pHinnWeb

pHinnWeb: Finnish electronic music info since 1996. The old school, the new school and the pHuture school in Finland and around the globe. Retro-futuristic excursions to the strange world of music and arts. And more. More pHinnWeb: https://linktr.ee/phinnweb

[phinnweb]

Before I will find time to update this Tumblr blog again, there's always some newer stuff in the following places:

pHinnWeb @ Bluesky

pHinnWeb @ Mastodon

Both these are for (almost) daily music news, record releases and event infos from Finland.

Then there's

pHinnWeb 2: some miscellaneous texts on music and films, etc., both retro and new-ish.

Till we meet again.

[phinnweb]

2024 in a nutshell: My first professional film project, the war documentary Marokon kauhu (The Terror of Morocco a.k.a. Aarne Juutilainen) was finally ready and got into distribution. As a personal project, being able to finish Amuri Tekno, an interview documentary of a local electronic duo, after nearly three years since its filming, was also important for me.

Of the other stuff, I was glad I got back the taste for writing, with a quite lengthy text of our local Club Telex (that took place at the turn of the millennium) finished at the end of the year (with an option for some possible future additions).

There was also a sort of artist biography/tribute to the late J Saul Kane (a.k.a. Depth Charge a.k.a. The Octagon Man), of UK, that I started to write almost as soon as the news of his passing reached me (of all the people we lost in 2024, this one personally hit me the hardest). 2025: on its way, another war documentary, JR29, where my role is as the editor. I’d like to work more on my writing, screenplays, too. As finding one's way to work as a professional film-maker in this country (and getting past the gatekeepers) seems to be extremely hard, I have kept open the prospects of being involved in all sorts of DIY/”outsider art” type of productions, as a more realistic option, perhaps.

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[Extended version of this text.]

There’s Bonus Beats, a new compilation from Cold Blow Records that brings up quite an onslaught of memories for me.

Namely, of those times when we had our own Club Telex at Tampere’s Yo-Talo (Student Union House), and also hanging out at the electro parties in Helsinki (remember Helsinki Turbo?) and Turku, with those lovely freaks of Rikos Records (the defunct cult label from Jyväskylä, also represented on Bonus Beats), Op:l Bastards, Imatran Voima (with the late lamented Perttu Häkkinen), Mr Velcro Fastener (who specifically informed me that “Mr” in their name is spelled without the full stop), Nu Science (the unofficial “house band” of Club Telex -- now there’s one act who would deserve their own retrospective compilation), Mono Junk, Jori Hulkkonen too, the ever-present Erkko (who curated this compilation), and so on.

The first Club Telex, with Nu Science and Op:l Bastards performing, took place on the 27th of March, 1999, at Yo-Talo, Tampere’s traditional Student Union House. I remember our concept of having electronic live acts was somehow inspired by a club named Osasto in Helsinki. What we added there was that we also showed short films early in the evening, making it a sort of – for a lack of better expression – multimedia event.

“Electronic Avantgarde Excursions” was the tagline of Club Telex, even though in the end there was less experimental music as the average member of local audience – usually consisting of students, indie hipsters and perhaps an odd raver -- was craving for something to dance to rather than to listen some weirdness while scratching one's chin and nodding one's head knowingly.

"Perkeleenmoinen groove" (loosely translates as "hell of a groove") was another expression that was favoured in our plugs to specifically promote the event. 

There was also DJ music, usually by the resident disc jockeys Mikko “mini” Niemelä and yours truly but sometimes also guest DJs spinning records. Alongside mini and me, organising the club were Antti Vuorio (R.I.P.) and Olli Sotamaa, both familiar from the academic circles in Tampere, Vuorio also representing the Monroe film club where he then worked as a president. Monroe was an important collaborator for Club Telex, specifically providing us with the short films. As was also the Student Union of Tampere University, who would assist us in booking the nights at Yo-Talo.

The name “Telex” was inspired by the Belgian synthpop act of the same name, having also a nice retrofuturistic ring to it in an era when e-mails and the Internet were already replacing the old telex and telefax machines as a primary means of rapid global communication.

