Finnish stand and bands create buzz at Popkomm in Berlin

Music exports growing, but Sweden is still a long way ahead

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By Ilkka Ahtiainen
     
      PA systems are going full blast all around. But the cacophony of sounds echoing around the Messedamm in Berlin does not seem to be bad for business.
      The Finnish stand at the Berlin Popkomm music & entertainment fair was packed for much of the three-day event, since Finland these days is pop and rock. And metal and jazz, too.
      "Our strength is getting to be the fact that the spectrum is so broad", says Paulina Ahokas, Director of Music Export Finland.
     
Dirk Schade, manager of the events and festival at Popkomm, confirms Ahokas's remarks: the greatest international interest in the country continues to be towards the heavy end of the popular music spectrum, but at the same time "Finland has become a watchword for quality, regardless of the musical genre".
      According to Schade, Finnish music-makers stand out from the pack both as first-class musicians and in terms of their earthy, authentic touch.
      "They make music with style and heart. It's not just about product and glitz", he explains.
     
At the fair, which ended on Friday, no fewer than seventeen Finnish acts were on display, including jazz fusion pianist Lenni-Kalle Taipale, jazz-funk-soul-techno man of means Jimi Tenor, metal four-piece Diablo, and Disco Ensemble.
      Disco Ensemble, a punk/emo outfit coming out of Pori, just might be the next big thing from Finland.
      The door is at least halfway open, since the band recently signed a licensing and recording deal with Universal.
      "It will enable us to do concert tours, and to make videos. Generally the sort of stuff that pays", says the band's 24-year-old manager Juha Kyyrö.
     
Kyyrö's time in Berlin was divided up almost by the minute with a variety of meetings. When he wasn't chatting with someone face-to-face, he was talking into his mobile or tapping out e-mails.
      "This is networking", he explains. Keeping in touch with past acquaintances and making new ones: gig promoters, and people from record labels and the like.
      Disco Ensemble's story is almost a textbook example of how things work.
      A year ago, the band were gigging in Berlin. Already before they plugged in and played Silke Hölker of Kyyrö's company Fullsteam Records had passed the band's CD First Aid Kit to a Universal representative.
      Things were almost certainly not hampered by the fact that Hölker had previously worked for Universal. Recommendations from someone you know tend to be more reliable.
     
In recent years, Popkomm has risen to become the second most important popular music marketing event in Europe, behind only MIDEM in Cannes.
      Hundreds of bands from different countries are showcased over the space of a few days, but nevertheless getting a club date at Popkomm is an important step for any band with ambitions to move onwards and upwards.
      "There was more tension and excitement around than usual", says H.C Andersson, who plays rhythm guitar with The Winyls, a five-piece playing "honest, energetic rock", after their Wednesday gig at Finnish Rock Night in Berlin.
     
The band's motto could be "balls to the wall". They have no qualms about breaking strings, tearing fingernails, or getting the bass wires tangled up, as long as they are putting it out there and rocking like there is no tomorrow.
      "It would be ace if we could actually sometime do this so we get a bit of butter and salami on the bread", ponders lead guitarist Sheriff.
      The Winyls are serious about the wacky names. The band members - there's a front man called Leady Winyl and the bassist is James James - do not want to appear by their real names, and are reluctant to disclose their day-jobs, either, since for all of them "the motivation to go to work is simply to finance the band's operations".
     
Even if Finland is beginning to be a name to throw around in the Central European music market, things are still on a pretty small scale, at least if the benchmark is Sweden.
      On the Swedish stand at Popkomm, they tell us that the annual turnover for Swedish music exports is more than EUR 700 million.
      This is serious money. Finland can boast just EUR 23 million, although the growth has admittedly been brisk over the past five years.
      Paulina Ahokas is very upbeat on the growth prospects, but it will require breaking through into new areas. For a start, next year the Finns will be inviting foreign visitors over to take a look at Finnish songwriting.
      The model comes from Sweden, where already some 40% of the value in that colossal export total comes from making songs for international stars.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.9.2006


Previously in HS International Edition:
  A dozen Finnish bands will perform at flagship event of global music industry (24.5.2005)
  Finnish musical invasion of Britain and Germany to continue (25.8.2004)
  Music exports bigger than ever - government support welcome (5.9.2003)

Links:
  Popkomm
  Music Export Finland
  Lenni-Kalle Taipale
  Jimi Tenor
  Diablo
  Disco Ensemble
  The Winyls

ILKKA AHTIAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
ilkka.ahtiainen@hs.fi