Categories
Articles Misc

The divine divide

For an
English thespian, the so-called graveyard
contracts still in use in many Finnish theatres are simply beyond their
comprehension. An increasing number work as freelancers, but many theatres
still employ people on a lifetime contract: till death do us part. Sounds very
cushy, yet the reality is often far from it: a very tight schedule of
rehearsals and shows, which would squeeze the juice out of any artist.

The
philosopher Pekka Himanen talks about the Finns being suspicious about anything
new. We Finns say a definite no to anything we are not sure about – just in
case. Everything in Finland grows slowly: potatoes, blueberries, friendships,
and tolerance for anything new and different. That seems to be true of theatre
as well.

Theatre
here tends to be quite traditional: it’s good and well made, as it should be in
the land of Nokia. And it’s reliable, like the granite we stand on. Most of the
time when you go to the theatre you know exactly what you will get.

The
repertory theatres have a simple formula: they must get bums on seats. So the
shows must be accessible. They are custom made to serve busloads of middle-aged
women. There’s nothing wrong with that I suppose, it’s just a bit…blah.

There are
certainly people pushing the boundaries as well. There are companies making
theatre in odd places and others starting international groups: ambitious
enterprises with fierce artistic drive.

Helsingin
Sanomat has been criticised for the limited publicity they give to small-scale
productions. Artists are frustrated with a lack of resources. The system seems
to be stuck in the mud, like in the popular theatre game of the same name. In
the game you need someone to rescue you, so you can carry on playing.

In London,
the National Theatre rescued a financially struggling company that was doing
very experimental shows in the unused tunnels 
of the London underground. The shows still take place in this rough and
exciting location, but now the funding, and the much needed publicity, come
from the National. That way, both the experimental company and the National
reach new audiences. The two divided worlds meet: the margin and the
mainstream. And the benefits are plentiful.

The
National also hosts an outdoor festival every year, where they bring in an
array of international street theatre. Again, the old institution opens up to
the new possibilities.

I yearn for
a time when this kind of open-mindedness will rule in Finland: when the rusty
structures are crushed, and forward-looking theatre practitioners get the
opportunities they deserve. Then I’ll be excited about going to the theatre
again.

Categories
Articles Misc

All our lines are busy…

Why, why,
why? Tell me why! Why do we have to go through this torture every time we call
a customer service number of a big company or institution? If they do not have
enough personnel to attend the incoming calls, why do they not hire more staff?
Is this a worldwide Machiavellian plan to get on our nerves?

My second
favourite experience is when I call customer service numbers and they throw
recorded messages into your ears with a wide range of possibilities in three
different languages (I have to wait to for the English, which follows the
Finnish and Swedish explanations since I still do not have a mastery of this
beautiful Mikael Agricola language. So again, time to prepare coffee…).

 “If you want to consult your account
movements, press 1”. (this doesn’t make sense) “If you want to listen to the
last hockey match, press 2” etc. Most times you have to choose the last option
(“For other Inquiries”) since there is nothing that suits the simple question
you want to make. These are only the first steps of a tortuous ascent that,
usually, leads to the operator not understanding your enquiry, and you end up
being transferred from one department to another like a ping-pong ball.
Meanwhile, you pray that somebody with some common sense will attend to you.

So, my dear
friends, it cannot exactly be said that customer service culture in Finland is
highly developed. I still consider it a huge abuse to pay 2,5 euro in whatever
cafeteria of a city when I have to grab my cup, fill it with coffee, be careful
not to drop the milk jug and hunt for the sugar at the counter, while the
waiter/waitress’s only task is to hand you your bank card receipt to be signed.
Shouldn’t they be paying me for serving myself?

It is the
same when you try to purchase a train ticket at the station. Basically, the
customer service is there to make it more complicated when you want your money
back because you missed the train by a couple of minutes, or you buy a wrong
ticket because you do not understand the instructions in Finnish in the ticket
machine. Is it a part of the same worldwide Machiavellian plot that, with no
variation, half of the staff at the counters of railway stations cannot speak
proper English? No matter if it is in Helsinki, Beijing or Rome, the staff is
carefully selected and placed in customer service positions to make
communication more complicated. It is really a mysterious thing. Maybe Osama
Bin Laden is behind the recruitment processes for customer service positions
all over the world in order to create chaos and destruction.

Maybe, it is
just that I am getting old when I start to miss so many things from the good
old times: simple things such as making a phone call to ask a simple question,
and be greeted on the other end of the line by a real human being!

Categories
Articles Misc

Monkey business

Within the
film or show business in general, actors are often considered a different
breed. They look like normal people but behave differently. Many of them seem
to fast-forward their lives, being greedy to consume marriages and ideologies.
They experiment with social masochism, seeming not to care about other people’s
reactions. The wild, eccentric and unpredictable actors. Drunk, filled with
lust, spontaneously jumping into anything that might provide a new dose of
emotions.

The
stereotype is unjustified, of course. I have friends who act. There is a vast
amount of actors I have worked with – good hard-working and reliable people.
There are intelligent actors. There are actors who live in balance with
themselves and people around them.

But still,
there is something in the profession. I think performing publicly strongly satisfies
one of the most basic human desires, the need to be seen and recognized. Many
actors consider themselves shy, and their choice of forces them towards the
greatest fear: fear of exposure.

The need
for exposure and feeling sick about too much attention is sometimes almost
bulimic.

Pamela
Tola, a very bright and talented young actress and photographer made a book
about acting (Miksi näyttelen – Why do I
act?). The book contains interviews with other actors and short comments on
the subject. It becomes obvious to the reader that especially for those new in
the profession, life can become really hard. Tearing themselves open publicly,
with the possibility of cruel criticism, can be sometimes too much for a fragile
soul. And we are all fragile souls.

An actor is
a professional who uses himself or herself as a tool – all the fears, hopes and
memories are material to work with. Building a fictitious character is not
(only) about pretending to be someone, one has to actually become someone else. Imagine becoming a serial killer, a victim of
gang rape or Adolf Hitler – starting to see the world through their eyes and
living their lives. It can be psychologically consuming.

