Interview with The Rasmus [Finland]

Five years in jungle Three years has passed by since Rasmus’ last hit album. In that time a lot has happened. Rockbusiness realitys internalized gang takes their careers biggest step on their fourth album. But how to move from teenage popularity to big boys sandbox without asphalt burns? Rumba will reveal Rasmus’ world conquer strategy.
In Vantaa’s Suutarila junior high school in 1994 founded Rasmus’ history has been against rocks traditions dictated by the laws of logic. Only 16 years old guys were learning to control their instruments and to write songs on their first album Peep, which was released two years after their first rehearsals. The band got their first big hit on the name song of their second album Playboys, which was released one year after Peep. Two years after their first album Hell Of A Tester started developing course, which has now continuation. In Hellofatester there was one of the first identifier of a band who is about to find itself: the biggest hit on the album Liquid was among the albums material like parfume in meatballs. It was just a sign of growing up. We didn’t give any value to target group or credibility more than what they needed; when a song was about to come, it came, whatever it was like, whether it satisfied the fans expactations or not.
Now Rasmus has grown up even more. From the “teen miracle” there is nothing else left, but the outside. The band has had time to become real men. After Hellofatester the contract with Warner was expired and at the same time to India escaped drummer Janne left the band for a moment above nothing, but the situation offered possibility to think about the future and own goals. Rasmus’ singer and songwriter Lauri says that the “verification” beared fruits. Making of the bands new album Into was completely different than before. The band had ,for the first time, producers from outside as a help. The pre-producing progress lasted as long as the making of the album itself. The songs wanted to be as good as possible. They had to be on the same line with all the national competing partners. Waiting for the Finlands tour, which starts in April, Rasmus had time to get some touch from Sweden, where the band is going to start their Nordic Countries’ conquering.
From Sweden they are going to go to Germany and middle-Europe. And then… who knows where? At least the band itself has a faith for everything. And that’s how it shoul be. If the band doesn’t believe in itself, then no one else will. At least in theory Rasmus has a good point of departure. The bands middle age is only 21. In that age starting pop people are usually published only their first album. Rasmus has already released four albums. Also there are in the catalogue a couple of list number ones, radio hits and a loyal fan base in homeland. All things that look good in portfolio, when it is time to show to pop business’ all experienced fox’s. And Lauri knows, that “in big world” they always ask first: “How is it in home land?” The singer also knows, that there is still a long way to swedish pop magazines cover picture. Now is a good feeling, when you know, that something is going to happen soon. This has been waited.
But despite of all the action the feet are solidly on the ground. You don’t have to visit in Sweden more than once and you realise, that after all you are pretty tiny. By force you start to compare achievements in national dimensions. In Sweden we are totally a new band. Despite of, that we have already published three albums in Finland, and two of them have been released all the way in Japan.

