Forget the metal and hard rock for a while, the indie and electronic scene in Finland is getting popular. I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper is one of its representative best. Behind that twisted name hides the project of Pasi Viitanen, who drifted from a heavy metal adolescence to noisy electronic indie songs. This Friday the band presents live its new album in Tampere and Pasi tells about it in FREE!
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What is your approach to music? How did you start making music together?
In the beginning IWATSW was an imaginary band, a one man project. I made up two characters who were in the band and put some songs in the internet for the people to download, and they liked it! I guess at that point only few knew it was a fake band. It was supposed to be a some kind of an art project but then there turned up to be some offers for gigs. I thought: damn it – why not, and asked two of my pals with me. First there were three of us, later also a drummer came in.
You have a very original band name, so i cannot help this question. How did you come up with IWATSW?
It refers to the 50’s B-movie names like I Was a Teenage Werewolf etc. It is also a tribute to my own heavy metal past, the time when I was 15 and my parents were slightly concerned when I decorated my room with black bin bags. My band mates do have very similar memoirs of their own teenage time.
Could you tell our readers a little bit about the new album?
It is called The Lemonade Ocean. It is very noisy and melodic and it has various of different styles in it. There is guitar oriented indie pop songs as well as very electronic songs. While it's a mad mixture of different genres, it's still sounding the same band all the time. I’m quite excited of it.
How is it different from your previous albums?
The former record, called Whatevernights, was very focused on a one particular concept and the first EP, called Bees & Honey, were bit more like a single collection. The new record is somewhere between these two. This time I wanted the concept to be much more loose and I wanted to let my imagination explore freely.
The first single, OMG Techno Chicks, sounds very oriented to electronic? How will these sounds be reflected in your concerts?
We have a sampler and synths on stage and our drummer is playing with a click. Playing with the machine is fun, it feels like there is a movie going on and we are playing on it. It has a certain irreversibility in it.
What is / Where is The Lemonade Ocean?
It is a mental place which turns up when you’re drunk on afternoon and you’re head is full of great ideas you will regret the day after. It’s that when it’s 33•C and you’re drifting around with people you don’t know.
The stereotype says that Finland is a heavy metal country, how do you think your music fits in Finland?
We fit in fine. We have a song called ”Heavy Metal Nation”, by the way, and it’s of the subject. Metal music reflects the Finnish mentality. Though I do not like it, It does not disturb me, it is just an eurodance of the decade.
I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper
Friday 29.2
Album release party – Klubi, Tampere
Tour
7.03. Gloria, Helsinki15.03. Bar 68, Jyväskylä
22.03. Semifinal, Helsinki
28.03. Dynamo, Turku
03.04. Klubi, Tampere
04.04. Klubi, Turku
05.04. Virgin Oil, Helsinki
10.04. Bar Kino, Pori
11.04. Amarillo, Vaasa
12.04. Rytmikorjaamo, Seinäjoki
16.04. Henry´s Pub, Kuopio
17.04. 45 Special, Oulu
18.04. Seurahuone, Kokkola