This is
obviously true of any storyteller, even a writer, but nobody is as directly and
as completely in the game as an actor. A writer can write happy ends to all of
his life traumas (or kill the ones he loves most), but an actor follows the
lines drawn by the writer like faith itself – ending up in death or misery, or
glory, without being able to influence the course of events. (This is a cliché
but aren’t we all actors on the stage of life?)

Acting is a
challenging profession. I used to think that they were pussies, whining for
nothing and using cheap show tricks to get attention for themselves. Not
anymore. With great admiration I follow those who have the calling and talent
to change themselves – and come back.

Categories
Cover story Misc

No pain, no gain

Ink on your skin. Long ago, tattoos stopped being a taboo. They are no longer a sign of a criminal, a tough biker or a sailor. This body art went mainstream and nowadays it is common to see a pop teenage girl on the dance floor with a tribal tattoo in her lower back or a computer geek with the Linux penguin on his shoulder.

In Helsinki there are dozens of tattoo parlours and studios. Many of them are located in the areas of Punavuori, Kamppi and Kallio. The selection is diverse and vast, but so is the demand. It can take some weeks to get an appointment with the most popular tattooists, especially in summer. Anton, of Legacy Tattoo believes that “there are too many tattoo artists in Helsinki and that decreases the overall quality”. In his opinion, “some of the tattooists are world class, but people tend to go to the cheapest places, so there are too much mediocre work done”. However, Rosti and Juho of Vida Loca have a very different opinion. “It’s good to have competition”, they say, “it’s good for the business and it forces you to improve”.

Pin-up girls, skulls, flames, hearts… Many tattoo artists are fond of the traditional and colourful designs. Nevertheless, they will make any custom design: tribal, Chinese characters, the silhouette of your idol, the Finnish lion. Anything is possible. Jykä, of Spider’s Tattoo, says that a popular tattoo nowadays is HIM’s heartagram: “there are many girls visiting Helsinki, especially from Germany and Australia, that want to have it”. A peculiar souvenir, indeed.

It is also interesting to see the areas where people want to have tattoos. They range from the traditional tattoo on the arm to the most intimate areas. But sometimes not every centimetre of skin is suitable: “some people have impossible ideas”, Anton explains, “like a tattoo on the sole of the foot. I have to say no then. It’s a stupid place because it will be very painful and the ink will wear off after some months.” Artists prefer to tattoo the usual places: arms, legs, and back. Rosti reckons that some areas are not very pleasant, like the “ribs and chest, which can be a very painful”.

A tattoo must hurt
Pain is a big part of the tattoo culture. Many will argue that there is no tattoo without pain. In the old days the artists would knock the costumer out if they would here some complaints. But nowadays, with tattoos being so popular, everyone wants to suffer as little as possible. Anaesthetic lotions are sold and accepted, which some artists are not so happy about. “I use to tease my costumers about it”, admits Anton, “I’d say that I don’t tattoo anyone who has used the lotion. However, I must say that when I got my tattoo on the back, after 30 hours, I started using the lotion myself.”

The learning process for a tattoo artist is a long and lasts several years. There is no tattoo school, so the artists are usually self-taught and complete their training as an apprentice with an experience tattooist. “I used to practice with pig’s skin”, Jykä recalls, “but that is a little bit different”. For Anton, however, there was no other guinea pig than himself: “the first tattoo I did it was on myself. It was really bad. Then Kristian took me on as an apprentice here at Legacy. It took three or four years of work until I was happy with my tattoos. Still I can improve some details”.

In spite of the bikes and the rock, the life of a tattoo artist is not as glamorous as it might look. Artists recognize that even though they love it, it can be a very demanding job. “I get very anxious before a big project, like sleeves (a tattoo, or a collection of smaller tattoos, that covers a person's entire arm), I can hardly sleep”, Anton says. “Some days, when I get home, my eyes hurt, my hands hurt and I have to start drawing the next design. Luckily this year I will have a one week holiday”.

Categories
Art Exhibitions

OUR LAND! – Photographs from Finland

2007 is the year of a big celebration! Finland has its 90th anniversary of national independence this December. Over the past decades, Finland has experienced an unprecedented rate of economic, technological and social change. Our whole way of life is now totally different from what it used to be a few decades ago.

{mosimage}
Oi Maamme! – (Our Land!) is an exhibition about changes in the Finnish life from the 60s to the present day. 23 photographers show how Finns have lived in recent decades, both in Finland and as migrants abroad. When looking at the photographs you will see a development in Finnish lifestyle as well as in photography.

You take for granted the things that you see every day, don’t you? It is good to see how this country has changed but somehow stayed the same (yes, Finnish children have always been blonde and blue eyed!) Still, a lot has changed in the everyday life of Finns during these decades: jobs, buildings, cars and fashions. But as a Finn, I see that all of these photos have been taken in Finland. Or maybe I am just so old that I actually remember how good old Finland use to be. Or maybe all countries are developing in the same direction, so it is more and more difficult to point out the differences between them?

If you haven’t been around for so long or if you just don’t recognise Finland when looking at these pictures, then you have to admit, these photographs are very fine pieces of art!

—

The exhibition is held at Tennis palace Art Museum, Salomonkatu 15, 00100 Helsinki.

Open Tue-Sun 11 a.m. – 8.30 p.m, Mon closed.

Tickets: 5 to 7 euros. Admission is free for children under 18. Free admission on Fridays.

Categories
Cover story Misc

An ecological performance

Relativity is a performance that combines three different art disciplines to create something new, unique, improvised and unexpected. Electronic music, video and dance are the ingredients. But Relativity is not just an art experiment: images, sound and movement reflect the relationship between nature and mankind.

Created and performed by Italians Egle Oddo (installation and video) and Giorgio Convertito (dance and choreography), and German Finnish Marko Timlin (sound and music), this show tries to bring the audience’s attention to environmental problems. “Without any political affiliations or intentions”, explains Egle, “we want to stress that the root of the problem is our attitude towards nature. Mankind wants to dominate nature, eliminate its annoyances, destroy it or save it as it pleases. This is an artificial idea. We are part of nature and with our current attitude we are just contaminating the conditions for life.” It is a dark concept that affirms the power of nature to regenerates itself, even mankind: “Nature recycles us perfectly when we are dead”, Egle reminds us.

