Categories
Cinema DVD

Factory Girl

{mosimage}The film narrates the twisted relationship between Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick, who became an icon of glamour during the 60s.

Finding out before watching the DVD that Guy Pearce was in the movie as Andy Warhol, I must honestly admit that I had great expectations, since I am a great fan of his work since I watched Memento, one of my all times favorites movies. And I still had fresh in the memory the sensuality of Sienna Miller who had appeared recently in Stardust. So after all that, I could not feel less than disappointed after the end of the movie with the poor depiction of the characters. The actors make a decent work of interpretation, but the script is poor and does not catch the essence of the characters. Andy Warhol does not look like a genius, but just like a clown, and Edie´s sensuality and glamour is erased during half of the movie with a too much overwhelming focus on her drug addiction. Funnily, at the end the best of the movie turned to see Hayden Christensen playing brilliantly the musician that has an affair with Edie (Bob Dylan…!?).  This was the first role of the young actor after the new Star Wars trilogy, and apart from his deserved fame as the new Hollywood heartbreaker, he shows that he can really deliver a good acting performance.

The narrative of the film uses cliché after cliché: the typical images of New York, the typical walks around Central Park, etc., but in the end the characters are not substantially developed, and we do not feel identified with any of them; it's a waste, in spite of the promising cast.
Unless you are a Warhol´s super fan, you do not miss much with this film. The Factory, in this occasion, has failed in creating a new piece of art.

Rating 2/5.
 

Categories
Misc News

Eurovision Song Contest again in Finland this year?

Teräsbetoni and Cristal Snow through to national final

EUROVISION 2008 Metal band Teräsbetoni and near-drag act Cristal Snow are the latest to go straight to the final held next Saturday (1.3) in the national contest that will decide who will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Meanwhile, there is talk that the Song Contest may not be held in the Belgrade this year after all, but again here in Finland, last year‘s host country.

European Broadcasting Union decides next month

The recent unrest in the Serbian capital that broke out after the Kosovo region proclaimed independence has made it less certain that the massive European event will be held in Belgrade this year, as planned.

Next month the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will discuss whether it is safe enough to hold the Song Contest in Serbia in May. If not, the event could return to Helsinki, the city with the most recent experience in hosting the huge event.

The previous time the EBU was considering moving the event to another country was early in 2005 after political unrest had broken out in the 2005 host city, the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Back then the event went ahead as planned.

More about the recent unrest in Serbia and the possible consequences (YLE News)

National final

On Friday (23.2), the last national qualification round for this year’s Finnish representation at the Eurovision Song Contest was held. With 51.7 percent, metal band Teräsbetoni won the televote with their song "Missä miehet ratsastaa". Cristal Snow (27.4 percent) came second with “Can’t Save Me”. Both will go straight to the final held at Helsinki’s Kulttuuritalo next Saturday.

Tango Queen 2007 Jenna (“Sinua varten”) and actress and (former Ultra Bra) singer Vuokko Hovatta (“Virginia”) are amongst the group of six that will get a second change to make it to the final next Saturday.


For sure in the National Final (1 March)

Kari Tapio [Last.fm]– ”Valaise yö” – listen (Choose 'Kari Tapio' in player)
music & arr. Pertti Haverinen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Pertti Haverinen 

Movetron [MySpace]– ”Cupido” – listen (Choose 'Movetron' in player)
music Jukka Tanttari | lyrics Timo Löyvä | arr. Jukka Tanttari – Timo Löyvä 

Mikael Konttinen [MySpace] – ”Milloin” – listen (Choose 'Mikael Konttinen' in player)
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Kyösti Salokorpi

Kristian Meurman [Last.fm] – ”Jos en sua saa” – listen (Choose 'Kristian Meurman' in player)
music & lyrics Kristian Meurman | arr. Kristian Meurman – Tapio Niemelä – Imre Szabó

Teräsbetoni [MySpace] – ”Missä miehet ratsastaa” – listen (Choose 'Teräsbetoni' in player)
music & lyrics & arr. J. Ahola

Cristal Snow [MySpace] – ”Can't Save Me” – listen (Choose 'Cristal Snow' in player)
music, lyrics & arr. Cristal Snow – Heikki Liimatainen – Jimi Constantine


Second chance to a place in the national final:

Hanna Marsh [MySpace]– ”Broken Flower” – listen (Choose 'Hanna Marsh' in player)
music & lyrics Hanna Marsh | arr. Lennart Östlund

