The Rasmus [Japan]

Kick the beautiful melancholic melody!! With the sensational album “Dead Letters,” their long-awaited Japan tour finally realized!!
Somewhat nostalgic but fresh, and it’s such a highly addictive melody. In essence, this is the reason why The Rasmus’ “Dead Letters” became a huge hit in whole Europe and also gained popularity here in Japan. In fact, at their first gig in Japan in late January, you could see how much their melody is loved by the number of people in the audience singing along with the singer Lauri Ylönen. After ten years of career in business and five albums, they are still in their middle twenties. As this is their first appearance in Player, I would like to explore the core of the band that has made them who they are today. Lauri was the one who answered my questions in the interview.

First of all, how did you like the first gig in Japan?
Lauri: It’s very good. You could see how much I liked it: I was so happy that I had drunk ’til six o’clock in the morning yesterday after the gig. *laughs* I didn’t expect that we’d receive such a warm welcome as we’re new to Japan. I think we’re off to a pretty good start. Well, that meet & greet after the show was a bit strange *laughs*, but it’s important to have time to interact with fans like that.

What do you think made “Dead Letters” so successful?
Lauri: When I look back now, what helped us the most is that we gave ourselves time to form the basis thoroughly. In the first six or seven years, we had never played outside Finland. You know Finland is a small country with only five million of people, and there’re fifteen cities or so where we could play at. We used to have a gig at the same club every year. Yet, I think these experiences were necessary for us and our music to grow. Our music was once the mixture of various kinds of music like funk, grunge, and hip-hop. When I was a teenager, I tried anything I wanted to do. Or, I tried everything I wanted to do, I should say.

Indeed, the older albums were like “playboys’ funky mixture rock”. How come it turned out to be this style of music you have now…?
Lauri: When all is said and done, it’s all about that we came to stick more to our roots. Personally, I think what’s behind this album is basically the influence of 80′s hard rock music. This is my roots. I even copied Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, and Skid Row with the first band I formed. Sure I was attracted to the riffs like Metallica had, but those bands’ melancholiness and melodiousness had influenced our music much more. In the same way, Muse and Keane are fascinating to me these days, and “Pinkerton” from Weezer is also my favorite. I like Slayer at the same time, and they’re melodic too in terms of guitar, aren’t they? *laughs* To be more precise, actually it was Alice Cooper’s “Poison” that had a huge impact on me. When I discovered this song, I was impressed and thought it’s simple but such a great song. And since then, I’ve always wanted, one day, to write a song like that. Therefore, I admire Desmond Child who wrote that song and many other hits as well. After all, I guess I like the kind of music in which beauty and beast coexist.

I see. Also, I think the core of this album is the lyrics. Is it like a search for the meaning of life throughout the album?
Lauri: Yeah, it begins with “First Day of My Life” and ends with “Funeral Song,” which is telling a story of one life. It’s very personal, and you can also say it’s a retrospect of our ten-year-old history. It’s not just my own experience, of course. It also reflects memories and feelings that four of us share. Well, since we’ve always been very close and spent a lot of time together, they know everything about me including those troubles in my private life. *laughs* But as a result, I could assimilate the past and look to the future, and so it made the album more positive and optimistic.

OK. Then, what is The Rasmus up to from now on?
Lauri: Actually, those gigs on the Japan tour are the last ones we do with “Dead Letters.” We plan to go to the studio in this spring, and we even have some new materials almost ready. They should be made more beautiful and beastly than ever before. More aggressive, but at the same time more melancholic and moody they should be. And when we finish the new album, our next goal is to conquer Japan. *laughs* Well, seriously we can start the next tour at Japan. We wanna come back to Japan as soon as possible.

By the way, how is the music scene in Finland like these days?
Lauri: It’s changed a lot. It’s for a long time believed that we should sing in Finnish, and people at the record company used to say, “If you wanna sell your records, sing in Finnish.” I was like, “No way! Some day we’re gonna be the band touring in Japan and in around the world!,” but they didn’t bother listening to me. But guess what? Now every record company says, “Sing in English!” *laughs*

I think you guys have brought the change then.
Lauri: We aren’t the only one. I feel that we’ve made some changes, but it’s those bands before us like Hanoi Rocks that broke through the door and opened the way for us to follow. And above all, we aren’t cocky enough to call ourselves pioneer. *laughs*

Interview: You Masuda
Photo: Rie Teranishi

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