{mosimage}This idea is the basis for the narrative of the piece. Each artist evolves into a character: Egle is The Reality, Marko is The Wind, and Giorgio, Nature. However, in Relativity there is no dialogue and improvisation is a big part of the show. The performance is presented as an unexplored path: “We know where we start and where we are going to finish. We throw some stones to guide our way, but we don’t know how we will go from one stone to the next”, states the Italian dancer. For Marko, improvisation is the reason why the performance is so exciting: “When everything is planned, one might achieve perfection, but with improvisation one can achieve magic and that is even better than perfection.”

Each discipline complements the others. The electronic music really adds to the live performance. “Sometimes it can be boring to see a guy on stage with a laptop like he would be writing emails”, admits Marko, “but with the addition of dance and video, the experience can be fascinating”. Some of the images that Egle will display have been shot in the junkyard of Ämmässuo in Espoo and show the power of nature to recycle itself.

The trio has worked on Relativity since January. There will be only four performances and the group hopes that the audience not only becomes aware of environmental problems, but that it also starts to be active, so a solution can be reached in the future.

Relativity

24.5 – 27.5

Universum, Perämiehenkatu 13, Helsinki

 

Photos by Ossi Kajas 

Categories
Interviews Misc

Four decades of provocation

You were born in a small countryside town, Somero. How was it to grow up there?
During my first ten years I was often sick, and because of that my mother and I used to visit Helsinki very often. So I got a taste of the big city quite early. About my Somero years, I appreciate mostly my school time. Our headmaster was an exceptional person. He commanded fifteen languages, even though he claimed he could only speak Esperanto and Finnish. And that’s why Esperanto was compulsory in our school. Five years after the headmaster retired, the teaching Esperanto disappeared from Somero schools. It’s a pity because if Somero could have boasted of something, it would have been schoolboys speaking Esperanto. I have even written some songs in Esperanto, but I’m not an Esperantist: they’re so keen on their hobby, and that disturbs me a little bit.
 

At least two other very famous musicians have also come from Somero.
Right. Unto Mononen, the tango composer. I played in his orchestra. I got to know him when I was a student in Helsinki. I started to be interested in Finnish tango and in tangos by Mononen and he was so popular at the time. And the other one is Rauli “Badding” Somerjoki. We started collaborating and he sang on some of my albums. Then he asked me to produce his own rock single, which I did, and a rock album. Two weeks after releasing ‘Fiilaten ja höyläten’, it went to no.1 in the Finnish chart, where it stayed almost a year.

A year of turning point

It seems that 1966 was a very important year; a sort of turning point.
It was the important year of my provocations! At last I succeeded in provoking the whole of Finland by singing those sexual manuals at the Jyväskylä Summer Cultural Festival. This actually helped very much later when I wanted to do something else, and I started to sing classical music. I sang a song by Franz Schubert live on the Finnish TV: a shock. And it was exactly what I meant it to be.
Then I met the poet Markku Into and we started the Suomen Talvisota project. And in October that same year I was at the Turku Youth Festival, singing Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus”. The sixties are quite easy to remember but already the seventies are much more difficult: I was doing so many different things at the same time. Films, music, writing…

What was the common denominator?
The wish to provoke, of course.

So are you still into provoking the audience?
Of course. I provoke in a totally different way than earlier. I provoke my own friends and people my age. In the 60s I provoked old people and in the 21st century I still provoke old people. These are the same people who grew up with my provocations, and are themselves often quite good at provoking too. But then most of them are nowadays quite old fashioned and they think in an old fashioned, conservative way. I can provoke in many ways.

{mosimage}Stories of detectives and drunkards

You wrote two books whose titles sound quite curious: Etsivätoimisto Andrejev & Milton (Detective Agency Andreyev & Milton) and Baarien Mies (The Beer Bar Man).
The first is a detective story. I wrote it with Markku Into and it was ‘built’ in a very strange way: in the epistolary style. We were making fun of detective novels, and our own is very odd indeed. Suffice it to say that there’s no ending whatsoever.
Baarien mies has an interesting origin. In 1984 it was still forbidden to perform pop music during Easter time. I was in Sotkamo and could not perform. I stayed there some days and visited a bar several times. I became interested in this bar and the ‘way of life’ connected to it. I thought I would suggest the subject to a real sociologist. Then I thought he or she would never get enough money to travel around Finland and no scholarship would be available for such a drinking subject, so I chose myself to be the writer. My wife was with me: she was my driver but also my ‘memory’, as from time to time she had to remind me about the place and what had happened the evening before as I had drunk so much.

How are you planning to shock your audiences at the moment?
The first album in collaboration with DJ Sane will be released in May. It took three years as the material is so uncommercial: no dance, no pop, no rock. But it has very strong and heavy rhythms and sounds like it is from the rock and ambient world but not precisely from that. But I’ve other plans: the Swedish novel. And I’m composing a chamber music work about the Swedish domination that finished in 1909. It’s been commissioned for next year, 2008, so that it anticipates the centennial.

For a detailed biography of M.A. Numminen visit www.ma-numminen.net

M.A. Numminen will perform in Helsinki on 22 May at the Design Museum, Korkeavuorenkatu 23, Helsinki

Categories
Cinema DVD

Exploitation in the grindhouse

{mosimage}

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino present a double feature of sex, violence, sleazy characters, zombies, freaks and bizarre plots. Death Proof and Planet Terror now on dvd.

Once again Quentin Tarantino digs deep into American cinema subculture revisiting exploitation films; a genre of cheap production and prurient images. These films broke cinematic taboos, including explicit sex and nudity, explosions and destruction, drug and weird perverse plots. They were most popular in the 70s and were shown in so-called grindhouses, theatres offering a non-stop programme, which consisted of a double feature or double bill, a phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one.

Along with long time friend Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn), Tarantino came up with the idea of filming a double feature like the ones grindhouses used to show. The result is Grindhouse, a film consisting of two separate feature film segments: Planet Horror, directed by Rodriguez, and Death Proof, by Tarantino. The first is a zombie tale and the latter, the story of a crazed man, played by Kurt Russell, who murders young women with his “death proof” stunt car.