Crumbland [MySpace] – ”Pleasure” – listen
(Choose 'Crumbland' in player)

music Crumbland | lyrics Jonas Genberg | arr. Crumbland – Mikko Raita

Ninja [MySpace] – ”Battlefield Of Love” – listen
(Choose 'Ninja' in player)
music & lyrics Susan Nova | arr. Susan Nova – Jani Saastamoinen

Jippu [MySpace] – ”Kanna minut” – listen
(Choose 'Jippu' in player)
music & lyrics Jippu – Markus Koskinen | arr. Markus Koskinen

Jenna – ”Sinua varten” – listen
(Choose 'Jenna' in player)
music & arr. Risto Asikainen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Risto Asikainen

Vuokko Hovatta [MySpace, Last.fm] – ”Virginia” – listen
(Choose 'Vuokko Hovatta' in player)
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Anna Viitala
 

Categories
Interviews Misc

Rock the world from your room!

Guitar Hero series has become more than just a videogame: for millions of fans all over the world it is a total addiction and a way of life, spending uncounted hours in front of the screen imitating their idols. FREE! Magazine´s questions entered the heart of RedOctane’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, to meet Kai Huang, CEO and co-founder of the company responsible of creating the phenomenon.

How many times did you dream of becoming your favourite rock guitar players? Slash, Joe Perry, Dave Mustaine, Angus Young… you name it! Unfortunately, only a few privileged and extremely skills musicians are given the opportunity to go on stage and perform their skills in front of a mass of thousands of faithful fans. For the rest of us, simple human beings, the solution came on November 2005 with the release of the first videogame of the Guitar Hero series. A huge hit that was followed by Guitar hero II, Guitar Hero encore: Rock the 80s and the most recent Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Nevertheless, the idea was not new. The creation of the game had a direct precedent with Konami’s game GuitarFreaks. But the good taste in choosing the song list, a catchy design of the devices and a very attractive and easy way of playing made the videogame outstand and created a real worldwide phenomenon. If you do not believe it, just check out the curious video links in websites like YouTube, where the fans are able to play the notes in the most surrealistic positions after never ending hours of training, and some fingers numbness…

{mosimage}

RedOctane is the company that has developed and published Guitar Hero, and we had the extremely good luck of contact their co-founder and CEO from 1999: Kai Huang. Nobody better than him to tell us all those little secrets and questions that you always wanted to know behind the (already) legendary videogames series.

How many people altogether are involved when developing a Guitar Hero videogame?

The creation of a Guitar Hero videogame is truly a collaborative effort.  While Neversoft is primarily responsible for the development, there are countless individuals that are relied upon from RedOctane and Activision. We have hardware, marketing and PR, creative services, licensing and business development teams all working in tandem with production to ensure fans receive the best experience possible.

From what city or cities in the world is Guitar Hero concept created?

Activision, Neversoft and RedOctane are all California-based companies.  Activision is located in Santa Monica, Neversoft in Woodland Hills and RedOctane is in Mountain View.

Who is the person/s who had the original idea of creating the first part of the game?

The concepts behind the original Guitar Hero idea came from a team at RedOctane. Prior to approaching Harmonix, the company was very successful at creating Dance Pads for rhythm-based games and felt very comfortable with our abilities to create a great guitar controller peripheral for a rock music game. Guitar Hero was a project that was built around the hardware.

Does it help to have any musical background for playing the game better?

The Guitar Hero franchise is built on the uniquely successful formula of easy to play yet challenging and rewarding to master meaning that a music background is not necessary to play the game.  This pick-up-and-play formula allows all audiences to enjoy the game. That being said, understanding the basic fundamentals of playing the guitar can help with moving up the ladder in terms of difficulty level. 

What criteria do you follow for choosing the song list in every game? Do you choose the songs according to the taste of the people there in RedOctane, or how do you decide it?

There are a few factors that go into song selection for any Guitar Hero game.  We start with a very lengthy wish list that includes hundreds of songs spanning decade’s worth of music history.  From there the lists are shortened based on what makes sense for the game, which tracks fans are requesting, which music licenses we can get, as well as song and artist notoriety.  Part of the success for Guitar Hero is due to its ability to offer players the experience of becoming their favorite rock star and we want to ensure that we include memorable songs from legendary artists.

“The music industry now sees the benefits of having a song included in our game” (Kai Huang. RedOctane’s CEO)

Is it easy to deal with the licenses and get all the songs that you want? Is there any particular song that you wanted to include and was not possible?

Activision and RedOctane have great relationships with all of the major record labels, music publisher and band, which allows us to give Guitar Hero fans unrivaled access to music catalogues. The music industry now sees the benefits of having a song included in our game, so the process isn’t as difficult as it was for the original Guitar Hero title. With the phenomenal growth in music sales that mirror a song being included in the Guitar Hero franchise, record companies along with labels and artists are now viewing Guitar Hero as a medium to reach new audiences.  There are still some highly sought after artists we’re trying to get though.

