SESSIONS2 made a one-man-journey to Lahti on Tuesday 09.03.2004 to make an interview with the undisputed number one of the Finnish NRG, namely, Carbon Based. The whole group was present: Teemu Lahtinen, Petteri Kääpä, Toni Eronen, Ari Virtanen aka DJ E-NRG and also as a representative of FINRG Records, Ville Sorsa aka DJ Rx. The boys were in a good and talkative mood and as a result lots of interesting stuff about their future plans was revealed quite spontaneously. We managed to do a part of the interview with more or less semi-serious face and attitude but at some point we kind of lost even the last bit of seriousness… and that was only a good thing!
SESSIONS2 / Jone: I heard your music perhaps for the first time about 18 months ago. From where did you show up back then?
Petteri: Let’s see, what would have happened 18 months ago? We’ve been making music together since 1996 and you’ve probably heard from us around the time when the first vinyl was published. Ari came along at that time and we started working perhaps more seriously and found our current style, which is a bit faster style of music.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: That’s right, you used to make somewhat different music earlier?
Petteri: Yeah, we’ve tried out all kinds of things. We started off with hard core, rave and drum’n’base. Members of Mayday and other artists like that were a great influence at that time. In addition to that we’ve made more pop-like stuff, mostly like trance. Trance has probably been a kind of a guideline as far as the melodies are concerned.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: How did you come up with your current style? What’s been the motive behind that?
Toni: It just hit us. We used to go to clubs where that kind of music was played.
Petteri: It was totally new. We hadn’t heard that kind of stuff before.
Toni: Ari used to play harder stuff from vinyls and we sort of had to try to create same kind of material.
Teemu: Hard dance scene in Lahti has been quite lively in a sense that there was the club Nuutti that offered hard dance music on every Friday and Saturday and right after Nuutti ended, the Storm took its place… they might have even coexisted for a while. So the supply has been extremely good at least in Lahti. I went to a hard dance event in Helsinki for the first time about three years ago.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: At that time you apparently didn’t make this kind of music? At least I don’t remember having seen you perform at Storms and I think I visited almost all of them.
Petteri: I don’t think that we were recognized then at all. Back then we were “nobodies” and I’m not even sure if our sound was developed enough in order to have worked out properly.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: According to your own opinion, when did you start to make your appearance to the public?
Petteri: Maybe it was partly due to the party organizers. I have to stress the importance of the relations and I need to mention at least Karri K by name in this occasion. Karri was pretty much the first to start booking us to other cities and that probably got started when we had raves here in Lahti, and Karri used to play there quite often and then he heard us play. So Karri has been a big help and it is also impossible to emphasize enough the fact that the breakthrough doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the talent but with your personality and how you manage to promote yourself.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Nowadays you are becoming quite sought-after?
Toni: Luckily we are now having a break with the gigs so there won’t be any live-gigs for at least a couple of months. So there’s time to make music.
Petteri: Yeah, I have to say that this break came at the right time.
Ari: But I don’t think we have turned down any gigs yet? In any case, it will happen at some point since we don’t want to disassemble the studio every time.
Petteri: Up until now we have never turned down a gig without some compelling reasons that have totally prevented us from taking the gig. We’ve never said no just because we didn’t feel like it. Well, okay, to be honest I have to admit that we have rejected some after-parties. It’s not so much fun to carry all the equipment around in the middle of the night.
Teemu: But there will be one exception next autumn.
Petteri: As far as gigs are concerned, we’ll have to give some credit to Proteus. All of the gigs in Säde have been big and significant for us and Proteus has been playing some of our latest tracks in the UK and has said positive things about us. All that has been very important.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: You have actually had the opportunity to play in England?
Petteri: Yeah, we had one gig there and I suppose Ari could tell more about the events abroad.
Ari: We’re going to Australia in the summer. On the 2nd and 3rd of July we have gigs in Melbourne and Adelaide. In Adelaide they are having the biggest party of the winter season and there will be about 5000 people. They will reveal the place a couple of days before the event and it would be sold out even if they didn’t promote it at all. The crowd will come probably because this event is considered the best one, even though all the information about it is given as a wild card.
Teemu: That Hard Kandy is also fucking famous there. It’s probably the best-known club in Australia.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: So the other one of the gigs is going to be there?
Ari: Yeah, the music scenes there are different in every city. Adelaide is the place for faster music and in Melbourne they dig HardNRG, much like Karim. Then there is some techno-city; I don’t remember now which one. Maybe Sydney.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Do you have any idea how the Finnish style will work there?
