What was the beginning pint for your music career? How did it all start?
Who in their teens do not want to start a band, record albums, play massive shows and become famous?! At least we did and that is why we started a band. Or several bands, actually. Playing music turned out to be fun and, even if massive fame didn’t follow, we still kept going. Writing songs, arranging them, and playing them live for people is a real thrill, and I would recommend it to all kids out there.
Was there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
All roads are bumpy and full of surprises and dead ends. There are also many other roads running in parallel that require your time and attention. One of our bigger challenges was member issues, specifically bass players coming and going. After a period of stand-in bass players, we were a trio for a long time, until Eero joined the band a few years ago. This was when we essentially found the right sound, set-up and ways of working for the band. This is the best incarnation of Flush.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
Again, there are so many to choose from… Top of mind though is that feeling you have after a good show. When you’ve done the best you can, the atmosphere has been at least decent, and you survived all the chaos of loading the gear, soundchecks and tight schedules, and played your precious songs to living humans. Nothing really beats that feeling. And I hope it never goes away.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Sonically we are a mix of punk rock, alternative rock and a little bit of metal, especially the newer stuff. I would prefer to just call it rock and not talk about sub-genres, but I know that all these genre classifications help people discover us. Our music is definitely darker than lighter, but some of it is dead serious while some songs are purely tongue-in-cheek. While we might look serious, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Music is a great outlet for emotions and a powerful form of therapy, and I’d like to see that reflected in our songs too.
What is your creative process like?
It varies greatly. Usually, I finish the songs on my own and then as a band we jointly arrange and tweak them in their final shapes. Sometimes I start with a lyric idea or key message, and sometimes I start with a riff or lead melody. Some songs finish in days, and everything comes together very linearly, while other songs take months and several iterations. I just follow the song and try to give it a fair chance to grow.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
We need more diversity in who runs the industry; be it recorded music, distribution, or live events. We need more than just Spotify and Live Nation. In Finland there is one media conglomerate that practically controls all radio, TV, news media, and live events, and if you are not on their artist roster, you are out. We need more actors of various sizes to ensure there is some sort of a healthy balance of power. Now power – and money – is concentrated to the very few on the top
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
I think I said this somewhere else too: Be clear about your own expectations and desires, especially about whether you are looking for commercial success, achieving fame and followers, or focusing on creating art. These all don’t go together, and you need to compromise. The industry is fierce and most definitely not one that is built for art, so you need to know what keeps you motivated and driven.
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
It might be because it was such a long time since we played live, but I will have to say it was our gig last week. Our first gig in a long, long time. It was not the best because of a massive crowd going wild (it was outside, cold and rainy, in a somewhat distant location so the crowd size was modest) and I’m not sure we played the best we’ve ever played, but the sounds were decent and everyone was just excited to finally get to play and see live music again. We really missed this during the pandemic!
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
Maybe playing drums! Haha! I never do drummer jokes, so had to get that in there (sorry, drummers everywhere). I would probably be into a sport of some kind or maybe some kind of visual design. I can’t draw but as a kid I used to like calligraphy.
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
We have recorded a new EP that will be released soon (mid/end of October). The EP is called ‘Conspiracies, Threats and Chaos’ and the first single, ‘Entertainment’, is already out on all platforms. We produced this one ourselves and it is the loudest and heaviest we have been so far, and we are really excited about this product! You should definitely check out our social medias and website, so you know what’s going on and get exposed to our witty, dry and sarcastic humor! And go see and support live music and independent bands once it is possible again!