Do you have testers there playing with the guitars? How many hours do they play in a normal day?

We have quality assurance teams at Neversoft and at Activision that play the game 8 hours a day. Of course there are breaks involved, but who wouldn’t want to play Guitar Hero for 8 hours a day?-How is Guitar Hero III been taken by the fans?

Is it receiving the response you were expecting?

I couldn’t be happier with how Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has been received by the community. Guitar Hero has become a cultural phenomenon and it’s great to see people who aren’t gamers become obsessed with playing. And I’m still in awe that in the U.S., Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the #1 best selling video game of all time in a single year.  

Can you tell us a bit more about the project you signed with NAMN, so people could learn to play guitar virtually?

We are very excited to have partnered with NAMM on their “Wanna Play Guitar” campaign, which encourages the playing of musical instruments and educating people about its benefits. The new collaboration is aimed at strengthening the connection between virtual and real-world guitar playing, along with encouraging more people to experience and enjoy both pastimes. There are a number of stories about kids playing Guitar Hero and then wanting to learn how to play the songs they hear in the game on a real guitar.

Why the release of Guitar Hero Rock the 80s before Guitar Hero III? Did not the fans want to wait so long?

The demand for new content was the driving force behind Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s. Fans just couldn’t get enough of the game and the only way of distributing new content at the time was by delivering a new game. We were able to support the launch of Guitar Hero II on Xbox 360 with downloadable content.  PlayStation 2 owners were not as fortunate as the infrastructure is not available to offer DLC on that platform. As such, we wanted to ensure that the very strong and loyal fan base received new content since that is what fans are always clamoring for.

What is the future for your company? Will there be more Guitar Hero games? Do you focus on different kind of games apart from this saga?

We’re continuing to innovate the rhythm-based music genre and deliver compelling content, such as the newly announced Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. We’re excited to be the first company to build a game around the music of a specific band and guest bands that are related to them in some fashion, and we look forward to bringing to our fans new ways of experiencing Guitar Hero, so stay tuned! There’s more to come.

 

Not only is song writing a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies
(Steven Tyler, vocalist of Aerosmith, on the recent news of the release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith)       
Indeed just a few days ago RedOctane delivered a press note in their official website where announced the launching of the new project that will put players on the shoes of the legendary American rock band. Scheduled for June 2008, having a music videogame built on Aerosmith´s musical history will be a hugely exciting experience. Vocalist Steven Tyler could not resume it any better in his declarations: Any band that can go from I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing to the ass-kicking Sweet Emotion to the cheekiness of Love in an Elevator, to the classic ballad Dream On shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies.With such an interesting future with exciting projects like this, now wonder that Kai Huang can feel satisfied of the success achieved. Before the end, he personally wanted to send also a message to all our readers and fans of the Guitar Hero series:Thanks for supporting Guitar Hero!  We look forward to and are very excited about the products we will be able to offer in the near future!

Categories
Misc News

KISS (a)live in Helsinki in May

CONCERT NEWS For those who have been longing to see KISS
live in concert once again, the waiting is over. Their previously
reported gig in Finland has been confirmed. The legendary American rock
group (formed in 1973) will play the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on the
28th of May. Tickets costing 69 and 63 euro will go on sale via
Lippupalvelu next week on Tuesday (26.2) at 9 a.m.

The KISS Alive 35 tour is KISS’s first European tour since the Psycho
Circus Tour in 1999. It will include major European festivals and cover
17 countries, taking the band for the first time to Moscow, St.
Petersburg and Verona. In Finland, the group has played five times
before, the last time at a sold out Hartwall Areena in 1999.

Also check: Coming to Finland

Categories
Misc News

FME attracted 5,000 metal fans

This year’s big winner was domestic metal band Mokoma, which took home three awards: Best album of the year (Luihin ja ytimiin), Cover art of the year and Vocalist of the year (Marko Annala). Nightwish won the Band of the year award, while the band’s Tuomas Holopainen received the prize for Musician of the year. Idols winner Ari Koivunen
was presented with the award for Rookie of the year. This year for the
first time, the winners were decided by visitors of metal website
Imperiumi.net.

The main live performers at FME this year included Soilwork (SWE), Municipal
Waste (USA), and popular Finnish metal bands Stam1na, Turisas,
Mustasch and Korpiklaani. In addition, some 50 exhibitors presented
their products at the event.

