{"id":606,"date":"2009-04-01T20:41:17","date_gmt":"2009-04-01T19:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tempelores.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2019-11-14T21:08:41","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T19:08:41","slug":"underwater-sleeping-society-07-03-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/?p=606","title":{"rendered":"Underwater Sleeping Society – 07-03-2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with: Underwater Sleeping Society
\nBy: Sabine van Gameren<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

Underwater Sleeping Society is on the road; they released their new album \u201cThe Dead Vegas<\/a>\u201d and now it is time to bring their music to the people. As I meet up with them in Den Bosch, Netherlands the band surely made an impression on the streets already driving in a fragile, pink tour van. Pink?! Yes, Pink is the new black! They proudly named it \u201cTytt\u00f6\u201d, which is Finnish for: Girl.
\nOkko Nieminen (vocals, guitar), Olli Varis (keyboard) and Jussi Hietala (bass) joined me to a pub down the street for this interview.
\n
\nFinland\u2019s most publicly known label for indie rock music is Fullsteam records. When hearing the music of a band like Underwater Sleeping Society it is queer to think that they would be signed there as well. Horribly wrong, since the band is signed under Backstage Alliance, a quite young label in Finland. Olli explains that Backstage Alliance comes from a fusion between Merceedees and Wolfgang records. \u201cWe got in touch with two guys, Jussi and Paavo when Backstage Alliance had not been formed yet.\u201d<\/em>
\nUnderwater Sleeping Society was part of Merceedee\u2019s back then. \u201cIt was a small indie label back then that fits more into the image of Fullsteam.\u201d<\/em>
\nNowadays there are two divisions in the Backstage Alliance; the hard rock division, which has artists like Bloodpit as keyartist and the indie rock division where Underwater Sleeping Society falls under. Whether the band is happy with this is a bit in debate as Jussi comments with a suppressed abhor: \u201cAll the money goes to the hard rock division.\u201d <\/em>
\nAfter a short silence Olli adds: \u201cWe make the better music, but we don\u2019t get the money.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

About the album <\/strong>
\nThis bitterness fades away as soon as we start talking about the recordings of their latest release \u201cThe Dead Vegas\u201d. It seems like the band got what they wanted in the end as they started talking about it proudly.
\nAs soon as I hit the topic of the new album the band starts telling that they recorded the album in the Seawolf studio\u2019s on Suomenlinna, an island located close to the harbor of Helsinki. \u201cWe practically lived there for three weeks\u201d<\/em> says Okko with a smile on his face. They made clear they are happy with the way they worked on this album, the mixing of the album is done in G\u00f6teborg, Sweden and the mastering in New York. \u201cIt was quite an international project\u201d<\/em>, says Olli.
\nBefore you start wondering yourself about how it was possible to do it this way, as they did not seem too happy about the budget they gained for it. Jussi tells \u201cAfter all we did get the money, but we have to pay it back.\u201d <\/em>
\nThe album before \u201cThe Dead Vegas\u201d was a 2007 release, when the band was still under Merceedee\u2019s. In between, the band has played many live shows and have been playing abroad as well before they started working on \u201cThe Dead Vegas\u201d. Much new experiences and the band must have been progressed a lot. \u201cI think, in every area we are better. Better sounds, mixing is better, singing is better\u201d<\/em>,says Olli. There is not any band that would say any different about their latest release so Okko goes forth on this by explaining more: \u201cWe wanted to make the songs more simple and catchy. Easier for the listeners.\u201d <\/em>
\nNone of them seem to feel very comfortable in coming out for it as it would be a commercial step. In the end the record is only out shortly and the future can only tell more about the success of the album. Okko seems to have no idea in what direction it will be going. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we succeeded, but I would not call it better or worse, it\u2019s just different than our former albums.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