Ari: Well, there wouldn’t be no gig there if somebody hadn’t heard our music for example through those publications.
Petteri: There have been some positive writings about us in some Australian forums equivalent to our Platinum and Klubitus.
Teemu: Almost more than in the British forums.
Ari: The stuff that they listen to in Australia is mostly foreign. They don’t have too many artists of their own. Back there Carbon Based is just as well-known as any published artist. In the UK they have more domestic artists to choose from.
Petteri: Direct Vinyl Distribution must have done good work since they take care of the distribution to Australia.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: After your gig in England I visited some local forums and read the comments and it seems like nobody had anything negative to say. However they seemed to be a little astonished at your outfit, you were considered Goths?
(laughter)
Petteri: We were surprised too.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: I thought it was pretty interesting since you don’t really have any Goth-image?
Toni: Well, I had black clothes and a rave-skirt.
Teemu: The crowd was mainly wearing either neon-green or orange construction worker vest… and they had decorated them with all kinds of drawings.
Ari: Original hard core stuff.
Petteri: Yeah, quite different from Finnish raves.
Ari: Maybe less superficial in a way. There were no restrictions on one’s appearance; nobody needed to feel uncomfortable. I mean, here in Finland somebody might feel like an outsider. Back there it didn’t matter how you were dressed when you showed up.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Then I could ask something about your publications. You’re about to release an EP right these days?
Toni: It is possible to pre-order Carbon Based – Straight out of Finland from the web site of Electronica Exposed.
Ari: It will be available in Mosso as soon as it’s published.
Petteri: It’s gonna have some great labels with good old Finnish spirit.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: What about CDs? There has been a great deal of demand for CD-format at least here in Finland.
Petteri: We made three successful live-recordings at the Movement. At some point we are likely to release a three CD package from that event.
Ville: A package of three or one by one, it’s not certain yet. In any case at least a part of those sets will come out in one format or another.
Ari: We intend to release it as soon as possible. Optimal situation would be of course if we could do it before going to Australia.
Petteri: At this point we aren’t releasing any individual tracks on CD but this live recording with tracks mixed together and the background noises of the crowd will definitely come out. Generally speaking, I could say about the publications that there is a long list of track waiting to be published so those people who like this kind of music will unfortunately have to wait for a while. The tracks you’ve heard us play on the gigs are just about to be released.
Toni: Also other labels besides Electronica will begin to publish our stuff.
Petteri: Even though this has nothing to do with Carbon Based, I would like to mention that we have some plans with FiNRG to launch an mp3-store. In that way it would be possible to publish at faster rate, and also artists who are not sure where to send their material or how to proceed or who simply can’t get it done could produce commercial publications at some level.
Ari: It could serve as a stepping-stone for several Finnish artists.
Petteri: The purpose would be to concentrate on Finland and the rest of the Scandinavia.
Teemu: It’s been great to notice that there is real potential in this country. I don’t know whether we have anything to do with that but I would guess that we have given at least a little spark.
Petteri: It may also have something to do with the fact that the VST-synthesizers have improved so much that more people are actually able to do these kinds of things. You don’t need to buy those tremendously expensive synthesizers and still you can create some great sounds.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: In fact, I’ve been following with interest, how in the wake of your example there has emerged more and more harder edged music in Finland. Extremely positive thing about this is, that some of the new stuff sounds also fucking great.
Toni: There are some kick-ass Finnish hard trance artists; the first name that comes to my mind is Alek Száhala.
Teemu: Re-Form has also gained eminence; they too have record deals with two labels in the UK. I’m also pretty sure that Pain on Creation is going to be something.
Petteri: I agree, they are totally promising. Just a couple of months and we’ll hear from them. Unfortunately I have only heard a few tracks through Klubitus.
Ari: I recall that already a year ago Hypnodisk made an impression, it was good. It was well mastered and they have still improved. I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of them.
At this point we took a break because Teemu and Petteri had to leave for work.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Carbon Based has quite recognizable sound; you know that a track is by Carbon Based almost immediately…
Toni: Oh shit, we’ll have to get rid of that.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: As I see it, this is the way that almost all the good artists have it; you have found your own sound. It’s merely a good thing that you are able to leave your mark on your music in an identifiable way. So, what I would like know is where does this sound of yours come from, where are its roots?