Categories
Misc News

Prime Minister and ex-girlfriend in court

Ruusunen and her publisher Kari Ojala are being charged with violation of privacy for the kiss-and-tell exposé Pääministerin Morsian (The Prime Minister’s Bride), in which Ruusunen discloses many private details about her relationship with Vanhanen.

The Prime Minister filed charges against the publisher of the book in March 2007, just after the Parliamentary elections.


Vanhanen in court

In the Helsinki District Court on Friday, Vanhanen said that the salacious details in the book were not relevant to the public interest and therefore not appropriate for publication.

Ruusunen feels sorry

Ruusunen was heard after the Prime Minister had left the court
building. She and Vanhanen didn‘t exchange words in the
court room.

‘I never meant to harm anyone,’ Ruusunen said sobbing. ’I would have wanted to apologize in Matti’s presence.’

She claimed publisher Ojala ‘wanted sex and politics in the book’ and that she did not know in advance how much of the detail would actually end up being published.

She said that she had been worried in advance if such a book was legal, but that Ojala had told her several times that they didn’t need to get advice on the matter because he had 30 years of experience in the field.

Ruusunen said that her judgement had failed her and that she now regrets that private text messages she had received from the Prime Minister ended up in the book. She said that she regrets making the book and that she was not satisfied with the end result.

She also agreed with Vanhanen’s remark that the book was not relevant to the public interest.

The publisher’s defence

Kari Ojala, the publisher of the exposé, maintained that both Vanhanen and Ruusunen were fully aware of the graphic details that were going to be published.

Damages

The PM didn’t seek any damages from his ex girlfriend personally when he filed the charges. From publisher Ojala, on the other hand, he wants 1,000 euros in damages. The prosecuter, however, is calling for Ruusunen to pay a minimum of 7,000 euros. For the publisher, the Prosecutor is seeking heavy fines of at least 50,000 euros.

The court case is seen as setting a precedent in the debate on public figures’ rights to privacy. A verdict in the case is expected on the 5th of March.

Matti & Susan, Matti & Merja

Matti Vanhanen en Susan Ruusunen (then Kuronen) had a brief relationship in 2006, lasting a little over six months.  In April 2005, Vanhanen and his wife Merja had announced their separation after 20 years of marriage. They officially filed for divorce in February 2006.

Matti Vanhanen is not known to be in a relationship at the moment. His former wife Merja, who works as a fight attendant and as a local representative for Vanhanen’s Centre Party, recently went engaged. They have two teenage children.

Related:
PM Vanhanen to face former girlfriend in court

The court case in the news:

Vanhanen-Kuronen court case begins – Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (Finland)
Prime Minister defends right to privacy in court case – YLE News (Finland)

Finnish PM sues over kiss-and-tell – The Independent (UK)

Finnish Prime Minister Sues Over Love-Life Book – MSNBC.com/Associated Press (USA), also in/on:
The San Diego Union-Tribute (USA)
Fox News (USA)
The Kansas City Star (USA)
The Peninsula (Qatar)


The book in the news:


Finnish PM improves his prospects with deft handling of a hot potato – The Guardian (UK)


Ikea, Nokia and baked potatoes: how a kiss-and-tell book can win you votes – The Times (UK)

Ex-Lover's book no hot potato for Finland's Prime Minister – The Australian (Australia)

The book:

Pääministerin Morsian (in Finnish)

The story's main characters:

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
Prime Minister's Office

Susan Ruusunen – Wikipedia
Susan Kuronen, stop opening up-petition (in Finnish), signed over 65,000 times (alternative title: Be quiet, Susan Kuronen)

Kari Ojala, publisher, Etukeno (in Finnish)
Etukeno publishing house

Merja Vanhanen – Parliamentary elections website (in Finnish)

Categories
Interviews Music

Raw from the start and Fullsteam ahead

“The Beatles!” This is what Asmo (singer & organ)
and Topi (guitar & keyboards) of Downstairs first tell me when I ask them
about their influences. Listening to their raw and edgy music, it might be hard
to imagine such an answer. Indeed the band defines its music as “fat drumbeats
and cactus-like vocals up your bleeding ass”. Not really all-you-need-is-love
type of music.

Downstairs is the latest product of the Fullsteam
Records factory. They just released their first album, Oh Father and they start
appearing in most of the music magazines. Their indie punk rock might not be
suitable for everyone. Even their live act can be a weird unpleasant pleasure
with Asmo singing his guts and redeeming the darkest demons of the fun house.


But don’t be afraid, Downstairs also presents one
catchy first single (Peephole City), which should be part of the next Suomirock
compilation.


{mosimage}


Everything
is going fast for you lately: a deal with Fullsteam Records, last year and now
a lot of hype around the album release. How do you feel about it?


