Yavis

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Interview : Yavis

When and how did you decide to become a musician?
I had toyed with the idea since I was a kid. I played a bit of piano, guitar and drums when i was younger but for 13 years dancing was always my main intrest. In 1994 I started street dance lessons and got acquianted with hiphop culture. Four years later I quit dancing and being fascinated with rhythm, picked up MCing.

What musicians or artists have had a major influence in your life/work?
I get influenced by several sources simulteneously, and they vary a great deal from time to time-
for instance I can get inspiration from the concoction of the poetry of Maya Angelou the ideas of Tom Wolfe, Rai-music and Bollywood movies. Then I just try to put them all together in my mind and see what comes out. I think all art supports and feeds oneanother.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
positive: In my case there wasn't that much competition so it was relatively easy to come out.
Also the audience that comes to see gigs doesn't change a lot so you have to think of new ways to keep them interested in your show.

negative: The country is so big so it's hard to reach out to people of the otherside of the country with out touring extensively.

How could you qualify your style of music?
It's melodic hiphop. I like to blend singing with rap to make it more musical..It's difficult to grab and maintain peoples attention with english rap these days since theres so many finnish opponents out there.

Have you considered changing your style of music?
No, not as of yet, thought i have dreamed of a band. It would give more depth to my show and music and there could be more interaction.

What are the stories /topics you treat in your songs?
I've noticed that on this ep most of the songs reflect my feelings about music and life around it in quite a .in an anguished way - a subject (unfortunately?) quite common in hiphop. I am aiming to grasp more universal topics in the future.

What is your favourite song in your repetoire and why?
Crimes of Passion because the singer Afrodite and I gradually weave our vocals together to make the song grow. It's a song you really can feel in you gut while performing.

Do you tour regularly? Do you prefer performing your music live or in the studio?
In the past 3 years I've had about 1-5 gigs per month concentrating in the southern part of the country.

Do you prefer performing your music live or in the studio?
I prefer studio work, and the whole creative process in which a song is created and in which it evolves.

During the process of making an album or a song what is the moment that you prefer?
We have a great production team and we have a great deal of laughs. Gigs stress me far too much, theres practically no margin for mistakes and i cant relax the way i can in the studio.

What kind of music/artist do you currently listen to?
At the moment in interested in "ethnic" hiphop- bands that take advantage of their own cultural and musical background in their music- like Orishas or Outlandish.

What is your favourite song of all time?
I cant pick just one favourite but one song that has always touched me is Simon&Garfunkel -Bridge over Troubled Water.

What is your point of view, as an artist, regarding internet?
I think that the internet is a excellent medium especially for underground artists.What comes to artists on a record label it gets trickier. For artits with major promotion, exposure on the internet surely eats at their actual sales. but for artists like me, who dont have that much media exposure the internet has more significant promotional value. Especially within the hiphop
genre where artist might have several sideprojects it's a great way to promote those.

What are your actual and future plans?
Write new raps, make better gigs and try to keep the art fresh. A lot of my energy is also directed towards developing and promoting Femcees Finland, a collaboration project aimed to take women in Finnish hiphop to a new level.
Interview by Vincent Lefrançois / 2003