Fantastisa by Käärijä | Album Review
Finnish artist Käärijä’s debut album mixes his aggressive and often hype rap style with a blend of rock and alt-EDM sounds.
While exploring Finnish music, as I began learning the language, I discovered Finland’s representative (and runner-up) of Eurovision’s 2023 contest Käärijä. The Finnish artist, real name Jere Pöyhönen, tells Eurovision World that Käärijä is a sort of alter ego whose name comes from his days of gambling:
“Käärijä is also this guy who wants to try something new. Something that nobody else ever did or is trying to. When he goes into the studio, he always wants to try crazy fusions. The music features elements of drums and bass, metal, pop, trap. There are no limitations…It was born when I gambled for the first time. I put a coin in a machine and I won like 20 euros, so a friend of mine was like, ‘You’re käärijä.’ In English it is something like, ‘You’re the roller,’ or maybe, ‘The money maker,’ and I just took it.” — Käärijä via Eurovision World (2023)
Prior to his international recognition with the Eurovision song “Cha Cha Cha”, he began his career as a rap/electronic artist in Finland. His debut album, Fantastisa, gives us our first taste of what he brings to the table. Overcoming crippling stomach issues, having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 9, he channels those years of struggle into the wild and confident character we see in this project.
The album opens with a brief introduction aptly titled “Intro.” This presents us with Käärijä’s wild and often playful persona. You get a good feeling for this as he gets us gassed up for the album to come, “Hey, should I make a song?/ What?/ That’s what I’m thinking about, shouldn’t you make a song?/ Oh yeah, let’s do it/ Alright, let’s get to work huh/ Yes!/ Hell, don’t you have to make the whole album directly?/ Actually, it sounds damn good” [Translated from Finnish]. This immediately carries the heavy rock/EDM into the following track.
We really kick the album into gear on “Fantastista.” I like that Käärijä mixes EDM breakbeat drums, hard rock guitars, and a real sense of aggression behind his rhymes. It’s like The Prodigy meets hip-hop. I also think the hook, “But still this is so fantastical/Good things” (“Silti tää on niin fantastista/ Hyvii hommii”), will easily get stuck in your head. The hype energy only bolsters Käärijä’s resolve in the face of any obstacle that comes his way, “Good things/ (well, what?)/ I knew this´d be dangerous when I started this/ And they warned about this job when I started this/ But I won´t press snooze, instead I press into the recording booth/ And even if in small circles you get shit on/ But still this is so fantastical” [Translated from Finnish]. It hits really hard and his flow, alongside fellow Finnish artist KähinäPate’s verse, shakes you from your malaise to battle all that comes your way and find joy in the moment.
“ROCK ROCK” continues this abrasive energy from the prior track. We strip away the rock sound that accompanied “Fantastista” opting for a more understated electronic treatment and traditional hip-hop beat. Käärijä brings the intensity with each line he rhymes. His sense of humor comes through be it in the goofy opening lines or when he boosts his greatness, “Bigger than Putin, Oslo, a construction crane, cosmos or the China wall
(wow)/ The smaller the dog, the bigger the mouth/ I prefer to raise the volume to keeping it down (woof)/ And when I step into the booth (woof)/ I have a fire blanket when I rec shit (yeah!)” [Translated from Finnish]. The aggressive playfulness of his rhymes brings out his hype-man energy quite well.
We bring back some of the oppressive tension on “Yhtä vailla”/”Without One.” The sampled horns and electronic beat & samples again bring to mind some of the bite that EDM acts of the 1990s brought to the table with their venomous alt-rock flair. Käärijä’s rhymes are still delivered with a sense of urgency that both gases you up and charges you up for attack.
“Mic Mac” is the first song to bring a much more electronic vibe. Käärijä also sings our hook here. I like the change in energy from aggressive to just more hype. The spacey synth backing and dance-oriented beat work well against his raps. The song reminisces on his humble beginnings as he thumbs through memories of his childhood. This more gentle treatment helps to give more depth to the moments in time he focuses on. The verses feel like you're looking through old photographs (something the rough translation points to): “The gravel road was left behind and I arrived at grandma’s/ I went to the living room to wait for a fresh bun from the oven/ While waiting for the drawing, I picked it up/ The album refreshes me with memories from my childhood” (Soratie jäi taakse ja saavuin mummolaan/ Menin olohuoneeseen odottaa tuoretta pullaa uunista/ Odotellessa piirongista hain sen/ Albumin virkistämään muistojain lapsuudestain”). I do like this shift to a more sentimental side of Käärijä’s character.