First Helsinki, then Finland, then the rest of the world
Rasmus has extremely warm and close relationship to their manager Teja Kotilainen. The confortation between Teja and Rasmus was luck, which both sides have had extremely lot benefit in the long run. Rare is in general, that the band and the manager have kept together almost the whole time Rasmus has existed all the way from 1995. Rasmus is like a child to Kotilainen, whose developing story he has been responsible. To Rasmus Kotilainen is like a father character, who has offered help and advices to the band, when in need. When Kotilainen found Rasmus from klub Oranssis punk night, the both partys were, in spite of ten years age difference, same kind of situation in life; both, Rasmus and Teja, wanted to redeem their place in the sky, in finnish and after that, in world wide rock business. In the goals first part, the both sides succeeded together, learning from each other. Lauri thinks Teja saw in Rasmus same kind of sincere youth enthusiastic and energy of what was once in punkrock.
“When we made to Tejas own record mark our first ep Funky Jam, we didn’t know anything about the music business’ play rules. But neither did Teja. After the gig Teja saw in Oranssi he just walked to packstage and told us he’d be our manager. He said, that first we conquer Helsinki, then Finland and after that the whole world. It sounded a good plan. Manager is a dangerous word. It brings strong images, which aren’t necessarily so positive. Teja has been this anti-manager, because he has never been saving himself even when he’s been working on our things. Maybe it’s because we are his first band. When we started, nor we or Teja had nothing.” Lauri, Pauli, Eero and original drummer Janne have spent “different youth” in all the meanings of the word. Of course it is normal, that 16 years old play in a rock band. Instead it’s not daily , that a rock band is taken with a speed of light to all kinds of minor functions in the country.
Eero and Pauli graduated from high school, but Lauri dropped out, because “after the band was founded everything else lost their meaning”. It is not usual either, that under full–age ,with their first album breaked, band hasn’t slipped into drugs, bad women or unnecessary showing up. You can’t dig cynicism under the guys positve surface, no matter how much you try. This is, from the cynical reporters point of view, a great pity. Nothing is more juicy, than to represent to new audience former teen band, who has afterwards learned “big boys’” bad habits and not trying to hide it. But no. From Lauri’s and Eero’s talking you can hear sincere enthusiasm of new things and optimistic believef for the future. The musicians have nothing bad to say about anyone. The internalizing of the cliché rock’n'roll way of habits is not part of the new exciting things. Already Lauri’s trained body tells exactly opposite story. They get kicks from other stuff.
Eero says that he hasn’t drunk alcohol since he graduated. Somehow it is even too easy to believe, that being clear is not a cosmetic image trick to Rasmus and there can be found funds for their speech. Young guy gets enough weird vibes from going to school and jus last night you were in Hyvät, Pahat ja Rumat tv-show. You don’t really need other stimulants. Now we have had long, dry season, because we have worked so much. “We’ll see, when the album is ready, if we are still thirsty”, Lauri says. Survivors are straight people, not to mention the succes people. Of course it is important in this business to be social and sometimes being social may need something stronger than water to go on with. “I have had so good luck, that I can handle those situations well even without drinking”, Eero continues.

Three different albums, three different band
In new album Into Rasmus is this far in their careers most important crossroad. Between the last album and the new one, there has been triple time between them, compared to prevoius albums. There has also been a long time since the last Rasmus song has been played everywhere. While writing this article, Into albums first single release F-F-F-Falling is strongly on the second place in the single list, right after Apulanta’s latest single. Now Into is breaking the two years lasted silence and brings Rasmus’ aims in whole new level. The band has decided to grow up. And Rasmus don’t really have other choises. Young and faitful fans have been making the bands succes story, but the fans have grown and got older just like their idols. Rasmus is now on a crossroad, where it has to find new group of teenagers for support (Lauri, Pauli, Eero and the new drummer Aki aren’t still too old for teenage idols) or to get their “grown up” music lovers back to their side.
So that they would actually go to the store and buy Rasmus’ new album. Based on the new album Into, Rasmus and their backups have decided to play filthy rich and penniless; the album is produced properly and it is clearly more fine figured completeness than the previous Rasmus albums. Wandering between different variety types and even Lauri’s apparently eternal “boyish” voice is adapted painlessly into great lined AOR- rock. But even though Peep and Into sound like they’d be done two completely different band, they are finally just same natural courses of developments extremitys. In some point we discovered, that our best songs are pop music and nothing funk tricking. We don’t even really know how to play funk music. Lauri’s input in songs grew too so, that in some point he started to bring even more melodic material to our rehearsal place. Lauri likes melodies, he’s our melody monster. “Riffs were left in the minor role like by themselves”, Eero convinces.
Eero sais, that he thinks Rasmus’ first two albums form a solid wholeness, as the new album is continuation where was left from the third one. Lauri remembers how Peep was said to be funkrock, Playboys poprock and Hellofatester entertainment pop. The new albums genre men won’t start to guess. “We have published three different album so far and on all of them has played three different bands. We have taken our bearings in jungle for five years and now the compass points into right direction”, Lauri dismiss’. Into is a funny name for an album. You can interpret in two ways, wether according to english or finnish meaning. According to Lauri the meanings are not so far away from each other in Rasmus’ case. What the band members can’t say, is that should Into be inflected Innon or Inton. In finnish it means, that we are really enthusiastic. In english we are going in to somewhere in other words totally into new Rasmus sound and from there to new Rasmus age.
And of course it requires a lot enthusiasm.

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