Echo is your love

[ WWW.FINPOP.NET ]

THE FINNISH POP CULTURE PORTAL

Music
Interview : Mikko from Echo is your love

When and how was your band created?
The band got together in early 1998 when I (guitar) was introduced to Tommi (drums) and Vellu (bass) through Ilai (2nd guitar) at our first rehearsals..! It's a weird way to start a band. Ilai and I had talked about starting a "noise band" and my girlfriend was to become the singer, so Ilai just introduced us to the other folks and that's how things started..

Where is the name of the band coming from?
Ilai had a few ideas for a band name. He mentioned "Echo Is Your Love", but the others didn't like it too much. After I had already written the name on too many toilet walls at the university we had to keep the name.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
It's obvious that American indie/noiserock bands like Sonic Youth have had a huge impact on us, but since we always get compared with SY we hate mentioning them. Bands like Fugazi, Blonde Redhead, Joy Division, Velvet Underground, The Fall, Bauhaus, Birthday Party etc etc all have influenced us, with their music or attitude or whatever.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
There's a very active DIY/indie/experimental scene and people and labels are well organized and get along super well. Everyone knows each other. That's also the negative side, the scene is pretty small and there's not too many cities to play in.

How could you define your style of music?
Noisy indierock with a touch of hardcore aggression and post-punk rhythms.

During the years how has your musical style changed?
We've moved from free-flow droning to tighter rhythms and song structures. Our first 7"s were just a couple chords per side and improvising. Now we play verses, choruses etc just like any pop band but I think it's the sound, the melodies and the vocals that set us apart from mainstream pop.

How do explain these changes?
Personally I got bored with droning and wanted to start rocking. We also started touring a lot at one point and ended up playing with mostly punk/hardcore bands that kind of gave us pressures to be "harder". Touring and playing live every night also made the songs more structured and we realized that we "knew what we were doing" with the songs instead of just improvising.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Eveyday attitudes and emotions in human society, pressures that we create by holding on to 9 to 5 life, to fashion, to media and whatever.. On the new record there's a couple songs about the dark and depressive Finnish mentality and how Finns even seem to be proud of their culture of mental suicides and low self-esteem. We don't want that shit, we are outgoing and positive people.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
I've always like Pleasures Unknown of our 2004 album "Paper Cut Eye". I think it's got a great groovy bass riff.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Live. Personally I hate studios. I can't concentrate on such labratory work. For me records are there only to promote the live gigs.

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
When the structure finally comes together and we know what we are doing, and all the riffs and melodies work together perfectly. There's always several layers of riffs in our songs, I usually start writing a new song from a bass riff and then try to come up with the melodies. I think a good song needs a groovy bass riff. That's where it all starts from.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
Velvet Underground's "Heroin" OR "All Tomorrows Parties".

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It's a great tool to promote your music and to be in touch with people. I love finding new music on the internet and if I like something I try to find the music on vinyl. I'm a vinyl geek. I download lots of music but if I like something I always try to find it on vinyl. If people download our music I think it's just great, I love going to new countries where people already know our music.

What are your projects ?
You mean other bands? I play also in a hardcore punk band called Hero Dishonest, and there's a new weird pop project going on. Tommi who moved from drums to bass plays in Viola (pop) and Duplo (garage rock). Riku, the new drummer plays in Fun (noiserock). Ilai plays in Siniaalto (electronic krautrock) and Kirliang Crossing (space folk). Tommi and I also run the label IF SOCIETY (www.ifsociety.com) that has released all our music plus tons of other bands from electro to punk, from indie to thrash metal.

What "image" do you have of French music?
French hiphop, classic movie themes from the 60's.. I don't know too many French bands/artists.

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Is "Partisan" that even Leonard Cohen performs a French song? I love it. I'm sorry to say but I can't really think of any well-known French songs right now, if I remember some other song I'll tell you.. ;)

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006