Pikku Kukka

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Music
Interview : Emilia from Pikku Kukka

When and how was your band created?
Pikku Kukka was born in January 2002. Me and Lotta were spending the evening in a pub in Kouvola. For some reason we had got fed up with all the noise and angst that almost every band produces. We wanted to do something different: make music that doesn't tell sad stories or make you cry and above all isn't noisy! At that time we played in a band called Womb, which was an all-girl rock group. That didn't satisfy our needs and we wanted to do something completely different from anything we had done before. So we started to make songs together and recorded them by ourselves. After a while we wanted to try the songs out with a band and it sounded quite good!

Where is the name of the band coming from?
We decided to name our project Pikku Kukka, because we didn't want our name to be in any way mysterious or artistic. We wanted something naive, kind and a bit simple minded.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Me and Lotta write all the songs for Pikku Kukka and quite often we compile both of our ideas and a fine song is born. I'm influenced by powerful female artists such as PJ Harvey, but I don't think it affects my own songwriting. Our music is so different from hers. Most of all I'm interested in different kinds of melodies and creating harmonies between them. I like music that's not too straightforward: there should always be something going on below the surface. We both also like Finnish composers such as Chydenius and Merikanto.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
In Finland it's quite easy to get contacts with people in the music business, because the scene really isn't that big. Still it's hard to get your songs played for example in the radio because of the playlists. Luckily there are still a few playlist-free radio stations. Also the gig culture is a bit odd: even on Monday evenings it is hard to make people understand that our gig starts at nine o'clock in the evening! Everyone comes in late because they're used to bands starting to play before midnight. If we can do anything about it, we'll definately start playing early.

How could you define your style of music?
Our style is that we don't have one. When I or Lotta bring a song to the rehearsal no-one knows what comes out of it. We always work songs up as a band and if we feel like it, we'll make it a bossa nova or bluegrass or waltz. So style is optional but always dashing!

During the years how has your musical style changed?
Though Pikku Kukka is only a toddler, we have gone through some changes in our style. First of all, the principle we had at first: no drums, no electric guitars and so on, was soon cast aside. We found out that we didn't want to whisper out our words, we wanted to shout and laugh! So that was it then, a musical volte-face.

How do you explain these changes?
I guess we didn't know at first what we wanted. First we even planned that we wouldn't do gigs at all! Now that's the best we know! We also didn't know yet how great we would sound with a real band.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Usually our songs tell about us. We get our ideas from ourselves and our feelings. They might not be stories, just a few lines maybe. Sometimes we don't even care about the lines but it's all about a few words. One single word can be important, there is a bit of a punster in both of us. That's one of the reasons we write our songs in finnish. We just couldn't do the same job in english.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
I love them all of course! When performing live it's always fun to make people dance to our disco beat, but I also like to let our voices lead the way in the more ethereal songs.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We're at our best when performing live, though rehearsing is fun and it's always rewarding to work in a studio. I love to be on stage and play and sing, it always feels that our show ends too quickly. I've heard that we're also fun to watch!

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The first moment when I start to hear a melody in my head with all the instruments. That's when I know there is a good song trying to get out. If I just sit down and start forcing a song it won't work. Quite often a song starts to play in my head at school, so I have created a way to write the melodies down with different kinds of dots and curves.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
That's just impossible to say, I enjoy different things in different compositions. For example, there is something in classical music that moves me the way pop music never does. Right now I'd tell you to listen to one classic and one pop tune: Vivaldi's Nulla in mundo pax sincera, because I think it's breathtakingly beautiful and Matti Johannes Koivu's Automiesten rahat, because Koivu is a wonderful songwriter and I love his voice.

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
For new arrival bands internet is a great way to make yourself known. There are many forums where you can leave your band information and some music clips. Also all the online magazines are a way to get recognition. Of course there are the negative things also, all the bittorrent-loading programs and such, but as a novice band member I find the internet a fine place to start promoting yourself.

What are your projects?
We've been working with Pikku Kukka's second ep and it should be available in the end of March. Now we're hoping to get a lot of gigs for the spring and summer. I'm already planning some new recordings with visiting musicians, but right now we're concentrating in rehearsing new songs and getting the band in good shape for gigs.

What "image" do you have of French music?
When I think of French music the first things that come to my mind are Air, Phoenix and Jacques Dutronc. Quite chic!

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
I like Air, I think they're really stylish and their Cherry blossom girl is lovely. But there is something about Jacques Dutronc...

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006