A little about my soloproject

I started writing songs like almost 5 years ago when I was in junior highschool. At the time I didn't have my own guitar or anything... I had to resort to my dad's old acoustic guitar (which my brother had actually used for composing some post-rock a few years backwards) and Guitarpro 5. My first songs were not that good (well I guess you can't expect to write masterpieces right away). With time I got better and got used to writing with my equipment. I experimented with different genres and styles differing from electronic to rap to metal and even some classical-influenced but somehow post-rock and post-metal just stuck with me.

A photo of me with my acoustic Landola from early 2012

In early 2011 I had bought my first electric guitar and even upgraded to GuitarPro 6. I started composing and arranging my first album. Some pieces didn't fit to each other and some of the songs were not yet completed when I decided to record the album. During 2012 I had recorded Remedy (part.1) with my brother. I bought some recording equipment and started working on the recordings in November 2012 and decided to try to release it in time for Christmas as a present for my girlfriend. I composed Remedy (part.2) during the recordings and the whole Solitude, My Friend song was an experiment I did one day with recording different sounds on top of an ambient pad loop. 

The concept of the album kind of wrote itself. The songs tell of my loneliness in junior high when I didn't really have many friends and the title of the album Remedy For Solitude refers to my girlfriend who I got to know during my last year there (and we've been together since). 

Front and back cover of my album.

Only 10 physical copies of the album were made and I numbered them by hand

I've been working on new songs for a second release but I feel like I'm having a writers block as I have to write and do everything alone. Finding bandmates would help much with writing. 

You can download my album for free at bandcamp (http://untoldmemories.bandcamp.com/) and follow me in facebook (https://www.facebook.com/untoldproject). By donating money you can help me get new equipment to help me with the next release. 

I really don't feel like translating this all to Finnish :S 

--

Peace and ΓΟΛΕ

 -Matti

Indie Shout Out vol.2

Toinen loistava löytö tänä syksynä oli suomalainen yhdenmiehen bändi/projekti Stars As Lights, jonka uusin julkaisu As If Time Had Stopped on huikea kymmenen kappaleen post-rock teos, jossa jokainen kappale kertoo oman tarinansa.

Stars As Lights on jyväskyläläisen Lauri Paavolaisen sooloprojekti. As If Time Had Stopped on kaikkine post-rock -kliseineenkin juuri täydellinen taidepläjäys minunlaiselleni musiikin ystävälle. Albumi erottuukin joukosta edukseen juuri sävellyksen ja tuotannon puolesta. Koko albumi on rauhoittavan kaunista kuunneltavaa alusta loppuun eikä yksikään kappale kuulosta samalta. Albumin kokonaisuus tuo mieleen Explosions In The Skyn alkutuotannon.

As If Time Had Stopped kuuluu ehdottomasti tämän vuoden parhaimpien post-rockjulkaisujen joukkoon Sigur Rósin ja God Is An Astronautin uusimpien albumien rinnalle.

--

Another great discovery from this fall was the Finnish one-man-band/project Stars As Lights whose newest release As It Time Had Stopped is an immense ten track post-rock work in which every track tells its own story.

Stars As Lights is the solo project of Lauri Paavolainen from Jyväskylä, Finland. As If Time Had Stopped is just the perfect piece of art for a music lover like myself even with all its post-rock cliches. The album sticks out from the crowd with its amazing compositions and production quality. The whole album is restfully beautiful from the beginning all the way until the end and none of the songs sound too much alike. The album as a whole brings to my mind the earlier works of Explosions In The Sky. 

As If Time Had Stopped belongs easily to the top post-rock albums of the year alongside the new albums by Sigur Rós and God Is An Astronaut. 

--

Also the artwork is absolutely amazing! :)

- Peace And ΓΟΛΕ - 
Matti

Indie Shout Out Vol.3

Tamperelainen Consciousness Removal Project (lyhyesti CRP) on soinut jo useamman vuoden iPodissani enkä vieläkään ole kyllästynyt Antti Loposen projektityylisen bändin tuotoksiin tippaakaan. CRP luo uskomattomia tunneilmauksia äärimmäisen taitavasti tuotetuilla albumeillaan (joita bändin katalogista löytyy jo 5 ja lisäksi aikaisempia albumeille päätymättömiä yksittäisiä kappaleita). Uusin albumi Tacit julkaistiin tämän vuoden alussa. Itselle tämä albumi on alkanut aueta vasta viime viikkoina (sen jälkeen kun luin albumin tarinan CRP:n sivuilta (http://consciousnessremovalproject.com/)).