Asmo: We feel happy obviously. We want to get noticed.
We want people to know who we are and what we do.


Topi: The whole media seems to be quite interested on
Fullsteam Records as a label and its bands. They have so many bands that have
grown from there, new bands that they signed and went big. This is interesting
for the media.

Were you
expecting a call from Fullsteam?


Topi: I think we were a bit surprised. The other bands
there are a bit more mainstream. But we’ve known a few of the guys that work
there for a long time. Anyway, I guess you can say that we were surprised.



"They were afraid we were going to screw up the album and make a very clean sound"

Tell me a
little bit about the recording process of the album.


Asmo: We were writing for the record when we got
signed. We were about to release it ourselves, but as we got signed we kept on
writing the record. It happened naturally.


Topi: We agreed doing the contract a long time ago,
but it wasn’t made public until October. So, we officially put our names on
paper in October but the album was recorded in September at Finnvox Studios.

Did you have
any pressure from the label to make the record like they wanted?


Topi: No. We did some demos of the album. When they
heard we were going into Finnvox Studios, which are one of the best in Finland,
they were scared that we were going to screw it up and make a very clean sound.
So they wanted us to record more stuff sounding like the demos: garage,
distorted and other things like that. There was no pressure for us.

It looks
like it was the opposite you would expect from a record company?


Asmo: On Fullsteam, the bands do whatever they want.
They might come to the studio to check, but they don’t interfere.

What is the
meaning behind the album title, Oh Father?


Asmo: There are tons of meanings. Whatever you want to
make of it. Obviously father is father, but it can also be god or just our way
of saying what the hell is going on. It is just a phrase. It has an open
meaning. It fits differently to every song individually, but it fits to all of
them as a whole too.

What about
the songwriting? You have pretty interesting song titles and lyrics. Where all
these ideas come from?


Asmo: All the ideas come from everyday life. I might
see something in the news that I don’t like or I might write about my personal
life. Lyrics are pretty obscure. They are not meant to be understood
completely. Just make up whatever you want from them.

Where is
Peephole City? What is it?


Asmo: It is a classic escape song. It means that you
want to go somewhere else.


Topi: It is like Gotham City!

Some of the
bands you mention as your influences are not so old (At The Drive-In, Fugazi,
…Trail of Dead). But do you also listen to the “classics”?


Both: Beatles!


Topi:Also Black Sabbath, 70s Alice Cooper: Billion Dollar
Babies, School’s Out.


Asmo: I like Rolling Stones, The Clash, MC5, Iggy Pop
& The Stooges, Led Zeppelin… the first bands that I got into. You might
not hear them in our music, but they are there. We listen to all kinds of
music.

There's a
pretty interesting indie / alternative scene in Finland at the moment with
bands like Rubik, Lapko, Sweatmaster… Many of them are your label mates, what
do you think about this situation?


Asmo: It’s great. Most of those bands are in
Fullsteam, which is kind of a phenomenon in Finland. They release good music.


Topi: All the people at Fullsteam they operate kind of
underground. They go to see gigs. If we are on tour with a good band, we’ll
tell them check out this band. Finding new bands that have potential before
major or other record labels find them. That’s one part of the reason why so
many promising and talented bands come from Fullsteam Records.


Asmo: They don’t sign a band that they think will sell
millions of records. They sign a band they like.


Topi: They let the band grow. They don’t say that if
you don’t sell 200,000 records with your first album, you will be kicked out of
the label. They give their chance to grow. For a long time all the successful
bands were heavy metal bands. There were no indie bands known. But Fullsteam is
doing a good word spreading the word.

 

Categories
Misc News

Lenny Kravitz: two concerts in Finland

Earlier this week (Tuesday), Kravitz was forced to postpone the first
leg of his European tour after he had been taken to a Miami hospital
suffering from severe bronchitis. He had been scheduled to tour Europe to promote his recently released new album ‘It Is Time For a Love Revolution’, his first solo album in nearly four years. The tour was set to begin next Monday (18.2) in London and run until the end of March.

Later this year, Kravitz is expected to release yet another new album, called ‘Funk’, a project he is said to have been working on since 1997.

Lenny Kravitz has performed in Finland once before, in 2005, also at the Hartwall Areena.

Also check: Coming to Finland

Lenny Kravitz: Official website | MySpace

Categories
Art Features

When sculpture and architecture dialogue

It is said that the Finnish architect Viljo Revell considered his buildings to be complete only when a Henry Moore sculpture was part of them. And all year round visitors can admire the Reclining figure on a pedestal by H. Moore at Villa Didrichsen, designed by V. Revell. But from the 9th of February visitors of the Villa Didrichsen are also able to admire an interesting selection of works by the renowned 20th century British sculptor, collected in the exhibition The challenge of architecture.

