Ja Ja Ja Festival Acts: Broke, I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper, Kid Astray, Sakaris

Having made themselves rather comfortable in the Lexington, the thoroughly Nordic affair, and friend of Best Fit, Ja Ja Ja are expanding their horizons to set their sights on the Roundhouse, for their first festival. Taking place this weekend, on the 8 and 9 November, the festival will bring everything we know and love about Ja Ja Ja – their lovingly handpicked selection of the best up-and-coming Nordic acts, with a full film line-up, record fair and food stall. Alongside headline performances from Mew and The Raveonettes (check out our interview here), will be a host of talent emerging from the Nordic countries – and we took the time to get to know some of them a little.

Broke

What were your musical beginnings? How did you get into making music?

Both us grew up with a lot of music at home. Our dads have raised us in front of speakers playing Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Beatles and other old, but good, stuff.Then we picked up instruments in a really early age, so our lives has always been full of music.

Have you always aspired to be musicians?

We aspired more for being artists and create something unique, than to just be a musician. Of course, it’s more fun to play guitar in a band instead of working in an office, but in the end it’s the creative insanity that drives you all the way.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?

We make electronic music and are influenced by a lot of different music. We’ve been categorized as “Digitalized Post-Punk” and “Dark-coloured Disco”. Think that’s pretty suitable for us at the moment. At the moment we listen to Russian witch-house, German techno, noise rock, hip-hop and Britney Spears.

What do you think is the most important element for a great pop song?

We think that a good pop song has to be universal – in the melodies, the lyrics and the instrumentation. If you write a love song then the lyrics are universal, because everyone in the world has an experience with love. Then you have to make a melody that is so catchy that it doesn’t matter if it was ABBA or Beyoncé who wrote the melody – that’s universal too. And if the chords are so basic that everyone could take an acoustic guitar and play the song, then you have all the universal aspects and soon you will have a million dollar bill from airplay.

How do audiences respond to the material live?

Sometimes people dance and sometimes people float away into a haze of sound. Sometimes people love us and sometimes people hate us.

Which track is the most fun to play and why?

We build our live-set as a DJ-set, so everything floats together. We try to make a build up from the start to the end. So it’s funny to play all the way, because it’s evolving the whole time.

What’s your favourite part of performing live?

When you forget time and space while playing. It’s almost better than sex.

Have you played the UK before? How do you reckon this show will compare to before?

We played in London at The Lexington before. We try to have the same expectations for every show we play, ’cause we know that nothing will never turn out as you expected. We just keep our minds and souls open for the world and then we see what it brings to us.

What would you say are the struggles in breaking the UK market for musicians from the Nordic community?

We don’t know. People say that it’s difficult, ’cause the UK fostered some of the greatest artists ever, so why should people from the UK pay attention to Nordic music? But we believe so much in what we do, that we don’t care so much. ‘Cause in the end we know that if we are meant to be, then we are also meant to be in the UK market.

How do platforms such as Ja Ja Ja help musicians in your position?

We love London and there is a lot of great and music interested people in the city. So for our position – they help us to come and play our music and hangout with some great people. We try to let other people care about strategies and business, so we can focus on making the best music and having a good time.

If you were booking Ja Ja Ja festival, who would be your ultimate act?

Sigur Rós would be a cool band to book. We listen to them some years ago when they released the two first albums. Then we didn’t pay much attention to them for some years, but both of us was really impressed by their new album Kveikur that they released earlier this year.

I Was A Teenage Satan Worshipper

What were your musical beginnings? How did you get into making music?

Things led to another, I think. It was early computer and video games that got me into music. I was something like eight years old and played theme songs from C64 games with my keyboard, after intense game sessions at my friends home. As a teenager, metal kicked in hugely and I bought my first guitar. Soon after my musical taste moved towards more into new wave, alternative, goth and stuff like that. I bought myself used samplers, synths and other gear and started making songs of my own. I had several projects going on, but I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper was the one which resonated with the Finnish indie audience and made some good response.

Have you always aspired to be musicians?

I think so. It was a big dream for me to make albums when I was a kid but I always thought that was unlikely. More or less consioussly every little choice in life pushed me closer to a situation where it would be possible. Everyone of us still has a ‘real job’ on the side. of a band.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?

We’re constantly changing our sound so it’s a bit hard thing to say. I’d say it’s just indie rock, with influences of the past 40 years of popular music. To this point there’s been lots of electronic elements in the music, but lately I’ve been more into noisy guitar sounds.

What do you think is the most important element for a great pop song?

The catch could be a melody, chords, production or lyrics, something that gives the song a strong feeling of a soul. I think the most important thing is a good, bright idea, rather than the way it manifests.

