Shine 2009: “We love to love and hate very similar things”

It is kind of summer now, isn’t it? So what better time to delve back into the Balearic sounds that make us think of long days and nights at the beach, clubbing ‘til the early hours and fleeting moments of romance as a cinematic sun rises and sets in the background.

As you’ll know from any time spent on the Best Fit site, we generally think that it’s the Scandinavian/Nordic artists who best capture these moments in music or song, and one of those acts is Finnish duo Shine 2009. Sami Suova and Mikko Pykari (vocals and programming, respectively) will be dropping their second album of blissful pop music, Our Nation, later this year, and belatedly return to London this week for the latest Ja Ja Ja club night. We’ve already heard a couple of singles from the new record, and things are sounding incredibly good. On ‘Eurozone’, sampled choral vocals mix with Suova’s own smooth voice while an elastic bass line provides the platform for a late night comedown, while ‘Our Nation’ – a tribute to their homeland becoming part of the EU – is all house-y piano licks and synth strings, a euphoric dancefloor-filler if ever one was.

We caught up with Sami and Mikko before their visit to London to chat more about the new record, and to take us back to how it all started for Shine 2009.

I ask Sami and Mikko to take us back to the start, and how they started making music together: “It was roughly 4 years ago,” says singer Sami. “We had talked about doing something together for quite a long time and the spring of 2009 was the moment when we finally decided to give it a try.” Did the boys hit it off immediately? “It was very natural and easy immediately in the beginning,” reveals Mikko, “maybe because we had talked about music so much that we knew we share the same aesthetics. ’Higher‘ was among the first songs we wrote, the others were left unreleased.” Was it a relationship that grew over a love of shared influences and tastes? “That was definitely the case when we started,” agrees Sami, “and it hasn’t changed.” Mikko: “Yes. It’s very easy to focus on the right aspects of making the music when you don’t have to argue about the basics…“ “We appreciate very similar qualities in music,” adds Sami, “and I believe that’s something that doesn’t change too easily. We love to love and hate very similar things.”

I’ve been back and forth many times about the name Shine 2009, wondering if it’s one the band would maybe go back and change if they had the opportunity. I suggest to them (though this isn’t my opinion) there’s a school of thought that the name the duo’s chosen instantly dates them, possibly holds them back, but both Sami and Mikko disagree: “The opposite,” counters Sami. “The more time passes by, the more I thank ourselves for adding ‘2009’ to ‘Shine’. Mikko adds a little more explanation: “It’s an experiment that goes on forever. It started as referring to being current but it already sounds a bit outdated.” I can see their point – it means the band are constantly evolving and moving away from where they started. The year dates the duo’s beginnings, but it doesn’t constrict them.

Shine 2009’s beginnings also match up with start of the excellent Cascine label; the duo was the first act to sign, so I ask the guys how that came about. Sami explains: “Sandra from Cascine is the one to be thanked for that. She did some press stuff for us at that time and introduced us to Jeff who runs the label.” Given that Jeff and Sandra bonded over Shine 2009 and their music, I ask what their support means to Sami and Mikko: “Working with them feels very natural,” says Sami, “probably because we’ve been with them from the very beginning.” There’s no argument from Mikko on this point. He explains: “It is an honour to be the first artist on the label, and it has been a good home for us.” Can Sami ever see the relationship ever coming to an end? Um, no: “Worrying about the end of a relationship when everything’s fine is unnecessary, and not good for you.”

It’s been two years since debut album Realism, but there’s not been a let-up in the output from Sami and Mikko. Alongside writing the new record, both men have been extremely busy. Sami explains more: “We both have kept fairly busy; in 2012 we released a Shine 2009 single and a full length, Red Book, by our new alias Cup. Also the writing process for the second Shine 2009 album started almost immediately after Realism was released.” Mikko has also kept himself busy away from his work with Sami. “We released our fourth album in the fall of 2011 with my other band Regina,” he reveals, and goes on to explain how that and Cup informs the music on Our Nation: “Creatively I think that the Cup album was a bit of a turning point for us as it introduced a new dimension of possibilities.”

The music under the Cup alias is a lot harder-hitting than what Sami and Mikko produce as Shine 2009 (you should listen to the rave-y ‘I’m Just Fighting’ to hear just how different the two acts are), so I ask if there’s a different sound to Shine 2009 this time around, despite ‘Our Nation’ and ‘Eurozone’ clearly having the blessed-out Balearic vibe that we know and love them for. “It definitely sounds like Shine 2009,” begins Sami, “an updated and overall better version of Shine 2009.” Mikko keeps it brief, but there’s clearly a consensus on this: “I think that it’s just better in every aspect.” Sami adds: “Musically it’s about combining elements we love and making music we wish someone would make for us.”

Delving a little further into Our Nation, it seems there’s a loose theme of place at play; with the album title and single ‘Our Nation’, alongside ‘Eurozone’ and even Cup’s track ‘Born In the EU’, is it fair to say place and nationality influenced the album? “For us the title refers to Finland and being Finnish in the year 2013,” agrees Sami. “So Finland/EU is present on the album, but there are other themes on Our Nation as well.” To some extent, Mikko agrees with this summation, but expands a little further: “It’s not by any means a theme album and we don’t want it to be political either,” he begins to explain before discussing nationality. “We are interested in the current meaning of the concept of nation in the world where everything is suddenly global.” So it’s looking at the effect of something like the EU, where a group of nations is linked by a common interest? “It’s not always clear how living in a certain place affects you and your thinking,” says Mikko. “We don’t have any statement about it; we are just interested in the phenomenon. It’s a bit similar to the ‘2009’ in our name as it has both subjective and cultural levels.”

Sticking loosely with place, but lightening the chat and moving away from nation and identity somewhat, I ask Shine 2009 if they can shed any light on why so many acts from Sweden, Norway and Finland are motivated to make this summery, Balearic music – is it escapism, or something else? It seems Sami is still figuring it out: “I’m still working on a waterproof theory on this.” Mikko has a slightly more concrete theory: “It think it has something to do with the fact that they’re all welfare nations in a cold climate.”

Sami and Mikko seem like a tight pair, so if the music on Our Nation is an updated, better version of Shine 2009, are we to assume they still produce their own records? “Yes, you’re right,” confirms Sami. “We haven’t thought about using an outside producer but I’m not against it. It could be interesting.” Mikko? “I have nothing against it; maybe after 20 years if we want to sound younger than we are!” With live dates looming, has the duo worked out how to play the new songs live? “Definitely,” is the assertive response from Sami. “In fact, our set consists mostly of new songs. They’re much more fun to play.” And what’s the live set-up for the band, can it work as a duo? “We have a drummer now, so there are three of us – and possibly visuals, too.”

Shine 2009 are playing the next night from Best Fit’s sister site Ja Ja Ja, so are they looking forward to playing London again? “The last time we played in London was ages ago,” says an excited Sami, “so looking forward to this very much!” And how about the rest of 2013, what does that hold for Shine 2009? Sam leaves us hanging just a little bit: “Big things should be taking place which hopefully means more fame and fortune for us!”

Ja Ja Ja will take place at The Lexington in London on 30 May 2013. Tickets are £5 in advance and available via this link. To find out more about the event, head to the Ja Ja Ja Facebook event page.