Ultrasport

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Interview : Juho Kosunen from Ultrasport

When and how was your band created?
Sami and I formed the band in the spring of year 2000 'cause we though there wasn't enough music that we liked in the world. Sami knew Samuli from school they went together... and we met Olli when we played a gig on a club he's organizing (Marsu on Paras). We needed a drummer and he was willing.

Where the name of your band is coming from?
That was Samuli's idea, he came up with that one one day... It really makes no sense at all, though there was an extreme sports show on Eurosport in the eighties with that name. And no, we're really not into sports, except when there are cute girls involved.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Velvet Underground, Simon and Garfunkel, Belle and Sebastian, 22-Pistepirkko, Rob Hubbard(definitely!), Bad Religion (not kidding here...) and Yo La Tengo. To name a few... It's actually quite hard to tell where all our melodic and aesthetic ideas originate, but prementioned artists definitely have influenced to what we perceive as "good" music.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
A very small music market makes it hard for indie musicians to get signed at all. The upside is that you really don't have to worry about "selling out", there's no one to "sell out" to... :) But seriously, it's quite hard to be an indie musician in Finland 'cause the scene is so small, the audiences are really small and there are only a very few labels that even try to publish indie records. But then again you don't really have to worry about pleasing the mainstream people, you got your friends, loved ones and the indie enthusiasts who'll come to your shows and buy your cd-r's. Having said that, I really think the Finnish indie scene is currently VERY lively with really good bands like Sister Flo, Bridget, Rollstons and Harry Hunks writing magnificent songs and playing really inspired gigs and more people getting into indie pop again.

How could you qualify your style of music?
Short, quiet, melancholic indie pop songs played by lively amateurs. :)

Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
Definitely Goth Metal. ;) Finnish goth-metal bands seem to be doing very well in Germany at the moment... must be something worth trying... :)

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Lost love. Unattainable love. Lack of love. And the impossibility of doing good. :)

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Must be Ballgames at the moment. It's fast, funny, melodic and I'm not singing on it. :)

Do you tour regularly?
Not regularly, no, but we do try to play gigs whenever that's possible.
The only problem is that there's just a few venues in Finland for indie bands. We would love to play gigs abroad but the problem at the moment is that we don't have any contacts who could arrange gigs abroad. Maybe someday we do, I hope.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
I definitely prefer live shows to anything, it's just amazing how much fun you can have onstage on a good night. And even the bad nights are fun enough! :)

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
We've only made two EP's so far, so I don't know about making an album, but I really like arranging the songs. The part where the song is still fresh and we're not sure how it's going to end up. Then someone comes up with some great idea how the song should sound like, that's my favourite part.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
At the moment it's all old Bad Religion, Commodore 64 game tunes and 70's disco for me.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
It's not a stupid question... but quite impossible to answer. I'd say it's Wichita Lineman by Glenn Campbell, that song always makes me feel like a better person than I really am. Or then it's The Magnetic Fields' Luckiest Guy on The Lower East Side, it has the same effect on me.

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?
I really think the p2p-programs are the new radio! I use them all the time to get my hands on interesting new music. I like the idea that I can listen to the songs on the album before buying it (before going to the music store, that is), and the MP3's are quite convenient when you can't find some album anymore... I personally don't think the indie crowd will stop paying for their music and I really don't give a rats ass about what hapens to major labels and their artists. I sincerely think people are willing to support artists they really love...

Do you use computers or home studios during the process of making an album or a song?
Well, we can't afford real studios so we really have no choice but to record our music with the equipment at hand. We're using a computer for recording but we don't like to use the fine-tuning capabilities of computerized recording... it'd probably end up sounding too polished for
our taste...

What are your actual and future projects?
Currently we're recording new material in our rehearsal space, we'll publish it as a 4-song cd-r EP. We're still looking for a decent record deal and gigs abroad...
Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2002