Like in the traditional double bill, each feature is preceded by fake trailers for other exploitation films and coming attractions. One of those trailers, Werewolf Women of the SS, is directed by Rob Zombie and features Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu.

The film opened in April in the United States and it got positive reviews, although it performed poorly at the box office. However, for the rest of the world, Grindhouse has been split into two different movies: Death Proof, which premiers on 1 June and Planet Terror, which will arrive a little bit later on 20 July. In the international version, the features will have a different and extended cut. It is also possible that the fake trailers will be different as well. The extended version of Death Proof will be shown for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival.

The producers and Tarantino explained that the movie was cut in two because most non-English speaking countries would not understand the double feature tradition. However, many fans see it as a way of being forced to pay twice for what was originally conceived as a single film.

—-

Grindhouse: Death Proof
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Danny Trejo and Timothy V. Murphy
Premiere: 1 June

Categories
Cinema Features

Cinema bathed by the midnight sunlight

Sodankylä is the lucky place where the Midnight Sun Film Festival is held. The 22nd festival once again presents a great selection of films and filmmakers and is perhaps the best of its kind in the country. Founded in 1986, the well-known Finnish filmmakers Aki and Mika Kaurismäki had an important role in its development and still help the municipality of Sodankylä to make the project possible. And over the years the organizers have definitely been able to create a unique experience for cinema lovers that many have named as the “spirit of Sodankylä”.

The location, so close to nature, is perfect for relaxing and enjoying all the hours of light, far from the stress of other cinema festivals, which are organised in the heart of big cities. The atmosphere is informal and the cinema on offer huge; especially considering that the films are screened almost 24 hours a day during the five days of the festival. If the weather is fine, tens of thousands of visitors will pitch their tents in the festival area to enjoy this mix of exceptional art and nature.

These special features are complemented by the high quality of the programme and the special guests that visit the festival every year. On this occasion, we will have names such as Iranian Abbas Kiarostami; Swiss filmmaker Claude Goretta (famous for films such as The Lacemaker); the Italian veteran director Vittorio De Seta; Canadian Michel Brault; and Giuseppe Bertolucci, "the younger brother" of Bernardo.

So if you were planning to spend some relaxing days in Finnish Lapland, and you are a true lover of good cinema, you must not miss this one!

 

Midnight Film Festival will take place in the village of Sodankylä from the 13-17 June 2007.

 

{mosimage}Abbas Kiarostami

Born in Iran in 1940, he is one of the most important directors in his country. In his films there is always the search for the human touch and observation of the small details of reality. He has received many different international awards such as the Golden Palm in Cannes in 1997.

Selected Films:

Close-Up (1990)

Life, and Nothing More… (1992)

Though the Olive Trees (1994)

The taste of Cherry (1997)

ABC Africa (2001)

 

{mosimage}Claude Goretta

Goretta has been one of the most important Swiss directors during the last few decades and has also worked as a TV producer. He has made most of his feature films in France, and co-directed his first work Nice Time (1957) with Alain Tanner. He was born in Geneva in 1929.

Films:

La dentellière (The Lacemaker, 1977)

La Provinciale (The Provincial, 1980)

Orfeo (1985)

L`Ombre (The Shadow, 1991)

 

—-

Midnight Sun Film Festival

13 – 17 June

Sodankylä

Categories
Interviews Music

Another shot on the rocks

The second coming of rockers Hanoi Rocks has lasted already six years. That’s as long as the classic period of the band lasted in the eighties. Obviously, these last six years haven’t been as intense, but the new Hanoi Rocks almost has their third album ready since its rebirth to be release in September.

Like Jagger and Richards, The Muddy Twins are two very different characters: in a colourful pink jacket, Monroe speaks and moves fast and loud, whilst McCoy breathes deeply and mutters. One is the diva, the other, the gypsy. But both sound positive about the upcoming album: “it’s going to be a very strong record”, the singer says. “Now the band is perfectly balanced, which it was not before when we were still searching around”, the guitarist adds.

Former Electric Boys members, Swedes Conny Bloom (guitar) and Andy (AC) Christell (bass), brought the needed stability to the band in 2005. “It took until now to make the band into a strong unit”. This unity will be reflected on the new album. “For this record we have worked as a band from the start”, Monroe explains. “On the previous album we started recording just Andy, our drummer Lacu and me. It took a long time and there were lots of overdubs, so it was difficult to mix. Now we have the basics: drums, guitars, bass, vocals and some overdubs, but not much: just a few solos, some sax and percussion. And everybody has contributed to the song writing, even Lacu!”

"We haven’t changed! Only the ones with enough identity survive" – Andy McCoy

{mosimage}No matter what, every new step of Hanoi Rocks will be compared to its past. “We haven’t changed! Only the ones with enough identity survive”, says McCoy. For Mike Monroe, that’s the only way to go: “Trends come and go. We don’t try to follow anything and we do not compromise ourselves for money or anything. It’s essential to survive, even to sleep and look at yourself in the mirror. Some of those bands in the 80s took the easy way out. They made a lot of money then, but now they are worn out and miserable. They are stuck in the eighties and they look like parodies of themselves. That’s what happens when you sell your soul!”

After so many years in show business, the blonde singer knows that it is difficult to trust anyone: “More than 90% of the people in this business are crooks. In the first three years of the reunion we had a lot of people that were supposed to be managing the band but they were actually damaging the band. Big money was wasted. It was totally out of control. It’s not enough to have the greatest band in the world; one also needs a great team behind it. Now we are lucky and we have it”.

Hanoi N’ Roses

Hanoi Rocks was a great influence on Guns N’ Roses. Some even say that if they wouldn’t have split up 1985, the Finns would have been a stadium band as big as Guns N’ Roses was later on. Both bands collaborated with each other and Michael Monroe appeared on the epic Use Your Illusion albums playing sax and harmonica on one song, and also adding some vocals to Ain’t It Fun on The Spaghetti Incident?

