'Our love for music keeps us together'

POETS UNPLUGGED

This was the band’s second visit to India, their first being in 2007 for IIT-Kanpur’s ‘Rock Nite’ and they spoke to Metrolife about their experiences in the City.

“It feels great to be back in India. It’s a really great place to come and play at. The people are really enthusiastic and they received our music well,” said Marko Saaresto, the lead vocalist of the band, after the show. “My mind was really blown — you have people singing your songs and you are like ‘whoa!’” he added excitedly.

The band was in Bangalore for two days and spent a large portion of time shopping and eating. They drove around town and visited some handicrafts shops and some of them even bought themselves silver jewellery, which they found “really cool.” On the food front, it had been a mix of different preparations of chicken, Indian desserts, and a lot of spice for the six member band over their last few meals here.

Once they went on stage, there was no stopping them — whether it was for their stage antics or the acoustic set that they tried out. The band chemistry was also very visible on stage with Marko running around to perform closely with the other members. “I think it’s the love for the music that keeps us together. The chemistry works in the studio and while we write a song. Everyone has their artistic views and there are clashes sometimes but that’s the educational part. If we had clashes all the time, we wouldn’t be a band,” he joked.

Another thing about the band that really leaves an impression is its videos. When asked about the band’s involvement in its making, Marko explained that the videos are always the band’s collaboration with the director. “We’ve always thought that the videos are a very important part of our music. So every time we pick a song for a video, we all write down our ideas, sit and discuss them, and then talk to the director about them.”

The inspiration for the band’s music comes from everywhere and anywhere — from other music and also, from the daily things they see around them. As Marko elaborated, “They have an emotional background and that’s something that usually brings out the music as well.”

The band released a compilation album early this year titled ‘Alchemy Volume 1,’ and is currently working on two new songs to add to it. After that, their collective energy is going to go into their next album, which they hope to release sometime next year. His last message to the band’s fans in Bangalore was — “Enjoy your life!”