The Rasmus – boys to girls [Czech Republic]

The breakthrough album Dead Letters has been sold more than one and a half million. They conquer North and Middle Europe, also Britain and Russia. On new album Hide From The Sun you can find some big hits and also interesting, on some places progresive songs with heavy rock riffs ans on the concert Rasmus can entertain also a moody critics. In Roxy NOD club in Prague they were in the middle of november.
Eero Heinonen (balanced and sceptical) and Pauli Rantasalmi (straight and resolute) talk aboub their music as art, but they never forget to put this word into quotes (“art”).
They take their Finland everywhere they go – they offer to interviewers tipical finnish bonbons with liquorice, and enjoy acid faces. It is hard to believe that this 26 years old guys had started this band 12 years ago.

How did yours last two years looked like? What has changed after Dead Letters?
Pauli: We spent lot of time in studio making new songs, could it be different?! So nothing really has changed. Eventhough it is true that nowadays in Finland all radios play our new songs every moment. But finnish charts looks so different as in the other countries. In 20 most selling albums there are 10 which are metal.

In the beginning you used to play more “happier” music. How you get into style you play now?
Eero: We changed the drummer. But first of all we appear on a crossroads. We wanted to start again and try new way of making music. Our music carier is in episodes: in the beginnings we did funny, maybe shocking, for someone absurd music. But not that crazy like Waltari (another Finnish band). We play our old songs sometimes. It makes vibe more dynamic and people can hear songs that are not in last album. Than we started to do classical rock songs with strong melodies and we started to think about good lyrics. I think that after three similar albums there is time to start another apisode.

With new change came new image?
Pauli: I came like itself. We didnt need to buy new clothes and get new haitcut. But I must admit that sometimes we think about this and are like we could look better on new pictures. So we try some new thing but it gets worst. The most dangerous is to try to look naturally.

So you dont get dictate from the cosmetologists?
Pauli: They could try to distate! If they told me to cut my hair I would cut them something different too. But now they don’t dare.

Where you get that romantic, gothic tune of your music and lyrics?
Pauli: Lauri hes been always reading some horror books and watching scary movies. I like his lyrics but I don’t take it that serious. I prefer commedies.
Eero: I don’t know when he get all that. He is just a romantic, so some things are inspired by the things he experienced – but there is also a lot of fantasy. Anyway his lyrics fits the songs because music is also romantic sometimes.

Finnish music is nowadays very popular in middle Europe. I know a person who listens to everything Finnish. Is it surprising for you?
Pauli: You should ask our Czech fans. Maybe it is exotic for them the same way like Prague is exotic to us. People like to create ilusions about places they do not know much. Or maybe people just started to long for melancholic music. And melancholy is deep in finnish culture and traditions.

Can you imagine that you would live somewhere else than in Finland?
Pauli: Surely, somewhere in hot country. But I think I will miss it all and return back to Finland.
Eero: Those who are able (rich), go away from Finland during the winter. Thats OK. You don’t get better mood when the sun goes down at three pm.
Pauli: When there is still dark and cold you can go just to the pub. Thats why Finnish society deal with alcoholism and drunkenness. But it is not that bad like you could heard. It can be just more seen than in other countries.

You orientate yourselve the same way as HIM in themes and audience. Do you take HIM as a band like rivals or competition? What relationship you have with them?
Pauli: We are definitly not in competition with them. Lauri and Ville colaborate on one song with Apocalyptica. And we both live in one small city in Helsinki. So we often met there in pubs.

Apocalyptica is also on your new album. It is hard to make a deal with them about what should they play, because you do music more intuitive than theoretically?
Pauli: They don’t think about it like this. The guys just listen to our song and than they know exactly what to do. Fron our band just Eero knows notes (sheet of music). But I dont take this as a handicap or disability but otherwise. If I know all notes and accords, I could never get that feeling that I have just created a new sound.
Eero: While making music, the theory is usefull for me. Maybe it sounds like cliché, but anyway always the most important are feelings and effect, sensation.

In our czechish Pop Idol one of those yung idols was singing In The Shadows. Did happened the same also in Finland?
Eero: No one told me that! (to Pauli) It is legall!?
Pauli: Yes it is, you can do coversongs. I our Pop Idol no one sang our songs. But once someone sang a song from the band Killer, I worked with them on a production.

How you see the people who get famous bacause of competitions like that?
Pauli: I like to watch it, bacuse it is well made entertainment. But than suddenly all media are focused to one way. People watch TV and they never get better idea than to give to theire kids album of one of those zany idols. I am sorry that there is no such a competition for the bands. They must work hard.
Eero: It lead to fixing repeated pop standards and it dont enrich the music scene.
Pauli: With the first album they get a lot of many, the second one just fizzle away and the third album no one take a note.

Would you take the offer to make songs for Pop Idols?
Pauli: We already get it but we rejected it. I know few people who do this and they say it is easy way how to earn money. But we dont wanna write radio hits, that is no “art”. It must be soooo boring to write stupid love songs.

But rock fans used to said about you that you do music for girls. Is it Ok for you? Do you consider yourself as a musicians who started to do music just to make girls like them?
Pauli: But that is a compliment! We love girls! Of course it is one of reasons why we started to do music, but mainly we like to play together. I was never thinking about to learn on a piano ar a violin and just to train alone.
Eero: When we started up as a Rasmus I was on my first rock concert. There we having a gig Primus in Helsinki and they rocked on! Stage diving and loads of energy. In that moment I realized that I wanna be on that stage and do all those weird stuff and play for the audience. And if girls like it, thats better!

You started with your music carier when you were 15 or 16 years old, and soon it became your job. Dont you think sometimes that there are some things in your life that you just missed or they just avoid you?
Pauli: No, this is marvellous life experience and I would never chose other way.
Eero: It is matter of choice. I think maybe we will never live through the things that our schoolmates experienced. Someone went to study on a University – and they enter a new world, the same like when started with the music. Someone could move abroad, like to France or Africa. Few days ago I just met a friend like that and she told me – suddenly I felt such a nostalgia, you still play the same songs like before 10 years! (laught) So maybe it is us who avoid it – play 10 years and there is no change.

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