But does Michael know when Chinese Democracy will be released? “No. Perhaps by the time there’s democracy in China. Axl Rose has always been nice to me and I wish him good luck, but I wish he had the old band today. Those guys had a great chemistry. It’s what happens when big money gets in the way. It’s what destroys bands. People start talking to each other through lawyers. I don’t envy Axl’s situation. Doing the same record for ten years is not normal anymore”.

The single Fashion is out now.

You can watch the video at
www.myspace.com/hanoirocksofficial

Categories
Features Music

Sounds good! Get your earplugs in!

Appropriately in this metal-mad country, the first events are loud and proud of it.

Sauna Open Air Metal (7-9 June) in Tampere’s Eteläpuisto kicks the season off with a big bang – if you don’t find Megadeth, Heaven and Hell, Type O Negative scary. Promoter Jussi Santalahti comments “This year’s will be the best ever (12,000/day) as I got the bands I wanted at this time, so next year we may need a new venue.”  

Provinssirock (15-17 June) is held in woods outside Seinäjoki in outback Pohjanmaa. This is for youngsters to expend energy, make and lose mates. As there’s nowhere near enough accommodation, most tent it. Very social, each one touching cloth with the next. Minimal privacy. 

The site is split between five stages, crowds troop from one to another via a stream. With an average age of 20, everything’s over-indulged. Mature people (25+) may think twice unless they have a safe nest. Camping areas resemble refugee camps after a war with bodies scattered around. First Aid does brisk business. 

Despite its location, Provinssirock attracts eclectic artistes: Marilyn Manson, Manic Street Preachers, Faith No More, Suede, REM and Black Sabbath. So this year’s Scissor Sisters, Patti Smith, Amy Winehouse and MUCC may not seem a theme, but there’s something for everyone whose still compos mentus – or not. Promoter Juha Koivisto informs “We’re now a stopover between Sweden and Russia while for others, Scandinavia is a big market.” 

Tuska Open Air Metal Festival at Helsinki’s central Kaisaniemi Park. A triple treat (29 June-1 July) for the jet black set with music that splits ears and atoms. But that matters not to the 11,000 inside. Although a guaranteed sell-out, fear not – join the throng outside where you’ll be able to hear the ‘lyrics’ clearly growled.  

Tuska 2007 is the 10th and features subtle masters of the dark arts as W.A.S.P., Pain, Hatesphere, and Children of Bodom (a local band whose name derives from a bloody unsolved triple murder 50 years ago). Power, doom, goth, thrash are all here for this must-see metal bash. And don’t be cowed by the fans, as Promoter Jouni Markkanen says “They’re much nicer than they look!”  

Simultaneously, Puistoblues on Saturday (30 June) is a picnic on pasture by a lake for ‘mature’ types. 2007 is the festival’s pearl anniversary. It’s volunteer-organised by blues lovers in quaint Järvenpää, but no worries – it’s a train ride from Helsinki with transport at the station to ferry fans to the venue at a set rate. 

Puistoblues’s legends over 30 years lists John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, George Thorogood, BB King, Jeff Healy, Santana. But recent lack of star names and wet weather mean it’s on a financial tightrope. If it’s sunny, 14,000 can relax comfortably on the gentle slope and appreciate Johnny Winter, Keb Mo and supports for 49 euro. 

After Tuska moshers head for Ruisrock in Ruissalo park outside Turku – so no decibel difficulties here. The mid-July weekend (6th-8th) has a bigger capacity (30,000) with a 3-day pass at €90 great value – if your eardrums don’t implode. 

Europe’s second-oldest festival (Holland’s Pinkpop was first) celebrates its 38th with bands on five stages, two inside a tent! As a trial, in addition to the small one for 800 people, Promoter Juhani Merimaa will erect a 10,000-capacity big top. Why? 

“It’s for bands wanting to use their lightshows. Here the sun sets at 11pm and after 3 hours twilight it’s up again. For foreign acts that’s strange, Mew and Tool played late last year to get the best effects. If more want to do it this year, we don’t have the slots.” 

Ruisrock’s music mix comprises The Flaming Lips, The Ark (fresh from Eurovision success?), Mastodon and The Hives. Look out for the Stockholm ferries behind the main stage around 8 and 9 pm. A sight which caused Oasis’ Liam Gallagher to mouth “What the ****!” 

Ilosaarirock (14-15 July) is on an island in the river that flows through Joensuu and will claim its 10th consecutive sell-out. Mainly for local yokels as accommodation is sparse unless a mosquito symphony in a tent appeals. This year’s not-so-magnetic acts are heavyish: Anthony B, The Business, CunninLynguists, HIM and Opeth. 

{mosimage}For old-timer Pori Jazz (14-22 July) it’s the last 4 days where famous names perform in Kirjurinluoto Park across from the city on the river Aura’s far bank. This is the 42nd edition of the festival and its age shows. Artistic Director-Founder Jyrki Kangas admits “We regenerate the festival every 10 years and now we must attract new audiences too.” 

As most jazzmen have blown their last note, that audience has shrivelled apace, so Pori Jazz became an all-round festival. There’s a gamut of venues and the Jazz Street, but the big guns perform at Kirjurin Arena where Sting attracted a record 36,000 last summer. Warning: Pori is small with limited facilities. 

So schools, homes, practically anywhere will let you lie on a mattress (bring your own sleeping bag) for money. It may feel unusual staying in a stranger’s home (if they’re away it costs more), but you’re only supposed to sleep there…. It’s a very Finnish egalitarian thing, which may not suit those from class-structured societies. Snoozing in vehicles is popular too. 

Prices vary but it’s the festival where you can usually buy a ticket at the door. Thursday and Friday see Natalie Cole and Sly and the Family Stone top the bill, Saturday has Steely Dan and maybe Elvis Costello, who is a serial late-canceller á la eight years ago, thus the uncertainty. Pray hard Elvis fans. 

Sunday is ‘picnic day’ though Pori Jazz’s hallmark is fans flopped on the grass at KA with bottles and snacks on blankets. 2007’s finale is strong: veterans Blood, Sweat and Tears, John Scofield and Medeski as the festival closes with reggae legend Bob Marley’s son Ziggy. Jazz? 

