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Kuusumun Profeetta interview (08.03.2003)
Kuusumun Profeetta from Pori has brought their original,
progressive flavour to the Finnish rock scene for almost ten years now.
This very regenerative and many-sided band used to perform in English
under the name Moon Fog Prophet. Some earlier stages and moods of
the group were dealt with an interview in Colossus magazine #7.
I now thought, that it was time to find out, how our
Prophets are doing today. The bass player Mikko Elo
answered these questions in March 2003.
You used to play pretty wild progressive rock in the past and
you sang in English. What made you change your style into peaceful,
acoustic folk rock and in Finnish? When did this change occur?
I feel in my bones that this is not necessarily a permanent change,
what do think about it your selves?
 Mikko Elo: We have never been afraid of changes. Ever since 1994 - when we first
started to play together - it has been obvious, that one of the most
important things that unite us is the need to experiment, love of
adventure. In 1999, after the recordings of the now released Taunting
Tin Bells Through The Mammal Void album, we felt that one path had
reached its end, its climax, and it was time to search for something new.
The change-over to Finnish language and more acoustic expression wasn't
in no way based on a decision in principle, it was more like we found
a new path in a natural way.
What comes to your other question, the feeling in you bones must be right.
As I said, we don't keep away from new directions. We are far from reaching
the limits of our creativity, so our sound and approach to music is continuously
developing -partly due to conscious decisions, but mainly led by our inner flame.
Our next album is under development and I can already reveal, that the musical
decisions and the overall mood will be considerably different from the last
two Kuusumun Profeetta albums.
Do you consider this to be the same band as earlier?
This is, without a doubt the same band as earlier. Only the language of the
lyrics dictates whether the name of the band is given in its English or Finnish form.
I believe that the couple of CD's released under the name Kuusumun Profeetta
have been more successful than your earlier releases. Do you know, how many copies have been sold?
I don't know any exact numbers, but as small independent record company
releases they have sold better than expected.
How have people abroad reacted to your albums in Finnish?
The feedback has been very positive. It seems that there are no language
barriers what comes to dedicated devotees of music As long as the music
causes strong vibrations, the language doesn't play very important role.
Italian Mellow Records recently released a Moon Fog Prophet album
"Taunting Tin Bells Through The Mammal Void". The music is from a musical
play of a same name that you have performed in Pori and Tampere.
The album was recorded prior to the change into Finnish language.
Please tell us something about this musical. How did the audience
receive it? How did it differ from your normal gig? Are there
any plans for similar projects?
The musical play Taunting Tin Bells was run in Pori in 2000 and
in Tampere in 2001. This was a play, so it might be useless to
compare it to a gig; these are two different forms of culture.
I was a musician in Taunting Tin Bells, but in a later, bigger
scale theatre project Oopperse le Feti le Grande Anaale I was an actor.
These theatre productions of ours have been well received: Grande Anaale
was ran for 8 sold out performances and the writer-director Mika Rättö
received an annual prize from Satakunta Art Commission.
We will also take part in some kind of theatre productions
in the future. Check out www.moonfogprophet.com/drama.html,
where you can find some info, pictures and even
a trailer for our theatre projects!
Taunting Tin Bells Through The Mammal Void is not
a soundtrack of Tin Bells, but more like the same story
told in a different way. The album was really recorded before
the first album in Finnish, but due to numerous misfortunes
it was not released until now. It is a timeless classic,
and once you get to know it, it will open a deeper insight
into the world of the Prophet than any of our previous records, I think.
6. I saw a couple of your gigs last summer that also included
a few a bit wilder songs. I thought that they would have been
on your latest album "Jatkuvasti maailmaa pelastamaan kyllästynyt supersankari".
This wasn't the case, why? Is there going to be any faster material on the next album?
We consider every album to be an individual work. Those tracks you
mentioned didn't have any place in the world of Supersankari (Superhero) album.
As I told you earlier, the next album will be different to the last, and
those songs you have heard on our gigs are part of the material that we
are in the process of working on for the record.
7. Is there going to be a vinyl version of the "...supersankari"
album, as was the case with its predecessor? Are you vinyl freaks yourselves?
There won't be a vinyl version of the Supersankari album at the moment.
We are not vinyl freaks; the format of the release is a minor detail.
Although it is true, that vinyl records have certain aesthetics and
dignity that CD just can't obtain.
How do you write your songs? Who composes them? How about the lyrics?
Where does the inspiration for such deep lyrics come from, I wonder?
 There is no set formula how the songs are being born. The production of
different songs varies a lot. Some times the songs start to live in
rehearsals as if by them selves, and it's impossible to name the composer.
All the members take part in the creation process and everyone's ideas
feed each other's ideas and so the wholeness grows bigger than the sum of its parts.