Some Finnish artists who performed at Club Telex:

Acidroot Soundsystem, Ektroverde, Ever Had, Helsinki Bass Machine, Imatran Voima, Jimi Tenor, Kemialliset Ystävät, Kukka, Anton Nikkilä, M.A. Numminen, Mono Junk, Mr Velcro Fastener, Nemesis, Nu Science, Op:l Bastards, O Samuli A, Ovuca, Pan sonic, Pink Twins, Planet Lander, Spektor vs. Nukleon, Tero, Unidentified Sound Objects, Ural 13 Diktators, Virtalähde, and Ylikulju.

And the international artists who performed at Club Telex:

Alexei Borisov (RU), Chicks on Speed (AU/DE/US), Fennesz (AT) (who played as a duo with the late Mika Vainio), Hecker (AT), I-f (DJ set/NL), Jeans Team (DE), Peaches (US), Nicole Willis (US), Pluxus (SE), and Skot (AT).

Some of these artists we had in collaboration with Avanto Festival and Helsinki Turbo, who arranged for them a gig also in Helsinki (for some of these people, there might have been some live action in Turku, too). There were also some events in collaboration with Kaukana Väijyy Ystäviä and Mindtrek festivals. Fennesz, Hecker and Skot were courtesy of Austria's Mego label.

As guest DJs for Club Telex nights we had, among all, such people as DCom, 6M4 (a.k.a. Gamma), Indigo, Kauko Lampi, Kuuro Kädetön Paisti, Marko Laine, Mike Not, Randy B., and Stimulus Progression.

As for the films shown during our nights, we had at least Futuro and Thank You for the Music by Mika Taanila, then the world premiere of Routemaster by Ilppo Pohjola. The director himself would have liked to show it with a 35 mm film projector, but dragging such heavy and expensive equipment to the club premises of Yo-Talo, which originally served as a bank in the early 20th century, would have been sheer impossibility, so we had to compromise, and another video projection it was to be. Also the legendary Eino Ruutsalo’s experimental 1960s shorts and episodes of such classic Finnish children’s animation series, from the 1960s and 70s, as Kössi Kenguru and Käytöskukka were often seen.

Jyrki, at that time perhaps the most watched pop music TV show in Finland, visited the Commodore 64 theme night of Club Telex in January 2001. Interviewed here are Mikko "mini" Niemelä (known for Polytron, later also as the promoter for Ruisrock festival), Tero (Mäyränen, who released 8-bit type of electro for Rikos Records) and Nu Science, with Mikko Ojanen (who later wrote his doctorate thesis on Erkki Kurenniemi) and Henri Tani talking at Yo-Talo's legendary backroom while the third member, Aku Raski (later known for Huoratron), smiles contentedly.

From 1997, when I witnessed I-f’s (playing as Ferenc) set at Jyväskylä’s festival and instantly became converted, to perhaps 2005-06 when I quit DJing, it was electro (or to be more precise, its second or third wave, if we take into account its Stateside originators in the 80s) that ruled supreme, with some other related genres also squirming into our sets, such as IDM, EBM, synthpop/futu, Italodisco, Hi-NRG, even a bit of dub & hip hop, and yeah, some good old 4/4 techno, with also some occasional, erm, electroclash (once a hip genre cursed among all "real" electro fans) – yes, it can be confessed now since there isn't any personal “street cred” to hold on to anymore (if there ever was).

Alongside Club Telex, there were also some events dedicated purely to electro. In February 2001 we had as electronic live acts from Holland, representing the legendary Bunker Records, both Legowelt and Orgue Electronique.

Was the electro journey worth taking? Sure, there were a lot of things that, in retrospect, should have been left undone, should have been left unsaid. Maybe there’s still someone out there who harbours resentment. Apologies accepted or not, call it a learning process. But despite any personal blunders there might have been, the music was good, and that’s the only real thing worth remembering.

Musical fashions change rapidly. For a couple of years in the late 1990s and the first years of the Noughties, electro was "hip", then something else came along. Since the millennium we've had EDM, trap, vaporwave, synthwave, and loads of other new genres born almost every year that it's totally impossible to keep up with them anymore. Also techno has been revived for the Berghain generation. Classic Italodisco of the 1980s seems to hold its cultish popularity among the club hipsters, year after year. As for electro, probably there will be another full-fledged revival one day, as it seems any type of electronic music will eventually create its own "trad" following, in the way of "classic rock", as can also be witnessed from the ever-rising popularity of analogue instruments.