Henry Moore sculpture

As the title clearly states, the focus is entirely on those sculptures that are either placed in architectural settings or somehow connected with architecture. On display are, among the others, masterpieces like the Archer, that Moore sculpted in white marble, and subsequently used as a model for the sculpture with the same name placed in Nathan Phillips square in Toronto, facing Revell’s City Hall; the working model for the Hill Arches, placed in 1973 in front of Fischer von Erlach’s Karlskirche in Wien; the working model for Three piece n. 3: vertebrae, now gracing the plaza of Dallas city hall (project by I.M. Pei).

The relationship between architecture and sculpture is explored in different facets: part of the exhibition is devoted to Moore sculptures and the architectural settings they are placed in. Another section is more intimate, the sculptures being placed in the part of the villa the Didrichsen used to live in. Here the visitor can see how harmonious and surprising is the interplay between, for instance, Square form with cut, whose enlarged version was on display in Florence at the Forte Belvedere in 1971, and the villa itself. Anita Feldman, the curator of the exhibition and of the Henry Moore Foundation, explain that after considering for a while whether to place this particular piece in the Villa’s garden, she opted for putting it inside, under a huge skylight, the opening on the villa’s ceiling echoing the one in the sculpture. Ms Feldman also points out the architectural quality of most of Moore’s works: of course you can walk around them, but most of the time you can actually walk through them, as if they were proper architectural spaces, with their lights and inner and outer spaces.

Henry Moore sculpture

It’s therefore quite interesting to get to know how the collaboration between the architects – Revell, Pei but also Marcel Breur – and Moore developed. Moore didn’t work on commission: it was rather the architect who visited the sculptor studio and was somehow left to choose among already existing sculptures what would suit the architecture he had in mind, somewhat reversing the connection/relation between architecture and sculpture.

The exhibition is a great occasion to get acquainted with the work of one of the greatest 20th century artists. Or, for those who are already familiar with his work, to discover a new dimension to his art: the ability “to dialogue with intimate domestic spaces” that Mary Moore, the sculptor’s daughter, is pleased to highlight.

Henry Moore: the Challenge of architecture
The Didrichsen Art Museum 9.2. – 28.9.2008
TUE-SUN 11-18 WED 11-20 (1.6.-31.7. • 11-18)

Written by Silvia Costantini

Categories
Antonio's blog Blogs

Make up, toilets and sexy death metal

The venue where the interview took place was not very sexy: one small and not very well illuminated room close to the showers of Jäähalli, where the ice hockey players can get rid of the sweat after hard matches. The singer looked tired, most certainly with hangover after the previous night show in Helsinki, but he kindly answered my questions for half an hour before getting ready for the show.  After their second album, the Swedish are getting a huge number of female fans, since their “glamdeath” could be catalogued in the same league of sexy music as HIM. But a couple of hours before the show, Whiplasher does not look any glamorous at all in front of my eyes. I just see a tired guy trying to recover the hangover with a glass of wine, looking a bit sick while protecting his throat with a scarf, feeling bored if answering the same typical questions about his band and just showing more shine in his eyes when other issues are discussed during the interview far from merely music business. If I let my imagination fly, and I think about Ville Valo, and about how many fans, women (and men) would like to sleep with him all over the world, it is funny to think about the concept of glamour, don´t you think? Imagine that you would meet a rock star while peeing in the toilet, or while he would be wasted and puking in a dark corner…and…glamour is dead.

Probably, that is the good thing about music: just a theater, a big circus, pure fantasy that makes us evade for some hours from our worries. And certainly, the magic works for Deathstars, that with some more grams of make up on their faces are able to deliver a more than decent performance during the short time that they are allowed to play on stage. I stay to see the American band Korn, which is heading the night show. I have encountered feelings for them, since I associate Nu Metal with a period of crisis for my beloved and classic heavy metal. On the other hand, the band gives a good show and I can feel, mixed with the audience in the first rows, that people are really having fun. I can look back without anger to those years when bands like Korn irrupted in the metal scene and see that mixing some styles can be always healthier for the music in general. Nonetheless, it is something that my beloved Aerosmith did many years ago when recording Walk this Way with Run DMC.

In any case, if Ville Valo ever comes to the toilet to pee close to me, I will try to erase that image from my mind and just remember his glamour on stage. That is where the truly rock stars really belong to. For the rest of the occasions…we are all just human beings with tired eyes.

