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From out of the shadows
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The Rasmus, the Finnish band that has worked its way to the top, has tasted success with its fifth album, Dead Letters
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There are some really good bands (here), but everybody plays a lot of covers. It was strange that very few people played their own music Aki hakala
CLIMBING TO THE TOP The Rasmus wowed audiences around the world with its hit single, In The Shadows Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.
In just their 20s, the members of The Rasmus look like the new kids on the block. In the city over the weekend for the regional finals of Hero Honda's Campus Rock Idols, the Finnish band has only recently begun to emerge on the international rock scene with their hit single "In the Shadows". But delve into the history of the band, and you'll find they're anything but new. With accolades such as Finnish Grammies and the title of "Best Nordic Act" under their belt, this band has been rocking Finland and Northern Europe for almost 12 years now, although success across the Atlantic has only recently been forthcoming.
Sheer effort
Drummer Aki Hakala's affirmation that it's only hard work and their unique sound that has got them to the top might seem like a tired old cliché. But this band has really worked for their success, putting out five albums before breaking into the international scene with Dead Letters.
It would almost seem the band had no other choice. The original members were 16 when they came together to form The Rasmus over a decade ago, quitting school for a rock career.
Aki is the new boy of the group, having joined the band for its third album only six years ago. Holding a band together for so long, he says, wholly depends on the kind of relationship that exists between band members. "The main thing is the friendship you develop. All the members should have similar goals, and you have to be honest about how far you are willing to go for those goals. You have to really love what you're doing and work for it."
The Rasmus sound is primarily one of melodic rock, drawing influences from various quarters like pop, rock, goth and even classical. Despite their gothic influences and obvious melancholic references, Aki insists their music is cathartic. He explains: "It's a positive kind of sadness, a release from all the bad stuff." A part of their success, he adds, stems from the fact that their music and lyrics are so realistic and easy to relate to.
Having come down to India for the first time, the band has had a few surprises with the music scene here. Aki admits that they knew relatively little except that their "In The Shadows" had received extensive airplay. Commenting on what they've seen at the Mumbai leg of Campus Rock Idols, Aki says: "There are some really good bands, but everybody plays a lot of covers. It was strange that very few people played their own music." In Finland and Europe, he explains, covers are only an occasional occurrence and such frequent covers are unique only to India. The pop scene in the country also fascinates Aki, "though I can never remember any of the names". One thing Aki says he would like to see is more use of traditional instruments. "It would be nice to see bands use traditional Indian music because their arrangement of notes and so on is different and fascinating."
Their own performance in Mumbai was an interesting experience because the band didn't know what kind of crowd to expect. Having seen all kinds of crowds from the more reserved Finnish who give every band a patient listen to the more physical Mexicans with their high-energy crowd participation, they were curious to find out about the crowds here. The verdict — a happy mix of both. Says Aki: "There was a moshpit happening somewhere near the front, but most of the people were also singing along with us. We usually do an acoustic, melodic set between the electric numbers, and it was nice to see the crowd knowing the song and singing along." It's reactions like this, he says, that make performing live better than recording. "In recording, it's nice to see what you can do and how it will all turn out. But in a live performance, you get reactions from the people that you can see and that's the best part."
Aki parts with advice for budding bands that might again seem like old hat. "Get the right group of guys together. Everybody in the band should be focussed on the music, love it and give everything to it."
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Journey to the top
The Rasmus released its debut album Peep under contract with Warner Music Finland in 1996, which soon sold gold. The band also won a Finnish Grammy Award for Best New Artist that year.
RAKESH MEHAR
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