But enough with the ranting, get this compilation if you want to get a little taste of what it was all about. It's full of lost gems, such as Imatran Voima's 'It's Time to Testify' from their first EP (Kostamus Records, 2000).

[Extended version of this text.]

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The Terror of Morocco – The Road to Winter War 1939 (English subtitles)

Koko dokumentti nähtävissä Kotikinossa: https://kotikino.fi/video/details/70283302/278975332

(For the time being, the full documentary can be watched in Finland only.)

Pois leikattu jakso draamadokumentista Marokon Kauhu - Dokumenttielokuva suomalaisesta taistelijasta (julkaistu 16.3. 2024, levitys VL Media). Pääosassa: Pauli Poranen. Dokumentin sotilasasiantuntijana: Lauri Hietaniemi.

A deleted sequence from the docufiction The Terror of Morocco - Documentary Film about a Finnish Warrior (out 16 March 2024, distributed by VL Media/Finland). Starring: Pauli Poranen. Military expert for the documentary: Lauri Hietaniemi.

Lisätiedot tekijöistä, työryhmästä ym. videon lopputeksteissä.

Please, see the video end credits for full info on cast, crew, etc.

Kapteeni Aarne Juutilaisesta (1904-1976) tuli Kollaan taistelujen symboli Suomen talvisodassa 1939-40. Tarkka-ampuja Simo Häyhä, "Valkoinen kuolema", oli yksi Juutilaisen miehiä. Dokumenttifilmi kertoo, mikä Ranskan Muukalaislegioonasta lempinimensä saanut "Marokon Kauhu" oikein oli miehiään.

Captain Aarne Juutilainen (1904-1976), nicknamed "the Terror of Morocco" after his stint in the French Foreign Legion, became the symbol of the Battle of Kollaa in Finnish Winter War of 1939-40. The sniper Simo Häyhä, “the White Death”, was one of Juutilainen’s men. This documentary film is an account of Aarne Juutilainen’s life.

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The news just came in today that J. Saul Kane, the pioneering British breakbeat/electro musician known for such projects as Depth Charge and the Octagon Man, has passed on. He was only 57 years old. I was briefly in touch with him years ago when I kept for my own Website a sort of fanpage of his music and also the record labels, DC Recordings and Electron Industries, that he maintained. (I can’t say I knew him well, but I remember “Nutters but good nutters” was how he commented on the page.) Rest in peace, Master, your music will live on.

[ Extended version ]

[phinnweb]

Some years ago I was planning as student work a documentary of Tampere's old Jugendstil (related to Art Nouveau/Secessionism) buildings of the late 19th and early 20th century, many of them sadly demolished now. (As there was too much else to do those days, I had to put the planned documentary project on the back burner, hopefully to be retrieved in some form one day...) The corner of Hämeenkatu and Kauppakatu, 1912. From the left: the House of Kansallispankki (built 1904-16) and the House of Blom (built 1907, demolished 1955), both by architect Birger Federley (1874-1935). Photographer unknown, the image in public domain (as far as I know).

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17.10. vietetään Asunnottomien yötä. Viisi vuotta sitten tehtiin tämä dokumentti. Kivisen Timo (Pictura Films) ohjasi, minä tein käsikirjoituksen "Katrin" draamaosuuteen, joka pohjautui tositarinaan. Tämä ihminen ei halunnut esiintyä omilla kasvoillaan, joten ensin haastattelin häntä ja tein sitten haastattelun pohjalta kässärin. "Katria" esitti Sonja Häkkinen, joka oli myös Kuiskaaja-lyhärissäni sekä Sitkee sydän -minisarjassa, jota niin ikään kirjoitin. (Lisäksi muita näyttelijöitä mainituista projekteista on mukana draamaosuudessa.) Dokumentissa esiintyvät entinen asunnoton Sipa ja avustustyöntekijä Pekka Matilainen ovat molemmat nyt kuolleet.

