Alamaailman Vasarat

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Interview : Jarno Sarkula from "Alamaailman Vasarat"

When and how was your band created?
Alamaailman Vasarat was founded spring 1997. I had just bought soprano sax and wanted to play it right away, in a band. My old friend Teemu Hänninen (drummer) liked the idea and together we formed the core which expanded to quartet with Miikka Huttunen (pump organ, piano) and Marko Manninen (cello).
Trombone player Erno Haukkala joined a year later and latest addition, Tuukka Helminen (cello) joined the band last year.

Were is the name of the band coming from?
Years ago, me and Marko were playing in Helsinki subway for a quick cash during our unemployment days. We called ourselves Alamaailman Vasarat ("Hammers of the underworld"). Our music was sort of medievalish folk, with me on the flute and Marko bowing the cello. It seemed like a good idea to borrow the name from this long forgotten duo and continue the tradition in a new form.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I don't know about the others, but I listen to all kinds of music, although I try to stay away from too complex or "artsy" stuff these days. From heavy metal to film scores to Madonna, anything goes.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
Well, it's hard to make ends meet here as a musician or composer so it's almost necessary to do something else on the side. If you're ready to accept that, there's no pressure to satisfy anyone but yourself and that's the real key to create interesting music.

How could you qualify your style of music?
If you mean how to describe our music, I would say Alamaailman Vasarat are a weird combination of fictional world music and some heavy metal, jazz and klezmer elements. No simple way to put it, really.

Have you ever considered the possibility to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
Probably something like Bryan Adams plays, he's so cool and all-American.
Seriously speaking, our style is in constant evolution anyway so there's no need to actually think about it.

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
We try to approach our music in a visual way and often make up stories as we arrange songs. It's almost like scoring imaginary short films and writing the drama at the same time. Sometimes the title of the song is the catalyst, but usually it's the melodies and music styles which inspire the story behind the song. But what the stories actually are, that's what you'll have to figure out yourself.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
My favourite song is currently "Vasaraasialainen" ("Vasar-Asian") from our new album Käärmelautakunta. It's so simple and almost naive, but at the same time very fresh sounding and catchy.

Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We do some twenty gigs per year, some of them abroad. Live concerts are always very intensive and we're surely at home on stage, but there's also some magic in the studio work. It's hard to say which one to prefer over the other.

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
Why?
I think the finest moment is when the little details shape the song in a way you never expected. I'm not necessarily referring to improvisation but more how the notes are played, sometimes nicely out of tune, off-rhythm or dynamically interesting. That's when you know you're doing something unique and personal, never to be repeated exactly the same way again.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Moloko's new album is very good and Tom Waits seems to crawl back into cd player even on a sunny day. Deadbolt is also the all time favourite as well as some old film scores and C64 music.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
It must be Bryan Adam's Summer of '69. You can't beat that song, ever.

Internet is something interesting for musicians because it gives them the opportunity to touch a larger audience but it is also a threat for them (regarding the copyrights). What is your opinion regarding this medium?
I think internet is the best medium for bands like Alamaailman Vasarat because there's no cheaper way to market and promote your music. Copyright is a problematic issue and probably always will but so far we haven't had any bad experiences.

Do you use computers or home studios during the process of making an album or a song?
Most of the new album's tracks we're recorded at my studio which is more pro than home studio but computers are just the same. These days computers are so fast that you don't have to use expensive outboard gear to track or even mix the album. But you can't beat good mikes, proper acoustics and listening conditions so there's a limit what you can really do in a home studio, especially if we're talking about acoustic music. But when composing, even a simple laptop will get you far.

What are your actual and future projects?
Right now we're arranging old and new songs for live performances and also doing some promotion work for the new album. There's three music videos coming up and gigs abroad later in the summer. After that we'll concentrate on new material and eventually start working on the third album or maybe even a dvd.

Interview 2003 - by Vincent Lefrançois