During the creation process, we often think about such things as the songs
inner dramaturgy and, on the other hand, what is its role as a part in
a bigger drama, concert or album. The most important thing is to understand
the nucleus of the song, where is its strength? Sometimes it needs even
lengthy arranging process involving all the band members to bring
forth that strength. Rättö and Majaluoma are maybe the most productive
concerning compositional ideas, but the roles of the members vary
a lot with individual tracks and also with larger parts of the whole.
The lyrics on the Finnish albums are almost 100 % by Mika Rättö.
Rättö comments on the origin of the lyrics in this manner:
"My lyrics are based on the writing style and themes that
have originally presented themselves in my short-stories
and manuscripts. From there they have sort of refined into
the form demanded by the music. It is a style that has
developed in course of time and is natural for me; its origin is impossible to define."
Your band members also play in other groups. What are these groups?
Our drummer Veli Nuorsaari also plays drums in a band called Alien Heat,
who are absolutely one of the best new names in our country, and in
a project called Paine, as well. Mika Rättö is nowadays also involved
in Circle, and I play baritone guitar in a group called Lowlife
Rock'n'Roll Philosophers, who have done various soundtrack projects.
In addition, Mika and I are also heavily influential in Ektroverde collective,
whose improvisation-based line up varies depending on the situation.
Also our guitar player Teemu Majaluoma has guested in Ektroverde.
As far as I know, he doesn't play in other groups at the moment.
Whot might be your musical idols? Your favourite bands/artists?
We all could name numerous musical influences, but because all the
"idols" -in music as in for example cinema and literature- are
filtered through the collective subconscious of our music,
I won't be analysing them here. By giving just few names
I would give a distorted image of our influences, because
in reality, the amount of influences -conscious and subconscious- is enormous.
Which one of your albums do you prefer? Why?
All of our albums are very important, timeless documents of
that phase of ours, so it would be unfair to put them in any order.
Personally, I can say that Taunting Tin Bells Through
The Mammal Void and Jatkuvasti maailmaa pelastamaan kyllästynyt
supersankari -both in their own, unique way- cause the most powerful emotional reactions.
How often do you have gigs? Have you ever gigged outside of Finland?
How important is the visual side in your performances?
There have been some costumes, at least…
We had a bit less than 30 gigs last year, which seems suitable at the moment,
at least. We haven't had any gigs abroad yet; there are some plans,
but it's too early to discuss them as yet.
We take our performances on a dramaturgical basis, which means
for example that we think very carefully, that the track list,
costumes etc. serve the wholeness. The order of the tracks is
very important in changing from one mood to another in
a concert situation, so that the performance forms a complete,
full dramatic curve. Although in a gig situation, we are
also very sensible to each others playing, and are ready
to spontaneous decisions. All in all, I think that the
strength of our group presents itself best in the insensitivity of our live playing.
What are the future plans of Kuusumun Profeetta/Moon Fog Prophet?
Mikko Elo: At the moment, we are concentrating to work on our next album. We already have
got a lot of material, but there is some new stuff on its way, and the whole
picture is getting clear little by little. We are probably going to the studio
in late spring. The next gigs are in March-April, and before that, we will
concentrate full time on the show. There are a lot of plans cooking slowly
in our collective consciousness; it's only a question of when is the right
time for each plan to be carried out...
How would you descibe the musical state of Pori at the moment?
Are there some new, good bands out there that we don't know about yet
in the rest of the country? How would you explain, that Pori has for
years poured out many bands each more interesting than the other?
Is there an extra ingredient that develops creativeness in the water supply?
Pori's music scene is rich in an unique way, in fact a large amount
of the most influential bands in Finland are from Pori or have their
roots in Pori: Magyar Posse, Alien Heat, Circle, Deep Turtle… There
are some new interesting bands coming as well. The only explanation
for the unique cultural field in Pori is, in my opinion, that
creativity feeds creativity; in other words, people who are creative
in different ways inspire each other and this is exactly the case with our band, I think.
Any hellos/jokes/recipes/anything else to add?
The flame of creativity of the Prophet shall burn brightly for
a long time still. The adventure has only just begun…
Many thanks to Mikko for the answers! If there is someone out there
who's not familiar with the band yet, I think now is the right moment
to get to know them. Here is their current discography:
Moon Fog Prophet/Kuusumun Profeetta:
- I Crackle As I Grow 7" EP (SEEKER1, 1997)
- Dim Dum Sing The Sun CD (META-014, 1998)
- MERN3336 - A Mirror To The Marble-Coated Solar System (META-027, 2000)
- When They Opened Their Parachutes... Silence (1999 META-018CD)
- Kukin kaappiaan selässään kantaa CD (EKTRO-011, 2001)
- Kukin kaappiaan selässään kantaa (special edition 12" EP) (PUU-27, 2002)
- Jatkuvasti maailmaa pelastamaan kyllästynyt supersankari CD (EKTRO-020, 2002)
- Taunting Tin Bells Through The Mammal Void CD (MMP 420, 2002)
Moon Fog Prophet: www.moonfogprophet.com
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