Toni: I’m not really sure where it comes from… it just comes. Many of the tracks are made from the very beginning to the end with my home PC, from where it goes straight to the production. So much about all the fancy stuff.
Ari: Basically, there’s nothing special about the sound. Some praise it for being somehow extraordinary or claim that something’s done to the voice itself but it’s our melodies, lead sound and filters that make it so Carbon Based.
Toni: The original thing must have started off by a virus. That certain kind of lead sound that we may have used quite a lot. Similar kind of sound can be produced with many types of software too.
Ari: Originally we didn’t aim at making some specific Finnish sound… Older production of Lab-4 and Epilim were inspiring. Even though Lab-4 doesn’t make that kind of sound anymore, it must have influenced us in the beginning because we used to listen to that stuff and we liked it. Then, little by little, we formed our own sound.
Toni: All in all, you end up making the kind of sound you like yourself.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: About Finnishness, have you acted as ambassadors of Finnish customs when being abroad?
Toni: Well, at very least we have taught some swearwords.
Ari: We’ve also tried to take everyone to the sauna.
Ville: We took some Finlandia-vodka to England when we last went there. We gave it as Christmas gift to Derek, who is Kevin’s (Energy) father in Nu Energy, and then to Richie (The Mexican) and to James (DOK) and…
SESSIONS2 / Jone: And I guess they liked it there as well?
Ville: Yeah, I told them not to mix it with anything, just put it to freezer and drink it straight up.
Ari: Sauna is kind of peculiar thing because some have thought that they might try it out, but alone of course. The rest, that is the major part of the Brits and one American, that we have tried to get to experiment sauna have been like “No way! Over my dead body!” The attitude has been like that men don’t show their privates in the same room… (laughter) They feel like it’s the same thing as you would suggest an ass-fuck to one of your friends when they hear you say “Let’s go to the sauna.” We noticed that there is one hell of a cultural difference even though people don’t talk about it. To some people it’s really something disgusting.
Ville: Should we tell the “Saunaboys”-story now?
Ari: I suppose that the whole thing started off when Richie and James started to call us the “Saunaboys” since we go to the sauna.
Ville: We were trying to get them to the sauna all the time and then finally we would hear remarks like “Yeah, sure… what do you really do in the sauna together?” (laughter) I just told them that I got my lubricant with me, so come along.
Ari: …and as a final point every sentence would end with “in the sauna”.
SESSIONS2 / Jone: It seems that the “Saunaboys” as an “institution” is a bit larger than just Carbon Based? Who else is there besides you?
Ari: I guess everyone we have dealt with.
Toni: Well, Re-Form at least.
Ari: There is always room for one more in the sauna… and also behind it. (laughter)
SESSIONS2 / Jone: When I last visited Lahti, there was some talk about a publication called “Behind the Sauna”. Is it just a joke or is it really coming out?
Toni: I wonder if this project belongs to Lahtinen…?
Ari: Well, perhaps it’s the next track. No matter what kind of track it’s gonna be.
Toni: And then there was “Las Palmas”.
Ari: …and one of the names was “In the Heat” (laughter) …and someone suggested that we should also make a “12 inch swede mix”. (massive laughter) 12 inch Swede. (hysterical laughter)
SESSIONS2 / Jone: I think that this proves the fact that you don’t need to be always so serious and keep a straight face.
Toni: You should always have a twinkle in your eye!
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Let’s talk about this fairly new thing; Carbon Based as a resident of Rush?
Ari: Yeah, that’s true. However, we won’t be playing in every event, only about 3-4 times a year. We have currently been cooperating with Sebastian quite a lot. Sebastian is about to launch his own managing and promotion operation and at the same time he’s organizing some more special gigs for us without becoming our manager though… These things he’ll do alongside his own work. There won’t be any phone calls like “Hey boys, you’ve been booked to play at Ämmänsaari.” (laughter)
SESSIONS2 / Jone: Any final words? Greetings to mom and dad?
Toni: Yeah, hi folks! In addition, you should all visit our web site at www.carbonbased.info.
Ari: Thanks to everyone who’s been listening, commenting and giving feedback. It motivates us to continue to do these things.
SESSIONS2 would like to thank Carbon Based and Rx for this interview. At the same occasion we managed to do also another interview that deals more specifically with the operations of FINRG Records and its sister label FINRG Hard as well as FINRG Agency. We attempt to get this interview on the web site as soon as possible.
Translation by Tiina Lintula
