

Tulivuori is a project on bands, by bands. It's an ongoing research on the creative work of experimental musicians; a zoom-in that will make the view clearer - or even blurrier.

Each participating band or artist makes a new song, records it and documents the whole producing process in text, photos or video, and then lets you download the previously unreleased song in this blog. The posts are written mainly by the bands themselves and therefore reveal something of their inner world and aesthetics. They let you see the beef slicing and onion chopping before serving the dinner.

More traditional interviews and articles on insightful musical projects are also posted every now and then.

CONTACT

If you wish to take part in this blog with your project, send a myspace-link or mp3-files (2-5 songs) to morearchives@gmail.com. I'll have a listen as soon as I can and contact you if your project seems suitable for this blog. But you should know that I'm slow and busy.

If you want to notify us about incorrect english or dead links in this blog, or just want to share your ideas and thoughts with us, you can use the same e-mail address.

Peace,

Mikael Rechardt
Helsinki, Finland

morearchives@gmail.com
+358445181838

artwork & layout : tuukka haapakorpi and mikael rechardt

special thanks to samu and roy for their ideas.