My year of music 2016
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In this post I look back at what I published during the year 2016 and give some insight to each track. All in all the year was less active for me than 2015, but I’d say that everything I published was of higher quality than in previous years.
Tutut naamat
The year began with Tutut naamat, a track that was originally written for totally different purposes but ended up being a solo piece. The song starts with a reggaeish section and dives to a drum-and-bass-like rock chorus, with the bass line hinting towards surf music. I’m quite satisfied with the solo that’s synchronized with organ and guitar. Even with some drastically varied parts the song feels coherent, and one reason for that is the simple rhythmic pattern that is repeated throughout the song on different instruments.
I later made a bass play-through video of the song, mainly because it’s just so much fun to play.
Tänään beibe “live” jam
I had recorded a solo take of Tänään beibe with just guitar and vocals (the upper right corner of this video) but the song needed more beef around it. As can be seen and heard on the video, I ended up adding a track of cajon, bass and electric guitar, which really spices up the song. The funny thing was that I had recorded the guitar-and-vocals version at free tempo with no click, so I had to try and match its pace with every other instrument, when usually it would go the exact opposite way. It wasn’t easy but I like the resulting laid back time feel.
Valkoista ja vihreää (HyPo) feat. Pete Tolonen
Having released a single rap track promoting the MikaJam basketball event I was contacted by the basketball team Ponteva from Hyvinkää, asking me to make a rap anthem to celebrate the team’s 100th year of existence. I took the challenge as long as I got to make a song that sounded like Poetkoe.
The result, Valkoista ja vihreää, is an uptempo track with rap verses and catchy choruses sung by Pete Tolonen. It’s more (disco) pop than hip hop, which better suits the purpose. Everyone, including I, were very happy with the result.
The rhyme “valkoista ja vihreää/ se on Ponteva ja Hyvinkää” I wrote has now become an official marketing slogan for the team.
Catventure
Catventure is in many ways a song that most represents what I want to do musically. It’s melodic, groovy, spacey and tight all at the same time. It has the best sides of organic live instruments, electronic programming and sample based production. Plus it has a cat in the cover, namely Bolt of Bolt and Keel (who most generously granted me permission to use the picture), what more could I ask?
The thing I like most about this song is that it actually only has one musical idea, the main melody, that is varied and played with through the whole song, without sounding boring or too repetitive. There is constant progress in the arrangement and soundscape, even when some elements (like the bassline) offer very little variation.
The soundscape is constructed out of many individual instruments and takes instead of a few very processed ones. There are several different tracks of guitar and keys playing at any given time, and they all serve a purpose.
My favorite part is the ending, where acoustic and electric guitars, piano and organ gather to support the melody played on the harmonica. It really feels like the best moments of life, like sitting at a campfire and looking at the embers rising towards a black sky.
If you only listen to one song today, listen to this one. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.
Kouvolan kissat
I celebrated my bachelor party in a cabin at Kouvola with my friends and was given a special task: I had to write a rap song that includes a list of ten predetermined words (hence some strange lyrics). They had made a mockup beat and brought a lightweight recording set, so there wasn’t much to do but to open a beer and start rhyming.
I wrote the lyrics (accepted by the strict jury) in two hours, recorded the vocals in half an hour the next morning and made the beat afterwards. The song is about cultural collisions that have taken place on my several visits to the town of Kouvola. I wanted the beat to be gangsta, but not in an American way but rather in a Kouvola kind of way. That called for distorted guitars and drums with a live feel.
Kouvolan kissat has a very special and fun meaning to me and I’m happy with the result. Besides, instead of the previous 100%, now only two thirds of my rap tracks are about basketball. Which, to be honest, is still quite a lot for someone who doesn’t play basketball or isn’t even interested in it.
Hibernate
This song got its inspiration from a photograph I took on a cold winter day that ended up being the cover picture. At the time I was also reading Moominland Midwinter, and I wanted to do something that captured the atmosphere and “magic” of winter. I had this melody stuck in my head that was looking for a place to settle to, and the idea was ready to be made into reality.
Unlike all the other songs this year, Hibernate has no real instruments, only MIDI tracks played on a controller and chopped drum samples. One reason for that is that my audio interface had broken down and I hadn’t gotten a new one. Another reason was that I wanted to do something that doesn’t “simulate a band”, but that’s rather done in the spirit of electronic and sampled music, like house or hip hop — something that I hadn’t done in a while.
The song feels like winter with lots of delay and reverb, chilly sounds and raw bass. The melodies are melancholy but hopeful, and I really like the overall soundscape. The whole process from starting the project to posting to SoundCloud took only about a week, and felt really refreshing.
A good way to wrap up the year I’d say.
Bonus: got my website up and running!
I had been working on poetkoe.com for quite some time, having had at least four major designs that were all thrown away when a better idea emerged. Finally I came up with a design and delivery that satisfies the intent of the page and works well in both desktop and mobile. The site was released in December.
The purpose of poetkoe.com is to collect all the relevant info and links about Poetkoe to one place, and provide more value than just that. For me the website is an extension of the concept I want to present as an artist: it has to be versatile, fun and of high quality.
I designed and draw the main logo myself, which along with the yellow image is the most prominent element of the visual look of the page. As the complementary color of yellow, purple was a bright and fresh choice for the overall color theme. I wanted to have lots of visual elements instead of just text, so the purple pictures were a nice addition. And adding the music quotes from Albert Einstein, Douglas Adams and the likes was the finishing touch that was needed.
Can you find the hidden cat?
That’s all for this year. We’ll see what will happen in 2017.