Ankkarock’s timing (5-6 August) pushes meteorological luck. As Promoter Merimaa said after a muddy weekend “It was more like a duck pond than Duck Rock (its English name)”. Heavy again: Nine Inch Nails, Japanese rock Dir En Grey and The Ark are familiar names as you may have noticed. Look up the website for further details.  

But these all depend on the ‘fan in the sky’ blessing them with good weather for a memorable occasion. Amen, hallelujah and amaze the horde. 


Categories
Inside Finland Travel

Crazy Finnish summer

The Finnish summer is light, especially at the beginning: all the leaves on the trees are light green, the air is warm, but not yet the water. The whole landscape looks untouched. Then comes July: hot and long days with melting ice cream. At the end of August, the sun is still hot, but the colours have changed: the trees are all deep green. Maybe you will see the first yellow leaf. But even if there are signs of the next season, we still usually have an Indian summer. 

The Midsummer holiday, Juhannus, is the year's shortest night and most important occasion for drunkenness and revelry. It is time to escape the city. Most of Finns go to their summer cottages in the countryside and have bonfires (called kokko) by the lake. If this doesn’t appeal to you, there are lots of festivals, where you can find loud music, new friends and bonfires too. A lot of Finns start their summer holidays on Midsummer Day and after that much partying, a few days off would do some good for pretty much anyone.  

Finnish Summer

Juhannus used to be more serious affair than it is in these days. During pagan times, midsummer was a very potent night for rituals, which concerned future marriages and fortune. Many of these rituals were made naked. Will o wisps (ghostly lights sometimes seen at night or twilight that hover over damp ground in still air, often over bogs) were believed to be seen on midsummer night, marking treasure. 

I also remember one midsummer ritual that I used to do when I was a kid: I collected seven different kinds of flowers and ran around our well. I slept with the flowers under my pillow and hoped to see the man of my life in my dreams. And I remember how disappointed I always was the next morning when I couldn’t remember my dreams!  

Summer happenings 

There are lot of festivals and smaller summer happenings going on every week all around the country. Music festivals are especially popular here, and Finnish artists hardly have time to take their own holidays! Whatever kind of music you like, there will be a festival where you will hear your very favourite tunes. Just pick your melody. For example, you can hear rock in Turku, jazz in Pori and tango in Seinäjoki. 

In addition to music festivals there are other happenings for everyone. Do you like sailing? Then sail to Kotka in July. Are you big fan of eating small herrings? Visit the Fish Market in Turku. 

Do you think that Finns and their ways are odd sometimes? You are right and if you like that weirdness, you will love the Finnish summer, because Finland is an empire of weird summer happenings. The top 5 strangest happenings to mention are: the wife carrying competition, football played in a swamp, the mosquito killing competition, and the contests for who can sit in sauna or on top of an ant’s nest for longest!

Already internationally known, wife carrying is the sport of carrying woman; a wife usually. Several types of carrying are allowed: piggyback, fireman's lift, or Estonian-style (the wife hangs upside-down with her legs around the husband's shoulders, holding onto his waist). The major wife-carrying competition is held in Sonkajärvi, where the prize is the wife's weight in beer! Yes, that is really something to see!

 

 

Summer in the city 

Are you too busy to leave the city this summer? Don’t worry; there is lots going on in the city as well! There are hundreds of terraces, great beaches and islands to visit: all just right here, in the heart of Helsinki! 

Suomenlinna is an island in front of Helsinki. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a very popular picnic site among tourists and the locals. The ferry that leaves from Kauppatori will take you there in only 15 minutes. There are other islands to visit as well: Uunisaari, Korkeasaari (the zoo) and Seurasaari. Or you can visit another lovely town, Porvoo, from Helsinki by boat as well. The most popular beach in Helsinki is Hietaranta, where you can see all the white Finns burning themselves all summer long. Other good beaches are in Munkkiniemi and on most of the islands mentioned above. 

Suomenlinna

In summertime the place to party is Kaivohuone, where you can fine the trendiest people in town and a very large terrace, big dance floor, and on Wednesday nights, the pool is open too! One of the biggest terraces is on Mikonkatu and is a combination of several bars’ terraces. You will find the best views on the terraces on top of the tallest buildings in Helsinki, such as Torni and Palace. 

Northern lightness 

If you get sick of city life, I strongly recommend you to take a hike! Literally! Lapland is well known for its ski resorts, but it is a unique place to visit in summertime as well. The landscape and wildlife are well worth seeing. You can do different kind of activities: river rafting, fishing, hiking and hunting. And what makes Lapland such a magical place to visit is the white light around the clock: the sun doesn’t set at all. At its longest, the nightless night in the north can last up to three months.

Aurora Borealis

When you leave the city and its noises you will discover the real Finland: its lakes, forests and peace. The best way to travel is slowly and by bike, although public transportation is good in Finland as well. There are too many nice places all over the country to mention here, so the best you can do is to explore as much of it as possible and find your own favourite spot.

Categories
Cover story Misc

From the ashes of the lost empire

After following the events concerning a certain bronze Russian soldier, I gave myself the task of developing an observer’s approach to the efforts being made to build a new Estonia, where past and present can live together in peace. With this in mind, I decided to join the MA students of Urban Studies at the Estonian Academic of Arts on a one-day trip to the forgotten city of Paldiski, on the peninsula of Pakri. As a part of their curriculum, the students are doing a project on urban management in Paldiski. The idea is to offer four possible scenarios in which architecture could help in the redevelopment of the area. 

Approximately 50 km from Tallinn, Paldiski is an important Baltic Sea port located in south-western Estonia. Its history goes back 300 years, when the Russian Tsar Peter 1st started construction of a port. Paldiski’s status as a port has since dictated its entire destiny.  

During the 20th century, the Soviets began moving the local population away from the town in order to establish a navel base. 16,000 men of nine different Soviet army units were located in the city and its vicinity. Paldiski’s status as port reached its summit when a training centre for nuclear submarines was opened in 1968. The city then became a no-go area, where the presence of non-soviet military was forbidden. The city remained closed until 30 August 1994, when the last Soviet warship left.  

