Turun Romantiikka

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Interview : Pete from "Turun Romantiikka"

When and how was your band created?
Pete (guitar, vocals): Rami (vocals, guitar) and I were discussing about the Finnish music scene and realised that there are no bands here who have something to say. So we decided to be that band. Niko (drums) and Mickan (bass) were found easily and we were ready to provoke Finnish music industry, media and audience.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
Pete: Turku is our hometown and the name of the band is Turku Romantic Movement in English. Turun romantiikka used to be the name of this literal, political and cultural movement in the early 19th century Finland. It also refers to all bands whose names have a city in them, for example Hanoi Rocks and New York Dolls.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Pete: Different members of the band have different influences. Hanoi Rocks hit me like a bomb when I was about seven years old but there are also many other groups. I think people like to compare us to the Clash and Manic Street Preachers because of our political and critical lyrics.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Pete: Being able to play music, make records and have a few people who like to listen to our music is always positive. In Finland you just can't make a living out of it.

How could you qualify your style of music?
Pete: Modern guitar oriented rock that has some elements from the 60´s and the 70´s. We are one of the very few bands in Finland that write critical lyrics about society instead of writing about girls and boys and fast cars.

During the years how has your musical style evolved?
Pete: On our first album Ajatus on kapinaa (Thinking is rebellion) we used to play some kind of action punk rock and underline these provocative slogans in our lyrics. Second album Metamorfoosi (Metamorphosis) is big, more sophisticated and pop. It proves our musical growth.

How do explain these changes?
Pete: There is no point in doing the same album twice, so we aimed to do a very different album than the first one. We have also grown as musicians and songwriters. I think our development has been very natural.

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Pete: Metamorfoosi album dives deep into the human mind and makes notes about culture and society around us from an individual point of view. Our topics are important and we always take the poor people's side.

Have you ever considered the possibility to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
Pete: Not totally, but we have already done some pretty big changes. Who knows what kind of an album will the next one be?

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Pete: My personal favourite is probably Dilemma from Metamorfoosi. It's an aggressive song with a sing-along-chorus and it always wins the audience on its side.

Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Pete: Both are lots of fun, but I love the interaction with a good audience, even though it sounds like a big cliché. I don't think we have actually ever toured, but we do all the gigs we get and there is always more demand after an album release.

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
Pete: When the drums and the bass are recorded and we start doing the guitars, the keys and later the vocals. That's when you start to realise which direction the song is going after all. I also like doing the demos before the actual studio time.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Pete: Lou Reed's NYC Man, Iggy Pop's Skull Ring, CMX's (a great Finnish band) Aion.

A stupid question but... what is, among all the songs you've been listening in your life, the BEST song? Why?
Pete: Impossible to say but at the moment in the middle of the Finnish winter I really like Iggy's Perverts in the Sun. It always makes me feel good. "Perverts in the sun, perving everyone."

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?
Pete: We are still such a small underground band that I'm just happy if people listen to our music. I used to copy cassettes when I was a kid, because you just can't afford to buy all your favourite albums. I also believe that if you really like some band, you will buy the original album from the record store. Internet is full of possibilities but they haven't found all the right ways yet to make use of those possibilities.

What are your actual and future projects?
Pete: We are writing new songs and making demos. I hope we can release an ep during spring and do some gigs after that. I also hope that the summer festival organisers will show some interest in our band. And of course we have some crazy ideas which we don't want to talk about just yet. In the long run we are planning to continue being a thorn in the flesh of Finnish music industry.
Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2004