Articles of 2006

Pauli Rantasalmi, an unbelieveable productive guy!

Soundi {Finland} ~ February 2006

Two hundred days abroad on tours or doing promotion. Writing and recording of The Rasmus's Hide From The Sun-album. Composing and producing of Kwan's Little Notes-album, which is going to be released in the end of March. Building of the Dynasty-studioblock. Pauli Rantasalmi didn't survive through last year without running.
The end of January 2006. Pauli Rantasalmi, who has again for a change increased shaggy curlies, stares a humorous kung fu-movie from a gigantic wall-TV in the Dynasty-studio in Helsinki. The place, which got ready last september and which is furnished cosily, is Rantasalmi's and The Rasmus's soloist Lauri Ylönen's dream which has come true.
- It's damn nice being on the road, but it undeniably little strained to leave for three month's tour immediately after the studio got ready. I would have gladly enjoyed the product of the work even for a moment, Pauli sneers.
After a couple of moments, the 26 years old musician bustles with his Macintosh-laptop in Dynasty's coinjoint kitchen- and caferoom. Pide Von Hertzen, who also influenced in Lemonator, is lying in the Mac's background, the photo is shooted in Mother Amma's (a.k.a. the saint Mata Amritanandamayi) temple in India. Rantasalmi spent there restful two weeks around Christmas.
- I also bought there those monk's light-coloured clothes, because it was annoying to differ so clearly from everybody. I wandered there around, took many photos and wrote songs with an acoustic.
Pauli shows quickly Little Note's binding from his laptop and thinks half aloud, that the hole in the middle of a collage made from Kwan's musicians ("the musicians' common/shared ass") must be taken out from the final version. Antti Eräkangas, who is Kwan's guitarist and who has mixed the Little Notes-album and who has sat on the other producer's stool, appears to the resting room and nods approvingly to the cover-suggestion. The clock is ticking already 8PM but Eräkangas's workday isn't done, not at all. And the man disappears soon back to work, at the mixing table.
- I was away during the studiowork of Little Notes, but Antti helped me to know what's happening, by sending me MP3-files to everywhere. Though I wasn't worried, because Eräkangas has become a very good producer along all the years. Those few disagreements too have been only like "should we have more delay here".
Rantasalmi answers in Kwan's situation for almost all the music and also in The Rasmus is his contribution extremely remarkable. And that's why it's a bit surprising that Pauli makes so few interviews.
- I gladly concentrate more on the things that I really feel like controlling. Lauri and Aki (Hakala, the drummer) represent The Rasmus finely and also Kwan's leader figures Mariko and Tidjan handle the media capably. Why should I be being the voice?

Near an ejection
It's safe to characterize Pauli Rantasalmi as the body and soul of Kwan. He has written almost all the music that the band has released (even though on the cover of the debut album Dynasty, which sold finely with the hit Padam, it says "all music and lyrics by Kwan") and also produced the albums with Antti Eräkangas.
- Kwan originated from The Rasmus's Hellofatester's subsequent "the crisis of the third album". We started to make plans for the line of the fourth album (Into) and decided to focus on the strengths and forget all the strange rhythm elements. Well, at that time, The Rasmus had had time to test almost all the possible styles starting from reggae and hiphop (laughing). It has its side in testing, but we just plainly had to (me: I tried to make a translation for it, but couldn't. It means like stop doing all that. Or put an end to it).
- all those stupid things started usually from my pen. I thought first, that oh shit, here's the end of the nice madness-time, now let's just make straight rock. Then I got an idea to start Kwan or a band, which could utilize all the crazy "useless" rhythmic elements that remained from The Rasmus. I started to develop more actively crazy beats, hiphop-bases, popmelodies and all kind of weirdness. Then at some moment I called Tidjan, that hey come to test a couple of songs. So at first I didn't even think that Kwan could have a female singer. And at the same time was Killer, which represented the third styleway, also arised, wasn't it? Even though The Rasmus was being a little more quiet at that time, I was personally having lots of work with three different kind of band.
- Of course it could be quickly learned to notice, that which song works with The Rasmus and which song with Kwan. Lauri might have listened to some of my new song a little, and then think that "this sounds just like Kwan, doesn't it...A good going, but way too pop-music for us". We tested this thing also by playing with The Rasmus some Kwan's style's things. But no, it didn't go very well.
Kwan's debut album was born in Rantasalmi's fifteen square meter-sized working-house (Soundgrotto-studio). As the heart of the working was beating a 500MG's computer.
- About a couple of guys could fit to the Soundgrotto at a time. The others were just harm and interruption. I almost got even an ejection because of Dynasty. Tidjan sand choruses of the album and the neighbours were being angry, like "hey be damn a little more quiet there!" (laughing)...By the way it's cool that Kwan could never had been put to any category. Of course there came lots of hiphop-influences to Dynasty, but Kwan was still being only like a swearword to underground-hoppers. Certain groups grumbled, like "this isn't real, this has melodic singing too". Nowadays the definiton of Kwan is even more difficult. Perhaps something weird pop?