{mosimage}Welcome to hell
At 9:04 am a small bus left the Estonian Academy of Arts, located in Tallinn’s city centre. Three students, the leader of the project, a bus driver and myself were the participants of the expedition. After one hour of travel, we arrived in Paldiski. On the outskirts of the city some ruins began to appear. Towards the centre, the landscape changed: colourful soviet apartments, which somehow looked out of place for such a small city.  

Our first point of call was to the northern point of the peninsula, were the limestone cliffs and the lighthouse are located. There the visitor can find about eight windmills that are part of the state’s efforts to produce renewable energy. When returning back to the centre and seeing the town by foot, I realized that the ruins and empty buildings are everywhere. Images of inhabited homes with a ghost neighbour are common. 

We were then led to a meeting room in the City Council House (Linnavalitsus). There, the City Councillor Jaan Möller and another representative were waiting for us. The idea of the meeting was to find out about the specific plans for the area. Councillor Möller, who has been in office for 13 years, constantly mentioned the appeal of the ports, as the most important factor in the development of Paldiski as a integrated city. His objective is to increase the population from 4,000 to 7,000 by attracting immigrants, offering opportunities for work at the port as well, as in the industry.  

With a huge map of Paldiski and the peninsula on the table, he showed the group the plans for attracting the new residents to the city. The allocated areas, far away from the ruins and abandoned buildings, are a clear attempt at remodelling the city. In order to achieve this, the city must attract private funding. However, he Möller was sceptical about the development of Paldiski as a tourist destination. He claimed that business is the future of Paldiski, even though it is a well-know place for hiking due to the cliffs of limestone.  

 

{mosimage} 

 

Estonians and Russians 

In contrast to the recent events, Mr Möller emphasised that in his 13 years of service he has experienced just one case of friction between the Estonian and the Russian population. Apart from that “we haven’t had any problems”, he added.  

Baring this in mind, we went to visit the local police chief, Madis Melzar. He affirmed that the relations between the Estonian and the Russian population are peaceful. And it was noticeable on the streets too that there was no threat, visible or otherwise. 

After being at the Police Station, we went to the south port in order to have a guided tour. Inside the terminal port building one could notice a different atmosphere that made you doubt if you were really in Paldiski at all. From the inside one can look through a big yellow window, which somehow tries to erase the label of a “grey city”. When walking inside, I noticed that a huge cargo ship was just delivering a great quantity of new cars. 

It is clear that everyone has a common goal: the development of a new, economically and socially prosperous Paldiski that escapes the label it has been given. Now it is up to the students to start their investigation, which will hopefully see the rebirth of Paldiski from its ashes.

 

Photos by Mauricio Roa 

Categories
Cover story Misc

Light and shadows on the silver screen

Regina Linnanheimo (1915-1995) was passionate about movies from the very get-go: as a girl, she spent her every last penny on going to the cinema. She also had her sister to look up to, for Rakel Linnanheimo was an actress as well as the first Finnish professional model. Regina’s own acting career got started at the age of 15, when her sister could not be in two places at once. Rakel was doing a fashion show, so Regina stood in for her as an actress. Soon after, her talent as an actress in her own right was noted and she landed a speaking role in a 1934 Valentin Vaala comedy. It wasn’t long before Regina Linnanheimo became known as the leading lady for many a historical melodrama and screen adaptation.

During the 1930s and 40s Linnanheimo worked for the Finnish studios SF and Suomi-Filmi, and appeared in several box office hits such as Kulkurin valssi (The Vagabond's Waltz, 1941), Kaivopuiston kaunis Regina (The Beautiful Regina of Kaivopuisto, 1941) and Katariina ja Munkkiniemen kreivi (Catherine and the Count of Munkkiniemi, 1943). These are movies that generation after generation of Finns have seen and loved (for their sense of fake nostalgia, if nothing else), and which gained her enormous popularity. With her dimples and great big eyes, Linnanheimo certainly brought to the productions a measure of glamour, romance and beauty. Her acting skills were not inconsiderable either, and she was awarded the Jussi prize, the Finnish equivalent of an Oscar. 

{mosimage}This is how Linnanheimo describes her life in the July 1938 edition of SF News:-Your main hobby, dear Lady? -The cinema, or SF movies, to be exact.-And your other hobbies? This is a very important question, Miss, for its answer gives the readers a true picture of you. -The cinema, dear Mister interviewer, or SF movies, to be exact. My other occupations – hobbies or pastimes, as you will – are books, languages, music and sports of all sorts, the latter including certain walking-tours to the SF studios in Haaga, swimming, cycling, workouts (that is, standing) with seamstresses for hours, etc. One at a time, of course, and taking into account the demands of the seasons, etc. There are times when I do needlework, clean, and sit in cafés. You could be surest of finding me downstairs at Fazer. As you can see, I am a hopelessly ordinary creature, and cannot think of anything to make me interesting to the readers. Except perhaps for the fact that I forget to greet my acquaintances, and run into passers-by, especially if I am turning a part over in my mind…

However in the late 30s Linnanheimo started feeling the limitations of her roles, and as (a graduate of the Helsinki German School) she spoke fluent German, it seemed reasonable enough to look into launching a career in Germany. She visited the UFA studios in Berlin in 1938 and 1942 and chose for herself scenes out of a script called “Nacht ohne Abschied”. The Germans loved her, and the preparations for the making of the movie got well under way: the studio built new sets, and had costumes sewn to her measurements. Linnanheimo returned to Helsinki to wait for the final call, but meanwhile the tide of the Second World War turned against the Nazis, and the movie was left unmade. Even its test reels have never been recovered from the vaults of UFA. 

 
Teuvo Tulio’s lady and writer
After the war Linnanheimo continued her domestic career as the leading lady in Teuvo Tulio's smouldering melodramas, and later also as the screenwriter of his films. Teuvo Tulio (born Theodor Tugai, 1912-2000) was an independent producer/director who today is recognised as one of few true auteurs of Finnish cinema, and who has a cult status amongst film buffs.

