An absolutely wicked month was kick started in fine style with a week in Finland. DOK and I stayed with Toni from Carbon Based and his lovely girlfriend Laura. Thanks very much for putting up with us! They live in Lahti, which for those who don't know the geography of Finland well, is about 100km north of Helsinki. The week days were spent relaxing and attempting to write a tune! Attempting being the operative word, as the local was a lovely place called La Vida, with a happy hour that lasts 8 hours! As the local is nearly within spitting distance of the studio, producing music got sidelined very quickly and replaced with beer and Jack Daniels consumption!
Toni and Ari aka E-nrg were our main tour guides for the week, and apart from showing us the delights of La Vida, they also brought Hesburger to our attention! Hesburger is the Finnish version of McDonalds but with a few differences: the food actually looks edible, it is edible!, the meat is actually meat and not a poor rendition of meat, and the mayonnaise in the burgers has to be tasted to be believed. So impressed were DOK and myself with Hesburger, that we ate there daily! I've been feeling withdrawal symptoms for two weeks now!
On day two, Nemes and Proteus came down to enjoy the fun! Proteus came armed with a crate of beer and although a hard day of music had been scheduled, carnage ensued! Apparently, everytime Proteus goes to make a tune with Carbon Based, the beer soon stops work! The furthest they've ever got is some percussion and a bass line - lol! Anyway, a great days drinking was had and it was great to meet Nemes and Proteus properly. The carnage continued until a slaughtered local started a philosophical debate about just about everything and then proceeded to sing 'London Bridge Is Falling Down'!
Also, got to mention Teemu and Petteri from Carbon Based, who were also in attendance at many of the drinking sessions and were also great company! Teemu is the most hardcore drinker, and he was usually the pace setter for everyone to follow, and I dare anyone to keep up the same pace! Also requiring a mention is Kimmo, who is friends with the Carbon Based massive and who drove us around on a number of occasions - thanks geezer!
The next couple of days were spent in the studio... well, we were in the studio more than before, but more drinking was definitely in order! Unfortunately, La Vida closed down for two days as it changed owners, so we had to seek new drinking venues. The main one was an Irish pub - is it me or is there anywhere there isn't an Irish pub? On the Thursday, Alek Száhala came down and it was great to meet him. Luckily so, as a few days later he started his compulsory military duties. I mentioned Alek briefly in last months post. Alek started making music at 11 and mainly wrote techno. However, he recently heard Carbon Based live, which gave him the inspiration to write freeform, all of which is exceptionally good and has a real uniqueness. Alek is definitely a name to watch and he has tracks scheduled for release on Electronic and Finrg Hard.
Unfortunately, on the Friday, DOK had to fly back to the UK to do some urgent studio work at his own studio, but luckily most of the work on the track was now finished and it was decided that Toni would finish the track at a later date. Don't remember much of it now, except it's banging, but it will be released on Electrolysis and is a currently untitled collaboration between Carbon Based, DOK Narty, E-nrg and that dodgy The Mexican geezer who seems to put it around a bit!
Well, Friday came and so Alek, Nemes, E-nrg and myself gave DOK a lift to the airport, before we went to Helsinki. Säde, where I was DJing on the Saturday, do a special all weekend affair each summer and this was that weekend. After dropping DOK at the airport, we drove into Helsinki. Driving into Helsinki is quite a strange experience. It's like driving down a near empty country road.. and it's like that all the way into the centre of the city. Helsinki is the capital of the country, but only has a population of 500,000 - about a tenth of the population of the country. Anyway, we parked up close to Gloria, which is the club where Säde is held.
Gloria is like a miniature version of Camden Palace. If you haven't been to Camden, it's basically a converted cinema or theatre. You walk down a few steps into the club and there's a long room for general milling around and a cloakroom. There are some doors directly in front of the stairs, which lead to the dance floor, which can accomodate about 500-600 people. Upstairs above the long room is the bar, which is the same size and was doing a lovely deal on Vodka Red Bull - superb! 
Above the dance floor is a balcony that goes round three sides of the dance floor with seating for everyone to chill out on. There are also some of the old style theatre booths, which you can get to from two corridors, which also have a lot of seating. Above all though, Gloria is a tidy, well kept and pleasant place to party!
Säde definitely know how to put on a party! The sound system was rocking, the light show was stunning and there was nice decor placed all around Gloria! In the VIP room, they had a huge bowl. Someone had somehow obtained some 80% alcohol, which was poured into the bowl in phases with some Sprite. Everyone in the room was continually topping themselves up and quite a large amount of this concoction was consumed in a short period of time. I was also treated to a few other perks, but I won't go into what they were here! 
All of the Säde DJs were playing back to back that night, two tunes each at a time. The styles they all play range from normal trance to freeform, and so this was very interesting to see pulled off. However, it was done well and the rhythm of the night built naturally all of the way through to the climax.
