Futone

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Music
Interview : Tomi from Futone

When and how was your band created?
Me and Lasse, old friends from our hometown Pori started writing songs together in our new location Tampere in the fall of 1999. Later we were joined by bassist Kimmo and drummer Henkka, both also from Pori. In the summer of 2001 Henkka seemed to run out of time from playing and so we found Antti to replace him.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
The name Futone comes from the word futon, which is a Japanese sofa. Kimmo discovered the name, I guess it sounded mystical enough for us...

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
For me there's this one and only group, which I prefer to be the best rock band in the world. R.E.M. really changed my life in many ways and their influence can be heard also in my music. But of course there are many other important influences too. It's impossible to name them all, but let's say that at least Coldplay, U2 and The Jayhawks are very close to our hearts.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Well, it's quite hard to get a record deal round here and it's almost impossible to earn one's living by making music. But I'm glad there are quite many new indie labels rising in Finland. We have a good start for the new Finnish underground scene.

How could you qualify your style of music?
It's melancholic, passionate and heartfelt. Melodies play an important role in our music. It's some kind of folk-based poprock with a quite big and wide sound.

During the years how has your musical style evolved?
At first our music was more post-grunge -oriented, which I'm a bit ashamed, but later we found our own style between melodic indie rock and folk pop.

How do explain these changes?
It's hard to explain. I guess the music I was listening influenced me to write new kinds of songs in new kind of style.

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Love and loss, mostly. I don't want to get for example politics involved in my music. Still I'm glad, that some great bands do express their opinion. In this shitty world it's significant, no doubt about that. But it's not my thing to do, I think.

Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
I have not considered that, but it would be nice to make experiments with more electronic stuff. I'm also fascinated by the thought of doing some simple acoustic singer/songwriter kind of music in the future.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
My favorite song at the time is Amaze Me, Anette from our upcoming EP. It has a good touch, it's simple, catchy and reminds me of the 80's R.E.M.
I also like Springtime, which is a beautiful pop song. It's about getting older and older all the time...

Do you tour regularly? Do you prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
I prefer to do it live. I kinda hate studio work for some reason, even though sometimes it can be very delightful.
We don't tour regularly, but of course we are constantly seeking for gigs and looking forward to perform our new material live in the near future.

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment when everything cliks into place and you notice you have created something new and wonderful.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
The new R.E.M.-album Around The Sun, of course. I've also listened to Interpol, The Killers, Brian Wilson, Ed Harcourt, Neil Young, The Police and Rufus Wainwright among others.

A stupid question but... what is, among all the songs you've been listening in your life, the BEST song?
Well, let's mention R.E.M.'s Sweetness Follows and Nick Drake's Hazey Jane I. These songs have both deep sadness and endless hope in them. They just make me cry. But still it's impossible to define the BEST single song. For me the best song can be different every day.

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
I don't mind the internet. Music and the internet make an inevitable combination. But it's true that the net can cause lot of economical damage to musicians.

What are your actual and future projects?
We're finishing our ep in a couple of weeks. And of course live performing is part of our future plans.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2004