Tulio’s movies typically emphasise melodrama at the expense of more psychological “drama”. More important to Tulio than the authenticity of the material or the internal coherence of the plot was the cinematic flow of emotions. With the use of melodramatic devices, such as light, shadows, and camera angles, he sought to create ever greater emotional charges. From the understanding between Tulio and Linnanheimo emerged great works of art: intense, modern movies, which reach beyond mere symbolism to the very edge of lunacy Together, the two constitute the unsurpassed creative duo of Finnish cinema; their interaction has been compared to that between Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and their friendship lasted throughout the years.

The alcoholic melodrama Olet mennyt minun vereeni (You've Invaded My Blood, 1956) was Linnanheimo’s final movie, after which she retired completely from the screen and public life. She had always been one to keep her private life private (we know that she married a Swedish count during the 40s, yet never really lived with him), but with her retirement, she grew even more reclusive. In the end, it was the popular imagination that transformed this leading lady of so many blockbusters in to a myth and a legend. 

 

Photos by Finnish Film Archive 

Categories
Interviews Music

A piece of Arctic Metal music

FREE! Magazine had a relaxed talk in a central hotel of Helsinki with Toni Kakko (vocals) and Henrik “Henkka” Klingenberg (keyboards), who kindly explained the story behind the band’s origins:

How was the music scene in Kemi, your native town, where you started?

Toni: There were a few metal bands. I am still living there, and it is a nice, quiet place. A couple of times a year, the youth organisations have concerts or competitions for new bands. This is the way we started as well.

You had curious names for the band at the beginning. The first one was Tricky Beans, and then you changed to Tricky Means…

Toni: Tricky Beans came into being in May 1996, when we had our first show. We did not have any name at that time. We had to come up with a name. We had this really stupid song called Tricky Beans, so we decided to take that name and then change it later, but the show went pretty well, and people got to know us in Kemi under that name, so we could not really change it. We got stuck with Tricky Beans: a weird name for a band. Then in 1997, we started rehearsing these Stratovarius songs, more of a metal type of music, and then we changed it to Tricky Means. Then in 1999, we got the recording contract and it was clear we needed a new and better name. A friend of us came up with the present name Sonata Arctica, and I think it suits us pretty well.

The band that changed their lives

Were you a fan of Stratovarius?

Toni: Yeah, absolutely! Stratovarius’ albums were a big hit for me. That was the time when I started singing and writing that kind of material.

Do you remember when you listened to them for first time?

Toni: It was Visions album, in the summer of 1997.I first heard it on TV. They had already 2 videos from that album, The Kiss of Judas and then Black Diamond: that was a “big bang” for me…I remember that I walked inside the music store, and I had Stratovarius album in one hand and this Hanson album in the other. I put the Stratovarius album back in the shelf and I bought the Hanson album. The next day I went to the store and I bought Stratovarius album as well.

You corrected the mistake!

Absolutely. I am very sorry about that, because I wouldn’t be here if I have not bought it.

And how was the tour with them after releasing your first album Ecliptica?

Who? It was very funny. We had just finished mastering the first album, and we just went to the Spinefarm office with the new album, and the boss said “hey guys, you have some warm up gigs”. I thought that maybe it was Helloween or something like that, and he said “7 weeks in Europe with Stratovarius and Rhapsody.” And I was like “Goddamn shit!” It was huge, it was really scary – it was like “oh god, this is it!”

And a bit later you were touring with Alice Cooper…

Toni: Yeah, two shows in Finland.

Did you have the chance to talk to him?

Toni: Not really. I was walking outside of Helsinki Hockey Arena, a bouncer stopped me, and I saw a tall man there…and it was Alice Cooper. He looked at me and I nodded and he nodded, and I was like “Guau, he can actually see me.” That was the closest I was to him. But Dio was very cool. He came to talk to us. He had nothing to prove. He was really great.

After all these years playing in so many places, where is the craziest audience at your shows?

Toni: I think in South America: Brazil, Chile… they have so hot blooded there!
 

{mosimage}The Finnish recruitment procedure

Henrik, when you entered the band, I read that the selection procedure was a bit “special”: basically consisting of getting drunk together with the band…

Henrik: I was at first like: “Are we playing something?” We drank for a while and talked, and we played a couple of songs, and they were filming trying to get me annoyed to see how I reacted. So, we played a bit and then we went back to the bar.

Toni: We knew he could play, that was not the question. We wanted to see his personality, since we were going to be spending a lot of time with this guy on the bus, in bars, etc. So, we wanted to see the reaction.

Did you have a hangover the next day?

Henrik: A little… Well, actually we got really drunk…

Toni: I did not participate in the bar session that time.

Hopefully you did not have to repeat the interview again and again…

Henrik: It was all right…

Toni: It gave us the chance to see how he is in real life: to be sure that he did not turn out be a real asshole.

I suppose many people have asked you about the Nightwish split, since you were playing with them the same night they gave their last gig. What is your opinion about what happened and all the polemic that surrounded it?

Toni: Well, shit happens really. If it is the only way to keep the band going, it has to be done.

Would you like to tour with them again soon?

Toni: Well, I have not met the new singer yet, but why not. I am friends with Tuomas mainly…

Henrik: We would still very happily tour with them, of course.

Toni: Absolutely. I mean, if I would have to choose one band to tour again with, it would probably be Nightwish.

Henrik: Yeah, apart from Metallica. The Tallinn concert last year was excellent. I have tickets for the show in Helsinki as well.

H.I.M. is going to be playing that night with them… feeling jealous?

Henrik: Good for them. It’s ok. I don’t care: I am going to see Metallica, anyway, so I don’t care who is supporting them.

You have quite a long tour ahead of you this year. Any special place you are particularly excited about visiting?

Toni: Australia.

Henrik: And for me personally, South America. I have not played there. But Australia is the place everybody in the band is waiting for, because nobody has ever been there.

 

Box of curiosities:

Sonata Arctica has a song called San Sebastian that was played for first time live in the year 2000 in the city of… San Sebastian.

Henrik used to train different martial arts and contact sports, such as boxing, but he had to quit because of the risk of hurting his hands. Since then, he has gained 13 kilograms.

Toni’s favourite cities to visit are New York and Salzburg.