Kitkatone - Helsinki’s Minimal wiz reflects on beats, BBQ and the beauty of nature

Kitkatone - Helsinki’s Minimal wiz reflects on beats, BBQ and the beauty of nature

7 December, 2008 | 12.37PM

• Written by: Dylan Joseph
• Filed under: Music News : hulkkonen, kitkatone

Kitkatone is a rising star of minimal techno from Helsinki, Finland.  So much more than minimal, he is making a name for himself with raw, stripped-down jams that have more than a touch of originality. 

It’s not just enough for him to work well within the pre-conceived boundaries of the genre - Kitkkatone (aka Ilkka Koistinen) has found his own voice and palatte as a young artist.

Is it the fresh air?  The long, cold winters?  All that midnight sun?  Read on and find out.

OCR - So my friend - to start, let’s tell the people…

Who you are: My name is Ilkka Koistinen a.k.a. Kitkatone
Where you are from: I’m from Helsinki, Finland, the country where the Father Christmas lives.
and for what it might be worth, your age please: 27

OCR - How would you describe the Techno scene in Finland these days?

Kitkatone - As I see it, in the beginning of the millenium (and in the 90’s), there was quite lively Techno scene in Finland, but then something happened and suddenly many good events were not organized anymore.

In the past few years, the scene around electronic music has been revived, and today we have lots of good stuff going on in many different places, not only in Helsinki, but also in smaller towns, there are clubs which are getting local and visiting artists playing good techno music for the party people. 

OCR - Would you say that the sound that new producers are creating over there leans more towards “Finnishness” and an attempt to sound different than the rest of the world or does it sound more like outside influences can be heard?

Kitkatone - I suppose it is the both… Guys are trying to get their own “Finnish” sound, but also are influenced by the sounds of other countries… That’s what I think.

OCR - One word that first comes to mind when describing your sound is “fearless”.  I think it takes a lot of guts to commit to a sound that is capable at times of such great thematic repetition.  Do you think this is valid observation?

Kitkatone - “Fearless” - I never heard anybody saying that before! I don’t know… I just try to make my music sound good.  I try not to do the things that are “in” at the moment, nor the things that has had a big success… so I guess the answer to the question is: “Yes”.

OCR - Does this carry over into your personality?  What sort of things frighten you?

Kitkatone - I think it carries into my personality in a manner of not being able to do things that just are not me.

I get frightened by the fact, that the mass media can get people to believe everything they tell in the news, and that we can be manipulated to do things, that are told to be good for us, but are actually only causing harm.

OCR - Either inside or outside of music, what is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

Kitkatone - Probably being with my wife when our kids were born.

OCR - Do you recall one particular album or artist that first inspired you to make music?

Oh, there are many… Jori Hulkkonen’s “Selkäsaari Tracks” and DJ Shadow’s “Endtroducing”, for example.

OCR - Do you use mainly software to create your music?  Any hardware around in the studio?

Kitkatone - I use mainly just software. I have a midi keyboard and a Korg Elektribe drum machine. Of course I’d love to have hardware on the table, but since I never won the lottery, I’ve gotta stick to what I got, for now. Basically, I like to use only software, because it contains pretty much everything I need at the moment.

OCR - What is your favourite piece of equipment or software?  Any one piece of kit you wish you could own?

Kitkatone - Concerning making music, it would be my computer.

Other than that, my DSLR camera. It would be nice to get all sorts of lovely equipments… Right now, I got nothing particular in my mind.

OCR - If you were going to make a conscious change or evolution in your sound, how would you describe it?  Or do you think that you would rather continue to go deeper with the sound you have now?

Kitkatone - Well, I think my sound evolves and changes all the time. Always when I get inspired by something I hear or see, I’m trying to produce whole new ideas to make my old stuff sound refreshed and more interesting. 

OCR - If you could do a studio collaboration with any one artist, who would it be?

Kitkatone - Never thought of that before… Well, I think it could be cool to do something with Jens Zimmermann or Redshape! Right now, they are the guys who affect me the most.

OCR - Apart from music, what sorts of interests do you have?

Kitkatone - I love photographing. I am very much into street arts too. Sadly enough, in the past 10 years time, Helsinki has become the capital of anti street art/culture city in Europe. The public city space seems to be only for the companies, that pay the most.

OCR - Let’s do a little fact checking here.  According to Wikipedia:  “One of the most traditional activities characterized by the Finnish culture is cottage life by a lake, often combined with going to sauna, swimming and barbecuing. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature.” Is this true??  And when are you inviting us over??  Sounds like a good time!

Kitkatone - In many cases this is correct! Many people are living in cities and towns in Finland, but in the weekends and on holidays they head for their summer cabins to relax by the lake, swim, go to sauna, have a beer or two and eat some sausages!  Even though, I like to live in a city, it truly is so relaxing to go in to the countryside to our cabin in the middle of nothing surrounded by forest and water… so I think most people do have an emotional connection to the nature. 

OCR - Pardon our fascination, but a bit more about Finland.  It also says “The Finnish mentality is often characterized by less small talking and more honest and straight forward type of communication compared to other cultures. This is reflected in exceptionally powerful words in the Finnish language, such as the swear word ‘perkele’.”

That’s what I keep hearing from the foreigners.  :)

OCR - If I listen to your music, this seems very much to be true about “less small talk, more honest and straight forward”.  Would you agree??
And what does “perkele” mean?? 

Kitkatone - I do agree with you about “less small talk, more honest and straight forward”. That’s the way I like it to be done.

“Perkele” is a name for Satan used in the Finnish Bible, and it’s also a powerful swear word… Imagine the Finnish soldiers in the 2nd World War fighting the Soviets, in a very bad situation they would shout that word loud as hell! Or today, during an ice-hockey game. :) It really comes from the bottom of the heart.

OCR - Last question - the heads keep asking us - when is the next release coming on OCR?

When the time is right… Hopefully soon!

• (0) Comments
• (538) Views
• Check out Kitkatone on Beatport