Categories
Misc News

R.E.M. coming to Finland

R.E.M. was formed in 1980 by Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry and is best known for mega hits like Losing My Religion, Man On The Moon, Daysleeper and Everybody Hurts. Drummer Bill Berry retired from the band in 1997 to become a farmer.

In April, the band releases its fourteenth studio album Accelerate, the first new studio album in four years.

The group has performed in Finland twice before: at the Provinssirock
festival in 1989 and at a sold-out Hartwall Areena in 2005.

Also check: Coming to Finland


R.E.M.: Official site | MySpace


Finnair Stadium (in Finnish)

Categories
Interviews Music

Blues in the name, Rock in the veins

Jack Knight, Mike Henry Leak and Z Rivers are the members of The Bluestation. No, even with those artistic names, they do not come from Mississippi Delta, but just from our old beloved Finland.

Not only are their names typical “made in USA”. If you take a look at the biography of the band in their official site, you can find an incredible story full of humour. You cannot deny that these guys have a certain doses of originality in all what they do:

“We decided not to come up with some traditional type of bio where all favourite colours and foods are listed. Furthermore, we are quite boring guys in real life so we decided to put little extra into story. Of course there are bits and pieces of truth in there but I not going to reveal which parts of the story are true. I leave you guessing…”

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How did the three of you agreed to start with this project?

Well it all started on friends having fun together. We were basically jamming and having good time until things got serious. That happened somewhere around 2004 when we played our first gigs and started to work with our début album First Blood.

Why the name: The Bluestation? Can’t be misleading, so people think that you are a Blues band?

Yeah we have run into this name issue many times and maybe it’s good. We have got feedback after playing gigs for audience who doesn’t know us that “Hell Yeah, I was expecting some crappy blues band but this is a good shit”. The name kind of surprises people and hopefully makes us bit more interesting.

What can you tell us about the new album: Over the Top?

Over The Top album was recorded during 2006/2007 and it was mixed and mastered on 2007 so all in all it was quite long and painful process to get this album ready. Nevertheless, we are very satisfied with the album and it is very difficult to choose favourite song from album. Basically we love them all

How is the response of the Finnish audience to the album? Do you have also people who follow the band abroad?

I have had good response from audience and also from media. The album was reviewed by all major Finnish music media and webzines and almost every review have been positive so far. Currently we don’t tour abroad so we don’t know yet how album is going to go abroad. Anyway, there is a plan to release this album abroad as well so let’s hope this issue about touring abroad will improve very soon.


"In small towns people are more open minded for music than in Helsinki"

 Is it in small pubs where you feel more comfortable for playing, or you just do not mind?

We don’t really mind where we play: pub’s, clubs, stadiums anything goes. Of course playing in small pubs and clubs somewhat enjoyable as atmosphere in those venues is more intimate.

Your style is very American, at least in the way you dress, and in the music, with that southern touch. Why that influence?

Well all of us three have listened to American music from very beginning when we started to understand something about music. In other words, music that we are doing comes naturally and each band member brings in own ideas and own background to the music.

Where in Finland is the best audience?

Definitely in small towns. It looks like people there are more open minded than in Helsinki, for example.

Is there any Finnish or international band that you admire, or you would like to play with?

As mentioned earlier, we don’t listen to Finnish music much but there are few bands that we admire. Bands like Free, Mountain, Kyuss, Unida or Fu Manchu can be brought up as those are the bands that most probably have influenced us most. Of course there are more but just to mention few.

What are your future plans?

In a near future we are going to tour as much as possible and then of course we start to work with new album at some point. There isn’t any fixed date when new album is going to be released but we already have some “killer” ideas for the next album.

Any message for the FREE! Magazine readers?

Nothing much except that come to see us on our gigs on buy some records, you won’t be disappointed!

For more information about the band:

www.the-bluestation.com

www.myspace.com/thebluestation

Photos: Juho Juntto

Categories
Misc News

Eurovision 2008: Kari Tapio and Movetron through to national final

Twelve artists are competing for the honour to represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. Other hopefuls include popular metal group Teräsbetoni and near-drag act Cristal Snow, former Idols candidate Kristian Meurman, singer-songwriter Jippu, and former Ultra Bra singer and actress Vuokko Hovatta.

The final will be held on Friday, the 1st of March from 20:00.