The only down side to clubbing in Finland is that the music has to stop half an hour before the venue closes, so that everyone can leave the venue in time, which is a shame, but the Finnish just show you how to make the most of the time that you do have! After leaving the club, a long car journey back to Lahti took us to more carnage at a house in the country. This was where I was personally invited to the sauna with the sauna boys! Before everyone starts to worry, the sauna boys was a long running joke relating to - well, I think you get the picture! Just be wary of Swedish males in the sauna - lol! It was in the early hours that I got the official sauna boys photo [see above] and Ville aka Rx personally invited me in - ha ha!
Although the plan on the Saturday had been to travel into Helsinki early, the long night lead to a long sleep and no sight of morning! So afternoon arrived, and E-nrg, Rx, Nemes and myself drove to Helsinki again. Would like to big up Nemes at this point, as he drove me round all weekend, which was much appreciated! Next time it's someone else's turn, so he can party hard! Anyway, reached the club in time to get a quick run through the sound system.
Having not eaten much all day, I quickly grabbed some food, after a brief phase of spirit consumption. The bowl was back with a vengeance on the Saturday with the 80% stuff replaced with 96% stuff. This was going down well yet again. However, I was a little worried. I can usually handle my alcohol pretty well, but I sensed that the Finns like to try and get the foreign DJs really mullered and my suspicions weren't helped by people saying things like " Don't worry if you're really pissed, the crowd won't mind if you're all over the place!" Hmmm...
I had a camera and took loads of photos. Yes, loads! Ok, you're now wondering where they all are. Well, most of them are crap and most were ruined by smoke. My camera had a flash, which I thought might be useful, but I learnt that smoke reflects the flash and so makes it look like there's more smoke than there actually is. Quite obvious really, but it serves me right for having a cheap, disposable camera and not a nice decent digital camera.
There was a lot of meeting and greeting people all night, half of whom I can't remember, and I was really enjoying myself. Maybe a little bit too much, but hey! Säde was due to finish at 3.00 [the music stops at 2.30] and I was scheduled to play 12.15 - 1.45. Inifinity were playing live before me and they play 145bpm trancey stuff. That was great as I was starting with some faster hard trance and was going to build it up, finishing with some hard freeform, ready for Proteus to let rip afterwards. So, a few minutes before the start of my set, I ventured behind the decks and started getting out my CDs and vinyl ready to grab when needed.
Infinity finished, and after a brief technical hitch, I was rocking and fuelled with three Vodka and Red Bulls, which Proteus had just bought me! Hell, even if I hadn't been rocking, my heart rate was about 180bpm anyway and was perfectly tuned into proceedings! To start with I moved between hard 303 driven acid techno and deeper and darker hard trance. The pitch on the decks increased throughout, and at the end 'Beast Of Hardcore' was blaring out at 180bpm+! The sound system was really clear and meant I could get into some prolonged beat mixing, my preferred DJing style. Throughout the set, the Säde crowd were responding like nutters to the tunes and were a real pleasure to play to - respect to you all!
As 'Beast Of Hardcore' played its course, Proteus appeared next to me and we danced and bounced togther hand in hand, which everyone thought was wicked and it was a really great moment! Then, Proteus came with the onslaught. If you've never seen Proteus, I suggest you get out of your hideaway and go to see him play in Finland or at Logic in London, which he is resident at. Technically he's absolutely mind blowing, but he is the first DJ I've ever seen to also perform. Great moments include Proteus standing on the decks hyping the crowd, or wandering off, only to hear the crowd shouting louder and louder for his return! Excellent stuff!
It took an eternity to leave Säde, but in all honesty I didn't want to go anywhere as I'd had such a good time! Yet again, there was another car journey and I have to thank Rx, E-nrg, Nemes and Teemu for providing some of the most amusing late night entertainment ever! Can't say what here! Back to the house again, but not for long this time, as the heavy weekend had taken it's toll and I was exhausted.
The next day went too quickly as everyone struggled to regain control of their minds, before Nemes drove me to the airport and the plane took me home. All I have left to say is thank you to everyone I met in Finland for showing me such a wicked time and being so nice, including: Toni Carbon Based and his girlfriend Laura - many thanks for the book and letting us stay!, E-nrg - for being wicked all week, Nemes - next time you party!, Rx - how's the ribs?, Teemu Carbon Based - how's the hangover?, Petteri Carbon Based - do a hard version of 'Invisble Storm'! - and his girlfriend, Toni and Laura's housemate and guests, Kimmo - hope you haven't experienced the pain again like on the Friday night!, Proteus and his girlfriend - many thanks for letting me play and making my weekend extra special!, Alek Száhala - don't let the army stop you making tunes!, Antti from Re-form - next time we'll have to make up for not meeting and bring Lasse too! , Octan - I want to sign more records!, Infinity, DJ Criss - I hope you're not still disillusioned about Chelsea!, Jouni Väänänen - wicked photos!, Neon, Ioni, Friik, Triton, Sasha F, Missiah, Vincent Vega, Blender, everyone else at Säde, the crowd at Säde, anyone else I may have missed and the pissed guy from La Vida for his exceptional singing voice! Also, big thanks to Karri K, who I never met, but helped instigate the whole thing - thank you very much geezer! 
