Monday, September 24, 2012

Vaasa


Hi Popsters! <3

Last weekend we were in Vaasa at the Musik&Talang festival, and boy did we have fun! It was the same kind of showcase festival as the ones we've visited in Tallinn and Berlin, and once again we learned a lot of new things and met some music industry people from all over the world and got great tips and new contacts. 

On Saturday night we played a gig at a place called Ritz. It's an old movie theater that has been turned into a live music venue. It was one of nicest stages we've ever played. There was these huge stairs at the back of the stage which we could run up and down during the show. The light show was also nice, and I might have got the best monitoring (the audio signal that I hear from my headphones during the concert) I've ever had, so this time I didn't have to wonder how we sounded to the audience.  




© Julia Lytz 
Our hotel was also more than nice! For instance at the breakfast we could squeeze the juice by ourselves from loads of different fruits. Now that's what I call fresh! Also the 10th floor spa was kind of nice.. Every morning we went to the sauna and took a swim in the pool. Such a shame that I can't start the day like that at home too ;) 


10th floor spa























our room

Oh, and the room we got was also quite nice.... ;D



our view


























Social Joe <3

Ps. The gig that we played in the Popkalaset festival in June will be aired on TV this Wednesday at YLE FEM at 21:40, so don't forget to watch that!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Post Title

Hi there!

Traveling is lovely. But the feeling of returning home is also wonderful! We've settled down nicely since Berlin, getting back to the studio and writing songs all day long. We tried to bring back some sunlight from Berlin and occasionally it even worked! But the weather gods have been a bit bipolar, smashing rain and sun in our faces sporadically. I even had to go get my winter jacket from the attic! In other word(s), autumn.

I like it. The trees get colorful and you can drink tea. Not that you can't drink tea otherwise, but it warms you up in a different way when it's windy and chilly outside. I'm sure Tea Master Paul gets it :) We're mostly busy with writing material for our upcoming album. We've worked our special battle teams! Like for example, if we need a killer pre-chorus we send Paul and Axel upstairs with a mini-keyboard and a laptop. After a while they come back with a great part (!) that I and Olli then proceed to refine; shredding it to pieces and making it even better! And after a while we show it to them, they get angry and we fight and then make up, hug each other and go and eat, then start over again. In the end we end up with great material! Of course the teams vary depending on the song, style and preference.  But team K(ristian).O(lli) is a pretty knockout combination.

Apart from our daily labor in the studio we have some upcoming gigs! Some of them are still a secret(!) but this week we're popping out in Vasa! It's part of the music conference Music & Talent. We're playing this Saturday in Ritz at seven. So Saturday the 22nd of September in Ritz, Vaasa @ 19:00. It's gonna be mayhem! Positive mayhem. We're also taking part in a panel discussion about how to make it as a band, ought to be fun! I promise you'll get to know about the other gigs later on, since you ask all the time :)

It's so nice to see that our trip to Berlin bore fruit! Our fan base is growing at an amazing pace! Keep spreading the word all around the world!

That's it for me now, see you next week!
Stay classy dear Popsters - krippeヾ(^∇^)'ー♪




 

(airport at 5 in the morning ._.)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Berlin, Berlin, Berlin!

Heyyy popsters!! <3





Life is perfect right now. It's a beautiful summer morning in Berlin, 25 degrees and sunny. And the forecast says 30 degrees for today! (in September!!!!) I'm sitting in the Hostel lobby listening to Mylo Xyloto and writing this blog as the others are sleeping like babies.



Last week we did an unplugged TV-gig and an interview for Yle Fem and played a great gig at Korjaamo. The gig was a great way to end our live-shows for the summer, and now we're focusing on making the best debut album in the history of pop music! But we'll be back live before you know it! And I really mean that! We've got something special planned for the late autumn ;)



Thanks to all who came, we really loved playing for such a great audience!! And the guys from Sony and Rähinä Live were also very happy!



The next morning, at 4(!!!) we flew to Berlin! We were supposed to attend the Berlin Music Week, an international music conference and festival for music industry professionals. Unfortunately most of the program was in German and the festival wasn't very well organized... Well, better luck next time :D



The good thing was that we took our unplugged set with us from Finland! So, one morning we just took our instruments, found a good place and started playing! And what a response we got!!! One thing is for sure now, this music works in Germany!!! And as we're playing in the streets, we earned enough money to basically get free food, beer and train tickets :D Just perfect! We're getting more and more confident that our music works everywhere. Playing in the streets is an easy way to see how people react. Some might have a bad day when they get there but when they hear our music and see the positive energy the result is just amazing! Every frown turns into a smile and every smile turns into an even bigger smile. We're doing something right :)






After we played Hello Hello, a nice English lady came to me with the perfect upper class accent and said: "I was once also young and free with no responsibilities, but that was a long time ago!" That made my day! And somebody's actually listening to the lyrics ;)








We've developed a dayly routine: We start with a great Berliner Früchstück in the morning, take the S-Bahn to some cool place and start playing. We play a couple of sets, then take a couple of hours off in a park or something, and then we go back to play some more. One evening we just sat in Tiergarten til late in the night and played smooth jazz for ourselves. We also wrote a couple of country songs.... :D Travelling with the guys has been soooooo awesome, I can't wait for the world tours ;)



I hope all of you are having as good a time as we are <3



-Axel



Greetings from Berlin! See you all soon!











Monday, September 3, 2012

Just Married


I just want to say how much I love you all! I want to thank you for your support so far. Without popsters we are but a wingless butterfly!!

And now for the old, but non the less TERRIFIC news:  !!!

We just signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment! And it's a good deal! Not getting into any details, I can tell you that this is the beginning of something huge, colorful and international...hopefully worldwide. !!!!


Many people, outside and inside the music industry, often accuse record companies for being bloodthirsty business oriented organizations, who suck out the inspiration from unsigned talented acts. I have to disagree. Signing a record deal is like a marriage. It can go right, or it can go horribly wrong... you just have to choose your partner wisely! If you are a unsigned arty act, you have to find partners that are on the same wavelength, maybe a smaller indie label. For us Sony seemed to be the most appropriate one. And even putting the label aside, the most important thing is that they have to be excited!! 


Right from the start, the vibes we got from Sony and especially their A&R (artist & repertoire) were good. We were in a good situation in the sense that we had two major labels interested in us, so it was all about choosing =D What we liked in Sony was their international focus, their warm welcoming at their headquarters, and of course the overall good contract! Also the single most important contact in the record company is the A&R, and we really believe he's absolutely the right man for us! He is pop oriented, ambitious and an overall nice guy! =D The work has already started, and I'm looking forward to work my ass of this fall and beyond! XD

The signing of the contract itself was fun and relaxed. Here is footage from the short unplugged set we did for the Sony guys at the office:



The afterparty was held in a Satin Circus approved manner, starting with hamburgers in "Sävel" in Hakaniemi, and continuing to our beloved "Viking" bar. Actually they had went trough a process of translation and changed their name to "Viikinki"!!! Read about our "pikkujoulut" in our blogpost number two from December 2011 for reference. =D 


Well...now on to play with my new Sony VAIO, and Playstation 4½ that where included in the contract... X-]



//Paul