Tacit tuo projektin post-metal-tyyliin uusia kokeilullisia piirteitä elektronisesta, ambientista ja jopa dronesta. Jokainen kappale tuo jotain uutta mukaan ja albumin kohokohta Colossus III: Deadlock luo käännekohdan, jonka jälkeen loput kappaleet käyvät läpi kauniita tunnemaailmoja. Koko albumi loppuu yli kymmenminuuttiseen progressiiviseen ambientvaikutteiseen kappaleeseen The Unknown Known, joka huipentuu post-metalriffittelyyn ja albumin ainoaan vokaaleja sisältävään motiiviin.

Myös CRP:n aiemmat albumit The Last Season, Do You Ever Think It's The End Of The World, 852 ja bändin nimikkoalbumi tuovat levy levyltä jotain uutta CRP:n tyyliin syvällisillä konsepteilla ja äänimaailmoja laajentamalla. Joka levyltä löytyy vierailevia muusikoita, jotka rikastavat albumien musikaalisuutta.

Arvostan Consciousness Removal Projectin etumiestä Antti Loposta sekä säveltäjänä, että taiteilijana ja odotan innolla projectin seuraavaa albumia, joka lienee odotettavissa ensi vuoden puolella.

--

Tampere based Consciousness Removal Project (CRP for shortened) has blasted in my iPod for several years already and I have yet to be bored by a single piece of art by this project-like band of Antti Loponen. CRP creates unbelievable expressions of emotions accompanied with skillful productions on their albums (which the band has already 5 in their catalog plus earlier songs that have not been released on albums). Their newest album Tacit was released in early 2013. For me personally the album has opened its true meaning only during these few weeks (after I read the story behind the album at their website (http://consciousnessremovalproject.com/)).

Tacit brings new experimental traits from electro, ambient and even drone to the projects post-metal style. Every single track adds something new to the mix and the highlight of the album Colossus III: Deadlock marks a turning point after which the rest of the songs undergo beautiful worlds of sensation. The whole album ends with a ten minute progressive ambient-influenced track called The Unknown Known which culminates to slow post-metal riffs and the albums only part with vocals.

Consciousness Removal Project's earlier albums The Last Season, Do You Ever Think It's The End Of The World, 852 and their self-titled album add something new to their style album by album with deep concepts and expanding soundscapes. Every album has quest musicians who enrich the musical traits of the albums.

I respect the frontman Antti Loponen of Consciousness Removal Project both as a composer/songwriter and a respectful artist and I'm eagerly waiting for their next album which can be expected to be released sometime during next year.

 

Cheers to CRP and everyone who respects them as much as I do

- Matti

Come On Die Young

"Of all I knew,
I held too few
And would you stop me,
if I tried to stop you?

Old songs, stay till the end
Sad songs, remind me of friends
And the way it is, I could leave it all
And I ask myself, would you care at all?

When I drive alone at night, I see the steetlights as fairgrounds
And I've tried a hundred times, to see the roadsings as day-glo

Old songs, stay till the end
Sad songs, remind me of friends
And the way it is, I could leave it all
And I ask myself, would you care at all?"

Mogwai - Cody

--

The saddest song I know, Cody had an instant effect on me when I first heard it when I was like 14 or 15.
The line "Old songs, stay till the end, Sad songs, remind me of friends" stuck in my head for eternity and even today is one of the most inspirational piece of lyrics I've ever stumbled upon. 

New guitar cover up on youtube

Uusi kitaracoveri on katsottavissa ja kuunneltavissa youtubekanavallani

--

New guitar cover is up for views and lisnenings on my youtube channel

- Matti

Catch of the year - Vuoden löytö

Tämän syksyn uskomattomin musiikkilöytö minulle oli jyväskyläläinen ∞ (lausutaan eight), joka yhdistelee post-rockin maalailevaa puhtautta ja post-hardcoren aggressiivisuutta - ja vielä suomeksi laulettuna! Bändin noin vuosi sitten julkaistu albumi Näyt Kauas on ladattavissa bandcampista (http://eightband.bandcamp.com/). Myös bändin aiempaa tuotantoa löytyy samalta sivulta.

Näyt Kauas on sekä musiikillisesti, että lyriikallisesti kaunista kuunneltavaa. Erityisesti minuun kolahti kappale Elä Sinä Minusta, joka alkaa hiljaisella introlla ja kasvaa seuraavaan kappaleeseen johdattavaan loppuun.

Elä sinä minusta 

huoli talven synnystä 

tampereen kohdalla. 

Riitteen muutosta järveen 

ovatko kaikki 

ennättäneet jo etelään 

Albumin toinen kappale Hetki Jolloin Emme Tienneet Mitään Toisistamme on selvästi post-metal -vaikutteinen ja jaksaa viihdyttää kuulijaa koko seitsemän minuutin keston.

Bändin lyriikat ovat ovelia ja saavat ajattelemaan niiden oikeata tarkoitusperää. Omien tulkintojeni mukaan lyriikoiden keskeisimpiin teemoihin kuuluu yksinäisyyden kuvaus. 

