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Artturi Taira, the vocals, guitar, keyboards and literally several etcetera’s later for his band Rubik was kind enough to answer some questions about their album “Solar” and life in Finland. Talking to Taira we find that the dexterous band quintessential hipsters lust after, tries to steer clear of the indie music scene and flowery name dropping, that is the bread and butter of half their fans. Instead we find a subtle front man, who likens his band to an ill-tempered welsh corgi and who’d be just as happy playing to a rowdy small town crowd then one of the many huge festivals Rubik has stood on stage for.
Finland may be known for pine forests and death metal but if you were to write a song for your motherland what would the tracks title be?
Oh, there's nothing wrong with pines and death metal... Maybe "You're so dark and gloomy I can barely see these words" would be a well-suiting title since we only get the sunlight for like three months or something and then it gets cold and depressing. I'm exaggerating, of course. There are good sides to darkness as well for sure, I'm not saying that. Also, that almost sounds like a hip title, could be from a post rock song.
From “Dada Bandits” to “Solar” how many more instruments were incorporated in the making of the recent album.
We're not that bad gear junkies, so I wouldn't know. But definitely more than 20 I would say. You know, we're lucky to be surrounded by these lovely and talented people who we invite to be part of our sound. Then what usually happens is they just stay and continue playing with us. We just love arranging a song. Arrangements and production, they're holy. On "Solar" we used a lot of weird old synths, samplers and other stuff. And the acoustic instruments such as horns and woodwinds are important as well. We really like combining these two elements. Like going really electro with acoustic instruments. Does that make sense?
What was one of the best crowds you've played for and why?
We had a great show in front of a really big crowd in this year's Primavera Sound Festival, that was amazing. Also, we played Helsinki's Flow Festival last weekend - there were thousands and thousands of people. I'm not even lying. It was mind-blowing. But, to be honest, some of the best gigs have been in places you know absolutely nothing about. You know, no expectations - a small town, your first time, it rains a lot, you fear no one's coming - and then the venue is just packed, people sing and dance along and you have a great party afterwards.
If Rubik morphed into a breed of dog what would it be and why?
Something really friendly, playful but ill-tempered. But still very loyal and royal-like. A Newfoundlander? Or a Welsh Corgi.
Any strange musical influences that aren't apparent in your sound? Any muses outside of the musical realm that had an impact ie. authors or artists?
You know, I think the most of the stuff we listen to is not that present in our own sound at all. I rarely listen to new indie bands, to be honest. I love Talk Talk, Coltrane and Bowie, for instance, but am not that sure they can be heard in our music. Or if they can, we've definitely done something right. Anything outside the music realm is also important - you know; life and death, tall buildings, autumn, space and echo. I don't want to name drop any authors or artists since someone might find it pretentious, but can tell you they have a huge importance.
Do you guys bring out any covers on your set list?
Haven't done that in a long time, but why not. Any ideas? Actually, we're about to perform a 45-minute set of Queen with a band who are friends of ours in front of 1500 people at the Helsinki City Festival in September, but that's another story. We've got a lot of rehearsing to do. And, of course, rearranging - you don't want to just try to replay every Brian May solo. It started out as a running joke, then we thought whether we could pull it off. Now it's sold out, so we'd better do that.
How many times do you practice as a group a week? Who out of the group spends the most time alone practicing?
It depends. At the moment we're seeing each other every day, writing stuff and rehearsing. There are also times - like straight after tours - when we just take a small break. I hardly ever practice unless I'm writing a song - they're kinda connected, at least for me.
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