April 3rd, 2004

Rock & Pop

Arctic rock'n'roll

As the Finnish rockers the Rasmus prepare to win over first the UK and then the US, Ed Potton meets the band in Helsinki for a tour of their home city.

In the Shadows, the latest single by the Rasmus — Finland’s premier rock band — may have taken up residence in your head already. If not, give it a week or two. Aided by an insistent, whooping chorus, the song has received heavy airplay on British radio, topped the charts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Finland, and reached the top five in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Spain. In Denmark, too, its influence is pervasive.

“We were sitting in a café in Copenhagen and a homeless guy walked up, really drunk, and started to sing In the Shadows,” recalls Eero, the band’s bassist. “We knew then that it was a hit.” It looks likely to follow suit in the UK, where the band played two sell-out dates in January.

Referencing the likes of Skid Row, Mötley Crüe and Europe, the Rasmus sound is founded on accessible melodies, towering power chords and a conviction that the 1990s should never have happened. “People seemed ashamed to be on stage; they thought it was cool to be small,” says the lead singer, Lauri Ylönen. “That makes me sick. I want to go on stage and be the king. Full of power, like in the 1980s.”

It’s a credo reminiscent of a certain British band currently enjoying moderate success. “The Darkness?” says Aki, the bespectacled drummer. “We saw them play in Germany and there was a two-minute solo before the song started! Woah!”

But the band — who release their fifth album, Dead Letters, later this month — insist that their theatricality is not calculated to win them seats alongside Justin Hawkins and company on the rawk revival bandwagon. “I think Finland is not so easily influenced by fashions from outside,” insists Eero. “Rock music never went away here.” Finland has long been the poorer cousin of its Scandinavian neighbours when it comes to international musical success. But, thanks to a wave of bands who, unlike most of their compatriots, sing in English, the country is developing a thriving scene of its own. Helsinki is also home to the metal outfits Nightwish and Children of Bodom, and rising stars such as Killer and the more hip-hop-orientated Kwan.

Meeting up with the band for a whistle-stop tour of their home city, it’s tough to pick out the studenty figures of Aki, Eero and Pauli from the coffee shop crowd. It’s only the presence of Lauri, his hair adorned with crow feathers (“I like Hitchcock’s movie The Birds. I find crows pretty freaky; you can’t really tell what they’re thinking”) that suggests you’re in the presence of burgeoning Euro-rock aristocracy.

ON THE SEA UNSURE
We begin our tour by heading to Kaivopuisto beach. “This is where the young people come in the summer to drink, fight and f*** in the bushes,” says a misty-eyed Lauri. “They have free concerts for 65,000 people.” In early March, it’s decidedly quieter, what with the sea being completely frozen over. As we trudge across the ice, I ask whether they ever worry about falling through. “I have this fear as well,” smiles Lauri, “But I know it’s very thick.” We’re later told by our driver, Jami, that in the middle of winter it’s possible to drive across the ice to Stockholm, 400km away.

DEAD BUT STILL ROCKIN’
Our second stop is a monument dedicated to Jean Sibelius, Finland’s greatest composer and, arguably, most famous son. “When people think of Finland, I guess they think of Nokia, maybe Mika Häkkinen, and Sibelius,” says Lauri, as he clambers up the stainless steel statue. “I’m proud of him because we don’t have many great composers. He wrote Finlandia, the national hymn, which is a massive song, really strong. We listen to it on Independence Day and drink a special spirit, called Glogi, which is like red wine with spices.” And what would Sibelius think of the Rasmus? “He’d think we rock!”

A WIDE CHURCH GROUP
Onwards to the white domed church of Senaatintori. “It was built in the Russian imperial times,” says Eero. “It’s very decorative, very beautiful.” His contemplative demeanour seems at odds with Lauri and Aki’s hell-raising and Pauli’s muso dedication. “Eero is a peaceful guy who is not drinking,” explains Aki. “When we came home at five this morning he was meditating!” adds Lauri. “It is very important to have different personalities in the band. We try to be very democratic, even though we like to call ourselves the four dictators.”

ICE-BREAKING MOMENT
Our next port of call is the, erm, port of Katajanokka, where icebreakers and ferries set sail for Sweden, Germany and Estonia. “We used to play concerts on the Stockholm ferries,” Aki recalls. Lauri says: “Every Finnish guy has been on one of those boats. Once you’re on board, it’s like you’re allowed to do anything.” Aki adds: “After every show we invited so many people backstage, it was a total mess.” The band break into what sounds like an enthralling conversation in Finnish, which they refuse to translate. “We have some secrets,” smirks Aki.

ROOF-TOP RENDEZVOUS
The chic Hotel Torni is our penultimate destination. “It’s quite a posh place, full of beautiful rich people drinking coffee,” Lauri explains. “It’s not a really typical place for us to go, but there’s a nice view of Helsinki from the roof.” Heads turn as we walk through the foyer. The band have been famous in Finland since releasing their 1995 debut album, Peep, at the age of 16. But nobody approaches them: the citizens of Helsinki, according to Aki, are too polite and restrained for that. Their Italian and German fans, apparently, are far more demonstrative.

OPEN FOR DRINKING BUSINESS?
We wind up the day with Siberian vodka at Moskva, one of the band’s favourite Helsinki haunts. “It’s a very special place because they open whenever they feel like it,” says Lauri. “All the places we go to are near here. I don’t even have a car, I just have a bicycle.” Moskva is owned by Aki Kaurismäki, one of Finland’s leading film-makers. His most famous movie, Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989), follows a Finnish rock band’s comical attempts to make it in America. When the Rasmus hit the US in May, you sense that it’s going to be a whole lot more serious.

In the Shadows is released on April 5; Dead Letters is out on April 12