Odotan innolla mitä ∞ saa aikaan tulevaisuudessa ja suosittelen kaikille pienempienkin bändien tukemista. 

--

My most unbelievable new discovery this fall was a band from Jyväskylä, Finland called ∞ (pronounced eight) which combines artistic purity of post-rock with the aggressive motion of post-hardcore - and they sing in finnish! Their album Näyt Kauas which was released a little over a year ago is available for download at bandcamp (http://eightband.bandcamp.com/). Their older works are also available on the site.  

Näyt Kauas (Finnish for You Appear Afar) is both musically and lyrically beautiful to listen to. Especially the track Elä Sinä Minusta (I wont be translating the names or the lyrics because they can have many meanings and i don't want to upset the band for translating their visions wrong) affected me greatly. The track begins with a quiet intro and builds up into an end which leads to the next track. 

lyrics for Elä Sinä Minusta: 

Elä sinä minusta 

huoli talven synnystä 

tampereen kohdalla. 

Riitteen muutosta järveen 

ovatko kaikki 

ennättäneet jo etelään 

The second track of the album Hetki Jolloin Emme Tienneet Mitään Toisistamme is obviously influenced by post-metal and it keeps the listener entertained for the whole duration of seven minutes. 

Eight's lyrics are genius and make the listener ponder about their real meaning. According to my own interpretation one of the biggest themes of the lyrics is solitude. 

I am eagerly waiting what ∞ does in the future and I deeply recommend everyone to support smaller bands.

--

Peace and ΓΟΛΕ

 -Matti

Comforting Sounds

Eka postaus! Pari päivää oon hiljaa mielessäni miettinyt musablogin aloitusta ja päätin kokeilla. En aio pitää minkäänlaista postausrytmiä, vaan postailen millon huvittaa. Ideoita postauksiin riittää aina top-10 listoista musiikilliseen fiilistelyyn, oman musiikkihistoriani valaisemiseen ja paljon muuta. En oikeastaan itse edes lue muita blogeja, joten tämä on siinäkin mielessä uusi kokemus.

Oma musamakuni ylittää kaikki genrerajat ja pyrin olemaan avoin kaikentyyliselle musiikille aina klassisesta nykymetalliin. Mitään tarkkaa lempibändi-listaa en aio tehdä, mutta muutamia eniten mun elämään vaikuttaneita yhtyeitä on Explosions In The Sky, ISIS, Mogwai, Opeth, Katatonia ja vaikkapa Devin Townsend (aika synkänpuoleiselta vaikuttaa EITS:iä ja Deviniä lukuunottamatta - pitäiskö olla huolissaan).

Mut joo - voisin kertoa hieman itsestäni; olen Joensuulainen 18 v. poika, joka ei voisi elää ilman musiikkia. Soitan kitaraa, laulan, sävellän ja ennenkaikkea kulutan musiikkia sekä kerään levyjä. Kitaraa olen soittanut ehkä nelisen vuotta ja biisejä oon vääntäny yhtä kauan. Oman sooloprojektini demo on ladattavissa ilmaiseksi bandcampista (http://untoldmemories.bandcamp.com). Demon julkaisin joulukuussa 2012 eräänlaisena joululahjana tyttöystävälleni (mut joo, ehkä jauhan Untold Memoriesista jossain toisessa postauksessa).

 Yup, That's me.

 Last.fm:ssä voit seurata minua http://www.last.fm/user/Masavain täältä ja kaveriksikin saa pyytää.

--

First post! I've been thinking of starting a music blog for a few days and now I decided to give it a try. I won't be posting regularly - only when I want to. I have a lot of ideas for future posts like top-10 lists, musical hyping, enlightening my personal history on music and many more. I hardly ever even read other blogs so this will be a new experience in that light also.

My musical taste extends over genre limits and I try to as open as possible for all genres of music ranging from classical to modern metal. I won't be doing a favouritebands -list but some of the bands that have had a significant effect on my life are Explosions In The Sky, ISIS, Mogwai, Opeth, Katatonia and Devin Townsend (quite melancholic except for EITS and Devin - Should I be concerned).

But oh well - I could tell you a little about myself: I am an 18 y.o boy from Joensuu, Finland and I couldn't live without music. I play guitar, sing, compose and above all consume music and collect albums. I've been playing the guitar roughly for 4 years and making songs as long. My personal soloproject's demo is available for a free download in bandcamp (http://untoldmemories.bandcamp.com/). I released the demo in December 2012 as a christmas gift for my fiance (but anyhow, maybe I will ramble about Untold Memories in other posts).

You can follow me in Last.fm at http://www.last.fm/user/Masavain and i will accept friend requests too.

Peace and ΓΟΛΕ

 -Matti