We move forward with the electronic sound on “Aikuinen”/ “Adult.” Käärijä defends all his choices with confidence, “I’m an adult, but with my own style/ I’m an adult but with my own style (ha)/ Nothing traditional/ I went different ways (ha)” (“Mä oon aikuinen mutta omal tyylillä/ Mä oon aikuinen mutta omal tyylillä (ha)/ Ei mitää perinteist/ Mä menin eri teit (ha)”). Though he may not be a university grad or have a bulky CV, he’s paving his own way. Both Jere's punching rap verses and Vinetikoira’s vocals sound great together. The mix of EDM and hip-hop gives the song’s hook “I’m an adult” and a real infectious quality that will keep it stuck in your head.
“Kiertävä sirkus”/ “Traveling Circus” brings back some of the intensity that came with the beginning of the album. The heavy bass on the beats gives off a shock of tension that coarses throughout the track. Käärijä’s rhymes still command your attention, but don’t have the same bite as they did in the opening few tracks. He stays humble as he gives praise to all those trying to make a living in society. He wants to remind everyone that there is not need flex as we’re all cogs in the machine trying to keep our heads above water, “I’m just a monkey here../ In the traveling circus (here the circus)/ And I’m not changing the world by [rapping], so I don’t have a reason to flex” (“Mä oon vaa apina tässä../ Kiertävässä sirkuksessa (tässä sirkukses)/ Enkä maailmaa muuta soittamalla suuta siks ei mul oo syytä flexaa).”
“Online” blends some of the intensity of his more biting tracks while blending in the electronic edge that coats the middle of the album. The chorus with the hook, “I’m alright/ Even thought I’m not online” (“Hei mä oon alright (mä oon alright)/ Vaikken oo online (vaikken oo online)”), adds in some autotune to give a little alt-R&B flair to this vocals. Käärijä calls out all the online bullshit that comes with the need for validation. All this married with the track’s hook reminds us that we’re still good without being terminally online. I really like the song’s vibe and appreciate the overall sentiment of the track.
“Hirttää kiinni”/ “Hang It Up” has the most in-your-face house/EDM sound out of all the other songs on the album. It has a rather 90s sound, which I enjoy in many ways, but I think it seems to date the track a bit in this case. While I enjoy the juxtaposition of Käärijä’s intense rap style over this sound, I think this treatment could have been in a way that sounds more cohesive and fresh. What I really like is his sense of humor here. Käärijä is in his feelings over some of the smallest situations, “That’s when I hang up/ When I choose the wrong checkout in the store/ Where grandma is raking in its coins and talking shit/ I wonder what it costs” (“Sillon mulla hirttää kiinni/ Ku valitsen kaupassa väärän kassan/ Missä mummo räplää sen kolikoita ja puhuu paskaa/ Ihmettelen mikä siinä maksaa”). The second verse only pushes the humor further. The lyrical content really sold me on this song.
“Viulukieli”/ “Violin String” brings back the beat drop that was made popular by many EDM artists in the early 2010s. While I think this works with Käärijä’s hype energy, again this sound feels a bit too dated compared to some of the other more interesting experimentations he had done on the album. Käärijä is set for a wild night of drinking til the world spins into another dimension, but his mates can’t keep up the energy: “In the bar the mood is tight/ Half are leaving and half are trying to beat it/ Got my salary and my wallet is hefty/ So I’ll offer up a round, because the mood is/ Tense! So damn tense!/ Tense like a violin string, damn out of tune” [Translated from Finnish]. While I like the lyrical content, I wish the song had a bit more modern treatment.
The album comes to a close with the breakbeat electronic “Z.” I think this kind of energy suits Käärijä’s vibe over some of the other more cheesy-sounding dance/electronic sounds that came up in the production of the prior two tracks. This is another track that doesn’t translate as well. If anyone is better versed in Finnish than myself, feel free to let me know the song’s lyrical meaning. I can get the song’s theme of trying to catch the train (punctuated by the whistle of a train) quite well from the track’s chorus. It’s a fun and energetic way to close out this project.
I really enjoyed the mix of EDM, rap, and rock elements that Käärijä experiments with throughout this project. His rap style can go from an intense bite to a smoother flow that compliments many of the tracks on this release. There are a few songs that felt a bit dated by the production choices (i.e. “Violin String”) that made them feel a bit flat for me. Though some of the production can be a bit intense, I think this is a great album to put on and get hyped for a wild night out. My overall thoughts of Fantastisita:
Loved it: “Fantastista” (feat. KähinäPate), “Yhtä vailla”, “Hirttää kiinni”, “Aikuinen” (feat. Vinetikoira) “Online” &“Z”
Liked it: “Intro”, “ROCK ROCK”, “Mic Mac”& “Kiertävä sirkus”
Disliked it: “Violin String”
My overall rating: 6.0 out of 10.