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17th of October is in Finland the Night of the Homeless. This documentary was made five years ago. Timo Kivinen (Pictura Films) directed, I wrote the script for the docudrama sequence about "Katri", which was based on a true story. This person didn't want to appear with her own face, so I first interviewed her and then wrote a screenplay based on the interview. The role of "Katri" was played by Sonja Häkkinen, who was also in my Kuiskaaja/The Stage Whisperer short film and in the Sitkee Sydän/The Resilient Heart miniseries, which I also wrote. (In addition, other actors from the mentioned projects are involved in the docudrama sequence.) Former homeless person Sipa and social worker Pekka Matilainen, who appear in the documentary, have both passed away now.

[phinnweb]

JR29: Vaiettu rykmentti

(“JR29: A Regiment Forced into Silence”).

Documentary film.

27 April 2025.

Finnish Infantry Regiment 29 was assembled from the Finnish province of Central Ostrobothnia in 1941. The Regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel Paavo Susitaival under Colonel Kaarlo Heiskanen. The Regiment advanced through the bloody battles in the Eastern Karelia to Petrozavodsk, where it arrived in October 1941, and went on through the trench warfare stage of the Continuation War. The relationship between Colonel Heiskanen and Susitaival was strained: Susitaival was of the opinion that he never received from Heiskanen the appreciation that the Infantry Regiment 29 would have deserved for its achievements.

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Teaser videos (with English subtitles):

[phinnweb]

Amuri Tekno are Miika Salo and Miska Väänänen, hailing from Tampere, Finland. Their music is a homegrown blend of Detroit-inspired techno, tech-house, acid house, IDM, and ambient. They have released on such Finnish record labels as Kontact Records, Spin Records and Turun Levytehdas. They are both of the generation who was coming of age during the halcyon days of the early 1990s techno music and rave culture explosion which spread also to some more peripheral regions outside the obvious Detroit-London-Berlin axis, and furthermore, spawned such new musical genres as IDM and drum & bass. For some years now pHinnWeb has been a big fan of Amuri Tekno's music, so it was time to find out about their origins, ideas and views. For the interview, often accompanied by a hearty laughter, they share their insights not only about their own productions and instruments but also of being long-time music fans, discussing their favourite artists, labels and records, Tampere’s local scene and its history, and electronic music culture in general.

43 minutes. With English subtitles.

[phinnweb]

Amuri Tekno Trailer 2024 (English subtitles)

Amuri Tekno are a techno duo from Tampere, Finland. On Friday 20 September 2024 you can find their full interview, 43 minutes, at pHinnWeb's YouTube channel.

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[phinnweb]

Amuri Tekno are two local guys, Miika Salo & Miska Väänänen. I am a big fan of their music, which could be called a homegrown blend of Detroit techno, acid, IDM and ambient techno.

From the 2020s musical perspective, their sound could also be called somewhat "retro" (if you are a fan of what labels like Warp, R&S, Planet E, Applied Rhytmic Technology, Rephlex or Peace Frog released in the 90s, you probably understand). Personally I'd just say it's timeless.

They now released a new EP on Bandcamp, called Unissakävelijä ("Sleepwalker", 22 July 2024). Tracks by Amuri Tekno can also be found from SoundCloud and YouTube.

[phinnweb]

