Plain Dust

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Music
Interview : Axel from Plain Dust

When and how was your band created?
The original line-up started playing back in 2002

Where is the name of the band coming from?
You tell us... we've kind of forgot where it came from, but that's our name. Some names just stick and this one is ours.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
In general we owe a great deal of thanks to all kinds of different bands depending on which band member you ask. But most of us have listened or are currently into bands like: Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Nirvana, Green Day, System of a Down and Muse.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
The positive thing about being a musician in Finland is the fact that the weather is pretty bad most of the year and there's no better way to pass time than to play music. However the small size of Finland kind of limits your possibilities in terms of different venues to play or in terms of limited record sales.

How could you define your style of music?
Aaah, a musician's favourite question. Well, we were once described in the media as a dynamic post-grunge band. When music journalists or bands run out of original genres to put music in they put words together that have something to do with music and bingo... a new definition/genre. Rock 'n roll just doesn't describe anything well enough anymore. But it feels quite good to describe yourself as dynamic and to be grunge isn't all that bad either.

During the years how has your musical style changed?
The bands that we are inspired by and we listened to and still listen to influenced us a lot when we started out playing together. But naturally we have developed from the times when we played Green Day and Radiohead covers. The development of a band really starts when you start playing and creating your own songs. And the style of your own songs are naturally very similar to the covers you've played but the elements that you come up with later are the things that define the band. The elements that make a band "dynamic" can only come after practice.

How do explain these changes?
The fact that a band has several independent members that create music also means that the members also contribute with their own ideas. And, in time, you learn to know what fits together and how to create songs that fits everyone's individual style of playing. The creative process of a band is what changes your collective style of playing.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Feelings mostly I guess. Frej writes all of his own lyrics so all of the titles and topics of the songs are his ideas and reflects his thoughts.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
The faourite song at any given time usually depends on if we have just written something new and exciting which leads to the fact that the newest song is usually the favourite one. Of course we also have individual favourites that each member likes to play the most but it's not that some of us hate to play a song just because it's not their personal favourite. Really intense songs are a lot of fun to play live, but you can't deny that but there's nothing wrong with slower songs either.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
It's a lot of fun to be in the studio depending on the fact if you have enough time and don't get stuck on anything, which can be easier said than done.
But the real thrill of playing in a band really lies in playing live and actually having someone watching that appreciates your music. The possibility of positively surprise someone with your music or playing to your devoted fans is equally rewarding.
So I guess the answer to the question " Live or studio?" is definitely live.

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
You can't beat a good riff or a good drumbeat that gets things rolling. Once you've got things rolling and everyone starts thinking about their own contributions to the new song and that's where the fun starts. The fine tuning and thorough thinking about the structure is also fun but nothing beats the original thrill.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening to in your life the BEST song?
Well, it is a stupid question, but unfortunately I can't even give you a stupid answer. It's just not possible to give you even one song at the moment that I like most of all. There's just too many...

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
The internet is the best way as either a new and upcoming band or established band to be able to get information out to the fans and listeners. You can access anything from anywhere the only thing you have to do is to find it first.
That's why it's good to have different webpages that inform about music in general or that are devoted to certain types of music. For me as a musician and a listener of music the internet is invaluable and it would be difficult to imagine the musicindustry without it now.

What are your projects?
Just to keep going forward, record and write new material. In the future we really hope thet we get to play gigs outside of Finland. There are no current plans for anything other than to play gigs here in Finland and the material that we have now into shape and record it.
Sounds easy doesn't it?
We don't have any plans to write a theme-album or write a rock-opera or anything like that, although that might be interesting. But we definetly have to get paid well to do that.

What "image" do you have of French music?
To be honest it's a little difficult to say. I really don't know if I could name a french band right now.
But most of the music that I've heard is really laid back and everything is in french. I think the image that I have about french music is that it is mostly in french, unfortunately I don't understand french so it's a little bit difficult to get into it. You really have to struggle to find a frech album if you dont't know about it from before, especially in Finland.

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Onzieme commandement by Mc Solaar.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006