The Rasmus – Fear of light [Mexico]

The Finnish men have a decade of existence. By Pepe Campa.

Was in 1995 when the members from the four some The Rasmus decided to form a rock band after getting the sad conclusion that the musical scene from their country was in complete bankrupt. Maybe for someone this might have to be a too cocky way to start a musical career, but the truth is that Finland appeared again in the global map thanks to the transcontinental success from The Rasmus and their album Dead Letters.
Having in doors the releasing from their most waited sixth production, Hide From The Sun, we had a conversation with Lauri Ylönen about ten years of musicians, poets and crazy guys…

Which is until now your best memory from this 10 years of life?
Well, so many things happened until then; also we grew up a lot since those days when we had 16 or 17 years. It’s hard to choose a moment, but I remember stuff like the first time we played in a big festival in front of thousands of people or when I listened for first time one of our songs on radio.

Why did you take the decision to sing in English instead Finnish, your native language?
Because we listened American and English bands, and it was something like “natural”. In my opinion, the English walks hand by hand with rock, cause it have more rhythm and sounds more better, compared to Finnish, for example.

You have the fame to do strange stuff to entertain your audience, what is the most weird or extravagant you have done on stage?
Well, one time we started to cook pancakes in a concert; it was a delicious smell everywhere (laughs). But also I remember when I was singing and suddenly… I puked over the audience!. Had drunk too much the last night, I felt terrible and at the end I couldn’t control myself. Our shows are very interactive. We try to play with the audience as far as it possible, and I think its great when we made it. For example, one time I saw Nick Cave live, and the people was screaming: “Play that song”, and he stopped the concert and said: “What?? I didn’t hear you, to play what?”, he got answered and said: “Ok”, and played it. It was awesome. Of course that when the people is so excited I like to jump over them and stuff like that.

Many people doesn’t know, but a year ago you released a DVD called Live Letters, who contains very interesting material, a concert too and the promotional music videos, how did you got involved in the production?
Certainly, that DVD contains our show in Switzerland, all our videos, a behind the cameras, some pictures and lots of extra material. Was incredible assembling all that; we were looking for old tapes and home videos, I mean, things that the fans don’t usually see. I think it was a great document for The Rasmus followers.

You met Mexico and the Mexicans, are they what you expect?
The image from Mexico was for me, before all, lots of people; enthusiastic people, an audience with big temperament, so strong. If you compare the Mexicans with Finnish people, you see a big difference, because the Finnish are too shy, we are reserved people; but once you know well a Finnish you become their friend. Another thing that I realized when we were playing in United States is that many people have this “small talks”; and it’s tiring. In my country, in change, when we say something, that’s it, that’s all; we don’t talk around the same thing, and if we don’t want to say something, we just kept in silence; just like that.

Talking about Finnish people, which one is the most wanted profession in your country, besides being a hockey player or rock musician?
Definitely being a musician is the most cool. But, you know? If I wasn’t the singer of a band, I wish to be a gardener. I used to cut my neighbors grass from their gardens before being in The Rasmus, and that’s how I kept money for my first guitar; of course I was a little kid, but I would like to do it again someday; it’s quite relaxing, because you get involved with your thoughts and it works like a time machine that moves you to another place.

How did you stopped with “Hide From The Sun” to name the new album?
What happens is that we had a long tour with Dead Letters from above two years and a half, and when you are in the road the time puts you upside down. After every show comes the after party, and you end up in bed before the dawn for only wake up when the sun is hiding; so in a way we lived in night all the time. We chose the title to refer us to that vampire life style we have.

[Note pic] The visit from this Finnish four some – Eero Heinonen (bass), Lauri Ylönen (voice), Pauli Rantasalmi (guitar) and Aki Hakala (drums)- to our country is one of the most waited from thousands of Mexican fans.

And that butterfly in the cover means…
It’s an idea from our guitarist; he designed the cover, and the butterfly came out from the theme of the own album, I mean, from the idea to combine beautiful melodies with the aggressive side from our music and create something like a “beauty and beast” at the same time. That butterfly is very beautiful, but at the same time it have a rotten and break side, like our sound; like two opposite poles find each other. I think Hide From The Sun it’s more confident album, more spontaneous and much more interesting than Dead Letters; even it conserves that melancholic sound, also include some songs with more heavier sound.

And from those songs you chose “No Fear” as a meat cannon ball…
Yes. Normally when we have songs done the first thing we do is play them for our closest friends; just like most of them voted for that song as the first single, we end up choosing that; so simple. “No Fear” talks about that kind of mental death we all experience sometime, when one have to stop their own life and left all the shit behind to start again. Maybe sound depressing and negative, but the meaning its totally the opposite, is quite positive, its about giving yourself another chance.

And talking about your lyrics, tell us about that little notebook as many people said that you never leave…
Never. I always carry it with me; I don’t like to write ideas over napkins and stuff like that. The notebook is like a diary, and everything that comes to my mind I wrote it and that’s how I’m structuring my poems. It’s something personal, when day by day I set my emotions.

About what talks your lyrics, for example in songs like “In The Shadows” or “Guilty”?
Every song is like a letter wrote for someone in my life, and sometimes that person could be me. “In The Shadows” is a letter for me, because I’m one of those people that keeps bugging myself all the time trying to going out for something big in this kind of search, like the meaning of life. I think that it’s a common feeling between the young people and most of the people don’t know where to go. Sometimes the most hard way becomes to be the best at the end. “Guilty” is more like an apology for some people I consider I’ve hurt, with those I being selfish, from those I’ve been away too much. That’s one of the reasons. It’s hard for me to keep contact with my old friends, my roots in Finland and those people with who I grew in my teenage. Now it’s seems like I runaway from them, from that life I used to had; but at the same time I’d enjoyed every moment being on tour, traveling around the world, so I don’t feel completely guilty, are just some feelings I have inside and I want them out. About that, my lyrics talk.

Do you get stressed so easy?
I have a philosophy that might sound selfish, but I only do the things that make me feel comfortable. I try to erase all the shit in my life and that’s how I can have more control over the things. For example, in this moment we are editing our sixth album and this philosophy makes me keep going through little by little to make me feel more sure, more confident as the time goes by, with more of that I control that I was mentioning. Maybe in the things that caused me feel stressed is spending a lot of time on studio. I rather playing live, that’s what I like.

You have a tattoo from Björk, I guess you are more than a simple fan…
She have inspired me not only like a musician, like a whole character, because she is a woman that always set her own path and have a big confidence in herself. For not to mention that I think she’s very attractive. (laughs)

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