Click on the names below to go to the artists' websites and click 'listen' to listen to their Eurovision 2008 entries

Eurovison 2008 Finnish Qualifying Rounds
(broadcast live on YLE TV2)

Qualifying Round 1: Friday 8 February, 21:00

Hanna Marsh [MySpace]– ”Broken Flower” – listen (Choose 'Hanna Marsh' in player)
music & lyrics Hanna Marsh | arr. Lennart Östlund

Kari Tapio [Last.fm]– ”Valaise yö” – listen (Choose 'Kari Tapio' in player) –> Final
music & arr. Pertti Haverinen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Pertti Haverinen 

Movetron [MySpace]– ”Cupido” – listen (Choose 'Movetron' in player) –> Final
music Jukka Tanttari | lyrics Timo Löyvä | arr. Jukka Tanttari – Timo Löyvä

Crumbland [MySpace] – ”Pleasure” – listen
(Choose 'Crumbland' in player)
music Crumbland | lyrics Jonas Genberg | arr. Crumbland – Mikko Raita

Qualifying Round 2: Friday 15 February, 21:00

Ninja [MySpace] – ”Battlefield Of Love”
music & lyrics Susan Nova | arr. Susan Nova – Jani Saastamoinen

Kristian Meurman [Last.fm] – ”Jos en sua saa”
music & lyrics Kristian Meurman | arr. Kristian Meurman – Tapio Niemelä – Imre Szabó

Jippu [MySpace] – ”Kanna minut”
music & lyrics Jippu – Markus Koskinen | arr. Markus Koskinen

Mikael Konttinen [MySpace] – ”Milloin”
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Kyösti Salokorpi

Qualifying Round 3: Friday 22 February, 21:00

Jenna – ”Sinua varten”
music & arr. Risto Asikainen | lyrics Ilkka Vainio – Risto Asikainen

Cristal Snow [MySpace] – ”Can't Save Me”
music, lyrics & arr. Cristal Snow – Heikki Liimatainen – Jimi Constantine

Vuokko Hovatta [MySpace, Last.fm] – ”Virginia”
music & arr. Kerkko Koskinen | lyrics Anna Viitala

Teräsbetoni [MySpace] – ”Missä miehet ratsastaa”
music & lyrics & arr. J. Ahola

Eurovision 2008 (YLE, in Finnish)


The 2008 dozen revealed (ESC Finland)

Categories
Misc News

Judas Priest in Helsinki this June

 

  • A little (wild) speculation…
  •  COMMENT  A support act for the concert in Helsinki has not been announced yet, but some of us here at FREE! are placing our bets on Sturm und Drang. The members of the popular Vaasa-based band have often publicly said that they are huge fans of Judas Priest. K.K. Downing even went on stage to play with the young band when he saw them perform at the Vrock festival in Salo in August last year. It was the first time ever the guitarist and founding member of Judas Priest played in public with another band than his own.
  • Sturm und Drang have made a 'storming' career and joined Apocalyptica on their European tour in October and November last year. The young metal sensation will go on their first own European tour in late March. They will be back well in time to be at the Judas Priest gig in Helsinki, whether on stage or amongst the audience…


Related:

Metal God's predictions – FREE's interview with K.K. Downing (February 2007)

History made during Sturm und Drang performance – news (28.8.2007)

Also check: Coming to Finland

Judas Priest: official website | MySpace | K.K. Downing
Jäähalli (in Finnish)

Sturm und Drang: official website | MySpace

Apocalyptica

Categories
Cinema DVD

Musta jää

{mosimage}Critically praised and highly award Petri Kotwica’s drama is released on DVD.

At the time of its theatrical release last autumn, Black Ice (Musta Jää) was acclaimed by critics. Since then, the film has received several international awards and most recently the film was honored with six Jussi awards (the Finnish Oscars), including Best Director, Best Film and Best Script and Best Actress. With such a hype, I was very intrigued and really eager to watch this film. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Many might say that Black Ice is a typically (depressing) Finnish movie. Indeed, a not so funny plot takes places in a freezing and snowy Helsinki and it is a calm and restrained storytelling. But the core and the theme of the story are quite universal: in short, Black Ice tells the story of a woman and her relation with her husband and her husband’s lover. This effect is increased by the way the city is portrayed. We see Helsinki on the screen but we don’t really recognize its streets. It could be any other city.

The film is magnificiently directed by Petri Kotwica, who portrait the dark and corrupted relationship between the three characters with a beautiful photography of blue and cold tones.

The script is addictive and in spite of the tragedy or the extreme turns of the plot, the film is convincing and solid. It avoids the easy drama. Outi Mäenpää’s acting is outstanding and it really helps making the story real.

Black Ice, now easily available for the non Finnish speakers thanks to the English subtitles included on the DVD, is one of those stories that offer strong characters and a solid dilema that will remain in our minds days after we finish watching the movie. How far can we go because of jealousy?

Rating 5/5