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Sataman Yö Festival Line Up: Automatic Eye, Anna Abreu Chisu, Pete Parkkonen, Doom Unit & The Rasmus
When in Finland, do what Finns do. And in summer they go to music festivals. There are loads of them: starting from the famous ones such as Ruisrock (with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Talent, Slash, Regina Spektor this year ), Provinssirock (Rammstein, Bullet For My Valentine, A Day To Remember), Tuska (Megadeth), Ilosaarirock (Biffy Clyro), Tammerfest, Sauna Open Air (Kiss) and ending with a “cute little” one (as the Rasmus called it on their facebook) like Sataman Yö in Jyväskylä. To be honest, I was brought there by curiosity as the headliners of it were announced as The Rasmus. So what is this festival? How does it fit in this summer festivals rush in Finland? And why did the Rasmus choose it among all others?
Sataman Yö is translated from Finnish as “a night in the harbour”, and you understand why it was named so when you arrive in Jyväskylä (a small, lovely Finnish town) and walk along its harbour, lit with sunset to the festival’s venue. Pop fest area is the biggest one over there but there is also a rock stage and Finnish Karaoke (strangely popular kind of entertainment in Finland and the funniest thing to watch, indeed!). It lasts for four days but there is no camping as people prefer just to stay overnight for the gigs they like. It has no age limit on the first day though during the rest ones you have to show your ID.
As for the line-up of Sataman Yö, the main principle the organizers follow when choosing the artists is that they would be truly popular at present. To some people’s surprise, The Rasmus still enjoy a huge popularity and it was not that easy to get them for the festival but as its Media Manager Risto Urrio remarked “Artists like coming back there” and so do The Rasmus.
In general the festival does really leave favourable impressions with its visitors, and it is interesting and useful to go there to grasp the understanding of what is popular in.
Automatic Eye
This buoyant pop-rock band with happy-go-lucky melodies and life-asserting lyrics have already been presented to you earlier in AmpedReviews. As usual Pete and Heikki appeared to be a very pleasant live act to see and the right band to open up for Anna Abreu and Chisu on the first, all-ages day at Sataman Yö. Their songs and Heikki’s jumping tricks cheered everybody around from 10 to 50 years old, and 'Die, honey' even brightened up the faces of tough-looking tattooed Finnish guys. As far as I know, this autumn will bring some big news about Automatic Eye that I’m anticipating pretty much.
Anna Abreu
Anna Abreu is a 20-year old Finnish singer of Portuguese origin (her full name is Anna Eira Margarida Mourão de Melo e Abreu) who started her career by participating in Finnish Pop Idol, signed to Sony BMG and has recorded three albums (all of them becoming platinum). Her single 'Vinegar' was released in the UK last year and peaked at number 7 on the UK Club Chart. To be honest, seeing her live at Sataman Yö evoked mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, she is definitely a 100% pop TV product, though a rather good one: modern dance rhythm songs plus glamorous looks. On the other hand, she’s got a surprisingly powerful voice (for such a small and young girl) and a truly impressive band which is equipped with all kinds of contemporary electronic instruments from electro xylophone to the latest model of synth and sampler. By and large, there is absolutely nothing special about this singer but if you want to build up your own opinion check out her biggest hit 'Music Everywhere' which is catchy like hell.
Chisu
This artist is a rare example of a genuine musician having a feeling for music and creating refined musical masterpieces. Chisu has a professional music education background, and she used to write songs for Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish vocalist). Not so long ago she started to perform the songs herself, and this year she is a singer who is most often spoken of. Unfortunately, she sings only in Finnish but to grasp the uniqueness of her music, listen to 'Baden-Baden,' 'Muut' ('Others') or 'Sama Nainen' ('Same Woman'). 'Baden-Baden,' for example, is a hilarious song about financial crisis in Finland in which Chisu suggests Finns should sell their tears (as they are quite a depressive country) to Baden-Baden to make money. And in 'Muut' she offers to seal the leaking sky by kiss – it’s a beautiful love song. Her music combines the elements of pop, folk, jazz and soul. When she is on the stage, she turns the show into a theatrical music performance where she is balancing between tragedy and comedy enchanting the audience with her soft vocal, beauty and stylish looks and moves. Chisu’s band consists of talented musicians as well which she treats with greatest respect and lets them act in her music theater to the utmost. Eero, the bass player of the Rasmus, is shooting a documentary about her this year, and she was also the main hero in the Rasmus’ video 'F-f-f-falling.'
Pete Parkkonen
Pete is another “Finnish Pop Idol” (making it third in 2008), 20 years old, full lips, brown skin, black curls, nothing of a Finn at all but definitely with something “Adam Lambertish” about his overall style. He is the one who tries to look and behave as a rock star though what comes out of that is an odd image of Rikki Martin which went bananas then to Finland, got rock-infected and now believes that he is a Finn and plays real rock. Pete has an interesting husky voice, not very powerful though, and a few pop singles with rock arrangement like 'I’m an Accident,' 'Final Day' and 'Girl in a Uniform' that are pretty nice. There is nothing special about him live, and my forecast is that next year nobody will remember who Pete Parko… Perkele…P-p-p…. oh, what was the name of that curly guy?
Doom Unit
These four brutal guys are a classical example of a Finnish heavy metal band. Though not young themselves, they formed the band not so long ago and released their debut album named 'Cross the Line' in 2009. The singles 'Chameleon' and 'Killing Time' turned out to be a huge success, and this summer Doom Unit is in the list of the majority of Finnish rock fests. They sound really good live, interact pretty well with the audience, and at Sataman Yö they played lots of tributes so it was hot indeed on the rock stage that day.
The Rasmus
I’m sure I do not need to present this band. They are such an incredible success since their early ages that one can feel free to label them “mainstream” and cross them out from the list of their favourites. But wait a minute! Does “mainstream” necessarily mean “bad” or “not worth speaking about”? I agree that with some bands or singers it is really like that, though I cannot agree that The Rasmus is the case. Don’t you think that these guys are just lucky that their music fits in the modern pop culture, being radio friendly, stylishly dark and with the right amount of rock in it? When somebody thinks about Finnish bands, most often he or she names HIM, Nightwish… and The Rasmus. They were one of the bands that made Europeans turn their heads (and ears) towards Finland and recognize it as a motherland of great music (apart from UK or Germany). The Rasmus play quality pop rock, they have emotions and vibe in their music and they really work hard. This summer is the first one for many-many years when they do not tour as they have decided to concentrate on recording a new album. But they made an exception for some small festivals in Finland including Sataman Yö. The audience went crazy when The Rasmus came onto the stage. I know that there were fans from many other countries like Germany, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, etc. Seeing the audience’s reaction I was astonished with the fact how much the band is loved! They played most of their best singles making fans sing with them. And the audience was truly happy jumping, screaming and 'F-f-f-falling...' At present The Rasmus have a difficult choice to make: they will either continue recording and touring together or perhaps Lauri will start a solo career. The success of the next album will show them which way to go. My personal belief is that they have overgrown the current form of the band so I hope that the next album will reveal the grown-up musicians, and there will be something new about the Rasmus: some new direction, some new attitude.
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