Embarrassing to tell
Kwan's second album The Die Is Cast (2002) continued the debut album's soul, although it carried the group further from a fundamentalistic hiphop to poppier choruses' world. Also dark bows were giving colours to many songs.
- We didn't decide, that "let's make a bow-album". It was more like something like only ecstasy of the moment. Superfluous calculation simply just doesn't work; for example once I tried to make a second unit of Padam, but the result was so horrible, like mud!People have often wondered this change of Kwan's style from melodic hiphop into something else, haven't they... But what's so surprising with it?People and thinks change. Someone wants to become a NHL-star when being ten years old and walks in warming up -trousers everywhere. A couple of years past and then the same guy wants to become a rockstar. Then he's having a leather jacket on him, chains and so on. There happens development in everyone's style. Or declining.
From the bases of the in 2004 released Love Beyond This World-album's songs' can still be found hiphop-rhythms, but rapping couldn't be heard almost at all anymore. The atmosphere of the album differed from the first two Kwan's albums in other ways too, for example with it's movieish sound.
The "Dynasty"- concept meant originally a group that was formed by the members of The Rasmus, Kwan and Killer and a couple of specially chosen friends. "Fairly bohemian gang", like Pauli Rantasalmi describes the group. From this friendgroup got its name also Dynasty Recordings, which is a fresh company of Rantasalmi, Lauri Ylönen, Antti Eräkangas and Antti Eriksson. At the subjection of the Dynasty Recordings is also for example a studio and a disconcern.
Rantasalmi and Ylönen also have their own workrooms in the spaces of Dynasty Recordings.
- The idea of the studio started maybe about ten years ago. Since then we have been dreaming of a place where you could make music, spend spare time and so on. And you can also think this studio as an investment for the future. That you have at least some place when the bands start to break up on someday. And wouldn't it of course be unbelieveable to make The Rasmus's next album in your own spaces!
The first artists of the Dynasty Recordings are Kwan and Von Hertzen Brothers. Both of the group's bands' albums (Little Notes and Approach) will be released in the end of March. However, Dynasty Recordings doesn't have a delivery so far, so Rantasalmi and workmates are going to license their own releases to the directions that they think are adapted.
- We listened to Von Hertzen Brothers's fresh material and it made a crazy wince. We thought then, that we might really find the power to help them forwards. The collaboration started when the band liked the idea too. It's just so brilliant that so different kind of guys and so different aged guys can work together.
- We believe strongly in ourselves but we aren't still going to take too big bounds at a time. The bustle can grow little by little, with its own weight. Of course it would be cool to support all kind of bands but then again, I wouldn't want to go bankruptcy very soon. And I don't want to take too much stress about this avocation, this should be fun. We concentrate on our strenghts; making songs and producing them. And we leave for example the delivery to them who have an experience of it behind years.
Pauli has lately written music for "an unnamed project for now". That's why Dynasty Recordings is looking for "a female popsinger aged between 18 and 25".
- I've got plans and songs if we find the adapted soloist. But this thing is "to be continued" for now, because the avocation isn't really ready-made yet. But I can tell you, that the songs I've made, are very different comparing to my earlier composations.
- Many people talk about me as a productive guy, but I don't really know... Maybe I just have more time when I'm not doing all those things that belong the rocklife. I mean for example drinking excessively beer. No, I like more making songs. If I'm in Finland, I come every day to the studio and write music. Then I play new things to the guys and for example play a little bit of PlayStation.

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  • translation by: Gwindorfyel