When and how was your band created?
Our band found its present form in the year 2002. Janne -guitar and keybords, Heikki -guitar and Turbo -bass had a band called Clarke and they played britpop but when Janne got interested in writing lyrics in finnish they had to and wanted to find a new style. They started looking for a singer and invited me to “rehearse” a song with them. Little did I know that it was an audition! Luckily they liked me and I got the job. Our drummer, Matti, had written a note and put it on the wall in a bar in Joensuu and the note said: Drummer looking for a band. Janne called him and that´s how Matti came into our lives.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
The name Stella is a girls name. It´s just a name that Janne and heikki liked…there´s no strory behind it. We think Stella is catchy and sticks in mind.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
We are five people and all of us have different influences and idols. To name a few bands all of us like and admire: Kent and The Cardigans from Sweden and Coldplay, U2…

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Being a musician in Finland is hard if you want to make a living. The market in Finland is just so small because the whole country is so small. There are very few people who make a living just by being a rockstar in Finland, almost everyone, including of course us need to work or study at the same time to be able to pay rent. Positive things in being a musician Finland are numerous! It´s great, it´s fun, you get to travel and perform and you get to do what you love to do with a bunch of friends!

How could you define your style of music?
This is hard…hmmm..we play poprock music with finnish lyrics.  In our music you can hear that we like Kent with a touch of country. Our sound world is in touch with time, fresh you might say, but honest. We make music we enjoy ourselves!

During the years how has your musical style changed?
There is no dramatic change. The style is pretty much the same but with time we have become more courageous. Our new album is more dynamical than the first one. Soft and tender bits in songs are just that and when we rock we actually rock.

How do explain these changes?
Development is natural. With time we have simply become better at what we do. we´ve been training and developing both individually and as a group.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Our topics are thoughts of life, relationships and surviving everyday life. The lyrics are sometimes rough but easy to relate to and find comfort in. Hope is always present in our songs!

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
At this point my favorite song is song number 9 on our new album and it´s called Lumottu (=enchated or something…) The reason is that its a pretty song with a good flow and it´s also one of our newest songs so I´m not sick and tired of it yet!

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Absolutely live! We enjoy performing very much and work hard in trying to be better both at playing and at performing. The guys in our band, especially Janne and Heikki are strange characters because they enjoy also being in the studio and they always have some project going on in there!

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
I become a part of the process when Janne has lyrics and melodies to offer to me. The guys have been composing and I always enjoy the part when we are at rehearsels and playing the new song for the first time and noticing that hey, this could actually become a song!

A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Not a stupid one, just a VERY VERY hard one. There are SO many good songs, but if I have to name only one I would say…hmmm…Walk by Blind Melon.

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Everything that is legal is fine by me.  Internet has actually been a great help for us as a band. before we had a record deal we put our demos online on a finnish site called mikseri.net and gained a lot of listeners some of whom still are listening to our band.  We also have put a lot of effort in our own website and people seem to have liked the fact that everything you  need to know about our band is easy to find on our site www.stellankoti.net
As regards to piratism I don´t even want to go there. of course it´s wrong and everybody knows that.

What are your projects ?
Janne and Heikki have some additional projects, playing and producing but Stella is of course number one for them and for all of us.

What “image” do you have of French music?
I believe Phoenix is a french band and it´s great! When i was younger and going through a hiphop-phase I listened to a french  band called Alliance Ethnik and loved it I don´t know much more about french music but I´d be happy to learn!

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Simple et Funky