Candy scent
4 Jul
Pop melodies and electro bits are the base for some of the most stimulating music to come up this summer. Helsinki electro duo TV OFF is finishing up the last details of its debut album to be released later this year, but in the meantime Sara and Markku are spreading some songs through the cyberspace and performing everywhere from Lithuania to Japan.
Electronic music is not a very popular genre in Finland and still it is a minority behind the metal army, the traditional iskelmä, the pop, the rock and even the rising indie scene. Just a couple of clubs offer electronic music, besides the mainstream hits, and festivals hardly feature DJ sessions due to the early curfew.
In this situation, TV OFF burst with some catchy tunes and a fun image, playing regularly in Helsinki and being invited to play in several countries. All that without an album out. The music has been described as colorful, sexy, cool, refreshing, visual… Those are the tired adjectives, but, as a matter of fact, they never sounded more appropriated. Just back in Helsinki after playing in Tokyo, we called Sara and Markku for a quick Q&A, while they work in the album in the studio.
How was your visit to Japan?
Sara: It was great in Tokyo. We loved every minute there, it was a completely new experience for us. Nothing like we have done before.
Markku: The whole culture is amazing. It was our first time there and it is not like we had a culture shock, but we were amazed how the people are so nice and how they like music so much. That’s so refreshing. The visual culture is so amazing.
How did you get such a gig without having an album?
Markku: Our manager took care there. The promotion agency in Japan saw our gig last year in Tampere at the Musiikki & Media festival. They liked the show so much, that they really insisted that we would play there. Now we are talking about going back there and do some more shows in six months. We hope to do a club tour and play five or six different clubs.
What about the album? Is it going to be ready soon?
Sara: We are finishing it right now. It is going to be mastered soon.
You have worked on it for almost a year.
Markku: Yeah, it took a while. We have been doing shows, promotion. We had busy times, but the album has been recorded and almost ready for six months. We just didn’t have the time to finish it.
Sara: We have known the songs that will be on it for a very long time, but we were missing the final details and that’s what we are doing right now.
Meanwhile you have freely distributed some songs in the Internet, will you do that with the album too?
Markku: Probably it will be released in different ways. We are talking about. It might be released digitally by ourselves. But then, we are also talking with different companies. There is not a release date yet. but probably it will come out before the end of the year.
How did you meet?
Markku: We met two years ago through some friends and we soon decided to work together. The first song we ever wrote together was “Giraffe” and it is still one of the favourites for many people. You can listen to it on MySpace page.
You seem to be big fans of design and fashion, what can you tell about that.
Sara: I love shoes and bags. Fashion, music and art are my three favourite things in the world and I couldn’t think to live without any of them.
Markku: We are very visual people. It is a part of the pop culture. We are interested in expanding our ways of expression and doing more visual things in the future.
Apart of the album, what are your future plans?
Sara: It’s time for us to see the world! We want to play in every country.
Once a month, TV OFF host a DJ club with guest artists at mbar in Helsinki. More information on the band’s website.
Photos by Eerikki Pokela
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