About the songs<\/strong>
\nAs we were talking about the album in general mostly, there came a point where we started discussing the songs on the album more individually.
\nThe album starts off with \u201cSaw You At My Funeral\u201d, a title that might caught people\u2019s interest and make them wondering more about the story behind it. Okko seems to understand that without being asked and starts explaining a bit about the lyrics: \u201cThe lyrics started from a dream I had. I was a ghost at my own funeral, which was very weird. It was a strong dream, such a one you will remember for a long time.\u201d<\/em>
\nOlli adds that the song actually started as a folk song, but progressed into what it is now. Furthermore he says: \u201cOkko did some chords, the verse came in studio. Jussi had that really cool c-part which we added there.\u201d <\/em>
\nThe fact that the title is an eye catchers for the album seems something they like. \u201cThe lyrics carry the song\u201d<\/em> says Olli while Okko just adds that he is happy with it as it is now.
\n\u201cHurry or Wurry\u201d is the second song. Jussi immediately starts telling about his small guitar. \u201cWe played it on our last European tour\u2019s soundchecks\u201d<\/em> says Olli. Okko tells that it was born on a party but had a different chorus back then. To demonstrate it was different, they start humming it enthusiastically. About the new chorus he says: \u201cI made the chorus at home in the last minutes. We were not sure if it is good enough. I started to like it later.\u201d <\/em>
\nThe band seems to work this way often. \u201cTrapdoors\u201d, for example is also a song that has parts in it who are made long ago. In this case the melody. \u201cIt was called \u2018Nighttime\u2019 back then\u201d<\/em> says Okko.
\nThe next one on the album is one where Jussi and Olli agree about as being their favorite song: \u201cBody Blues\u201d It started way harder but they had to keep it down a bit. \u201cWhen six guys start to play it sounds really heavy\u201d<\/em> explains Okko. The song got mostly born during rehearsals. While Olli and Okko both agree that the C-part is what they like most about the song, Jussi is just enjoying his beer. \u201cWe really succeeded with that song\u201d<\/em>, concludes Olli.
\nWhen we started talking about \u201cPainting The Dead\u201d we got interrupted by the house parrot (no joke!), but soon Olli carries on to tell that it was actually called \u201cChina White\u201d. Quite some changes have been made to it, since the band was afraid that it would sound too hard. \u201cWe were afraid that it sounded like The 69 Eyes\u201d<\/em>, jokes Olli. Everyone laughs and Okko quickly adds: \u201cThen we decided it sounds like Trail of Dead\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cCounting Stars\u201d is a song that lights a little fire in them. Olli: \u201cIt sounds like modern rock! It is something that might be international, like The Killers.\u201d <\/em>With this being said the ambition of these three guys in front of me to get that international exposure seems more clear than ever before during our interview. As most of the lyrics, these were also written in the studio. \u201cI like to let the music guide me\u201d<\/em> said Okko.
\nAs soon as the ballad \u201cAntiques\u201d comes up, the table changes a bit into a pets place. \u201cI think the best part of the song is the sheep part\u201d<\/em> says Okko and suddenly all three of them were imitating sheep.
\n\u201cAccidents\u201d is the song that gets most airplay on Finnish radio as the band tells me. The song started as a joke in the rehearsal space. Olli: \u201cIt is very simple compared to our normal stuff.\u201d<\/em> As the band is getting a lot of airplay of it, it might be their big hope for a hit. Even though the band seems to have a lot of fun about this, it seems to be a commercial choice to place it on the album as well. \u201cWe needed a hit on our album\u201d,<\/em> says Okko, but Olli says it straight: \u201cWe need the money\u201d. <\/em>In the end the band seems to enjoy the success of the song and really likes to play it live. \u201cEvery place we go, when we play that song, people start dancing\u201d<\/em> explains Olli.
\nMuch deeper than \u201cAccidents\u201d is \u201cGolem\u201d which is about a monster. About the story behind it Okko tells: \u201cIt is wandering around, knocking on the studio in the dark January nights. It\u2019s a metaphor to bad, bad relations. Like: a guy beating his wife.\u201d<\/em> The band is not really happy with the way it was recorded. Olli even admits that it is his least favorite. Okko has some more to say about it: \u201cThe tom-toms came later. They are not on the record. I only did the noise part and then the guy in New York who mastered it had to double it there. Now there are the tom-toms from the beginning. How it should have been recorded. I am not happy with that. The live version is much better\u201d. <\/em>
\n\u201cThis Might Have Happened If We Made Your Home Ours\u201d is based on a true story. It is Okko\u2019s favorite as the story appears to\u00a0him. One of the exceptional songs where the lyrics were written before the studio. Okko tells: \u201cIt is about a house in Porvoo, where I was suppose to move in but I decided to move to Helsinki. Three weeks later, the house burnt down. One guy who lived upstairs set the place on fire. He confessed that he did it. Fortunately, one guy who moved into that building said to me that he liked to live minimalistic. He actually saved the guy from upstairs. But well, this is just what might have happened as it was my house. I could have lost everything.\u201d <\/em>
\nAbout the last song on the album \u201cThe End is Just A Dawn\u201d there is less to tell. Okko said he could not remember what he was thinking or why he liked it. Then, he sets up an angel voice and says: \u201cI promise I won\u2019t do it again\u201d<\/em> which made everyone laugh.<\/p>\n

About what more <\/strong>
\nAfter hearing all about the album , the tour of the guys still has many more dates to go. What will we hear from them soon? As the topic of video\u2019s comes up there is a bit of confusion. According to Okko there are three video\u2019s coming up: \u201cCounting Stars\u201d, \u201cHurry or Wurry\u201d and \u201cThe End Is Just A Dawn\u201d
\n\u201cHurry or Wurry\u201d will be just the band playing, he tells. But the other two will be animated. The confusion is about the one which will have puppet animations in it. Olli thought to remember that It was \u201cAccidents\u201d instead of \u201cCounting Stars\u201d. We\u2019ll have to wait patiently to see what will come up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Links:<\/strong>
\nUnderwater Sleeping Society MySpace<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview with: Underwater Sleeping Society By: Sabine van Gameren Underwater Sleeping Society is on the road; they released their new album \u201cThe Dead Vegas\u201d and now it is time to bring their music to the people. As I meet up with them in Den Bosch, Netherlands the band surely made an impression on the streets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1628],"class_list":["post-606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-underwater-sleeping-society"],"featured_image_url":[],"post_author":"Sabine van Gameren","assigned_categories":"Interviews","yoast_head":"\nUnderwater Sleeping Society - 07-03-2009 - Tempelores Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/?p=606\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Underwater Sleeping Society - 07-03-2009 - Tempelores Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Interview with: Underwater Sleeping Society By: Sabine van Gameren Underwater Sleeping Society is on the road; they released their new album \u201cThe Dead Vegas\u201d and now it is time to bring their music to the people. 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