Postilaatikkoon oli tullut tällainen kysymys. Koska asia voi kiinnostaa muitakin, kysyjälle on varmaankin OK, että julkaisen sen tässä. ”Moi, oletko päivittämässä Phinnwebia? Olisi hienoa jos siellä olisi kaikki suomalaiset julkaisut, onko sinulla muuten kaikki suomalaiset mixtapet, nekin voisi sinne lisätä. Entä miten olisi flyerigalleria, Klubituksessa on jonkinlainen galleria mutta en pidä siitä sivusta erityisemmin. Niiltäkin ne voisi varmaan saada kaikki mitä niillä on. Entä oletko päivittämässä sivujen layouttia? Kiitos hyvästä sivusta!” Vastauksena siis muillekin kiinnostuneille voisin sanoa, että ”Kyllä, mutta…”, eli tässä on lähinnä kyse siitä, että aikaa, energiaa eikä oikein resurssejakaan ole nyt. Olen tällä hetkellä sitoutunut ensi kevääksi tarkoitetun dokumenttielokuvaprojektin tekemiseen, joka vie mainittuja. Ja periaatteessa sama tilanne on ollut jo viimeiset seitsemän – kymmenisen vuotta, kun olen elokuvan tekemistä opiskellut ja siihen liittyviä töitä (ohjaaminen, esi- ja jälkityöt/leikkaaminen, mukaan lukien grafiikat, käsikirjoittaminen, lähdemateriaalin ja arkistojen tutkimus, ym.) tehnyt. Samalla, kun koetan myös oikeasti työllistyä alalla (ja lisäksi työkkäri ohjailee jonkin verran sitä, mitä voin tehdä ja mitä en). Sivusto on ollut koko ajan käytännössä yhden ihmisen projekti, jonka ylläpitoon (satunnaisia auttajia lukuunottamatta, eli he jotka ovat auttaneet grafiikassa, layoutissa, ym., ja tietysti kaikki he, jotka ovat julkaisuista tai muusta tietoa lähettäneet) eikä kustannuksiin ei ole muita osallistunut. Eli tässä esittäisin saman toivomuksen kuin aikaisemminkin: jos sinulla on tarvittavat dataresurssit omasta takaa ja haluat tulla tekemään talkootyötä, etsimään ja kokoamaan tietoja kotimaisista julkaisuista, miksausnauhoista ja tapahtumien flyereista, ym., olet lämpimästi tervetullut mukaan. Ja jos olet paikallisia (Tampereen alue), se on suuri etu, koska parhaiten yhteistyö sujuu, kun voidaan tavata ja suunnitella face-to-face. Toistaiseksi kuitenkin päivitän vain jonkin verran pHinnWebin somea, mutta mitään kaiken kattavaa palvelua en nyt mainituista syistä pysty ylläpitämään.

[phinnweb]

Ohjaamani Marokon kauhu -draamadokumentti näytetään Rautjärven Kollaa ja Simo Häyhä -museolla lauantaina 18.5. 2024, klo 14 Komendantissa (ent. Kuntala). Paikalla on sotahistorian tutkija ja tietokirjailija Lauri Hietaniemi, jota kuullaan haastateltavana dokumentissa. Hietaniemi on sotilasasiantuntija myös nyt työn alla olevassa seuraavassa projektissani, On aika kertoa – Jalkaväkirykmentti 29 (2025), joka kertoo Keski-Pohjanmaan sotilaista jatkosodassa 1941. Kuva: kapteeni Aarne ”Marokon kauhu” Juutilainen ja tarkka-ampuja Simo Häyhä vuonna 1959. Kuva julkaistu alun perin Karjalan pojat -lehdessä 3-4/1959. Marokon kauhun voi katsoa myös Elisa Viihteessä.

https://elisaviihde.fi/elokuvat/49837/marokon-kauhu

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Pullojen Kerääjä – The Bottle Collector (English Subtitles) The 2018 short upscaled to 4K. At pHinnWeb's YouTube.

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Ohjaamani Marokon Kauhu -draamadokumentin arvio Kokkolassa ilmestyvässä Keskipohjanmaa-lehdessä. Kokkolan ohella dokumenttia pakerrettiin hyvän matkaa myös Tampereella, ja itse dokkari sijoittuu paljolti Laatokan Karjalaan, toki piipahdetaan myös Marokossa ja Pariisissakin. (Kuva: Markku Riipi)

A review of the Marokon Kauhu docufiction that I directed, Keskipohjanmaa paper, Kokkola, Finland.

[phinnweb]

English summary: Marokon Kauhu, the docufiction that I directed, on Finnish war hero Captain Aarne Juutilainen (1904 – 1976), is now streaming in Finland on Elisa Viihde.

Marokon Kauhu -dokumentti on nyt katsottavissa Elisa Viihteessä.

https://elisaviihde.fi/elokuvat/49837/marokon-kauhu

(Sivulla oleviin krediitteihin pyysin levittäjä VL Mediaa tekemään ainakin sellaisen korjauksen, että alkuperäisen Marokon Kauhu -lavamonologin kyllä ohjasi Kimmo Lavaste, mutta itse olen varsinaisen dokkarin ohjaaja ja käsikirjoittaja. Pari muutakin korjausta tai täsmennystä voisi myös tehdä, mutta mennäänpä nyt toistaiseksi näillä…)