How do audiences respond to the material live?

In Finland, it somehow correlates with the amount of alcohol the audience has consumed…Usually when we’ve had good gigs, the best ones have been those where the interaction has been very intense with the audience.

What track is the most fun to play and why?

At the moment it’s “Everything Happened” from our latest album There. It’s a piece of kraut that usually escalates into painful noise. There’s so much improvisation while playing that live. Our key player reads classic rock lyrics on the song. At the moment she uses “Are You Experienced?” by Jimi Hendrix.

What’s your favourite part of performing live?

It’s the part when you know that nothing can go wrong whatever happens and you don’t care how you look and it’s possible to just let go.

Have you played the UK before? If yes, how do you reckon this show will compare to before? If no, what do you expect it’ll be like?

No we have not. I expect it to be a good gig. We’re doing the same set like we do everywhere else, only since it’s a thirty-minute slot, we have to drop few songs out. I wish we’d find some new fans by playing there. The UK audience has that worldwide reputation of being very arrogant but I think the concept of the festival alone casts a certain power shield on us…

What would you say are the struggles in breaking the UK market for musicians from the Nordic community?

I’d say it’s that “we’ve already got all the good bands” state of mind. If I were living in UK, I’d think that way too. But I believe that if the band’s evoking enough, things go on their own weight. Money always helps though.

How do platforms such as Ja Ja Ja help musicians in your position?

You can’t win the lottery if you didn’t buy a ticket. Ja Ja Ja just handed us a one giving an opportunity to play at the festival.

If you were booking Ja Ja Ja festival, who would be your ultimate act?

I’d say it’s The Hearing, a finnish one-woman act. It’s all live looping, choir harmonies and she’s a very strong singer. I’ve been involved as a producer of her debut album ‘Dorian’ so of course I’m a little partial, but after seeing it live about thirty times, it’s still a magical thing to watch.

Any surprises in store?

We don’t have any plans how to perform. It’s always a little surprise what happens on stage. Once I fell off the stage, straight on my neck. That wasn’t choreographed.

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Kid Astray

What were your musical beginnings? How did you get into making music?

We all come from different musical backgrounds. Some of us have musicians in our families – parents, grandparents or siblings. We’ve all been playing music our entire lives, so it’s hard to say how it all began.

Have you always aspired to be musicians?

We’ve all had the “childhood-dream” of being a musician and playing in a band. We just never moved on, really.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?

Contemporary pop. Nothing less. It’s catchy, electronic indie-pop. Imagine that you are standing outside a nightclub amongst people puking, kissing and crying – we’re the soundtrack.

What music influenced your sound?

We’ve been listening to everything from Billboard music charts to experimental underground indie music. Then we pick the coolest elements of everything, and mix it.

What do you think is the most important element for a great pop song?

To us, the most important element of a tune is a catchy hook, both lyrically and musically. Something that sticks to your brain, and pops up in your head for weeks.

How do audiences respond to the material live?

They’re obedient. And nice. Sometimes they cry. A lot.

What’s your favourite part of performing live?

Sometimes when we perform, it’s like we hit a nerve in the audience, and extraordinary moments happen. It’s moments like when the audience sings along, being a musician is the best job imaginable!

Have you played the UK before? If yes, how do you reckon this show will compare to before? If no, what do you expect it’ll be like?

Yes, we played two gigs in London a couple of weeks ago. This time we’ll bring out the big guns, as well as a couple of new cool songs. It’s gonna be awesome.

What would you say are the struggles in breaking the UK market for musicians from the Nordic community?

The UK music market is much larger than the Nordic one, which means there’s a lot more competition. Other than that, breaking through is basically a question of good music, in the UK as well as the rest of the world.

How do platforms such as Ja Ja Ja help musicians in your position?

First of all, we get to play for an international audience alongside other up-and-coming artists, as well as the established ones. It gives us new artists a unique opportunity to build a bigger fan base internationally.

If you were booking Ja Ja Ja festival, who would be your ultimate act?

Power! Unlimited POWER! Our ultimate act to book would be Eye Emma Jedi. They’re a norwegian up-and-coming band with really cool indie music and amazing live performances. It would be awesome to see them there.

Sakaris

What were your musical beginnings? How did you get into making music?

My father is a musician, so I have always been surrounded by music and instruments and gear. I would probably say I had my musical beginnings at around age 12, when my father bought a Roland 16 track digital recorder. I played around with that a lot: recording drums from a cheap crappy keyboard, recording bass, guitar, doing vocals etc. It was like having 16 copies of myself to play around with. That really established my one-man-band approach.

Have you always aspired to be a musician?

I’ve always known that I wanted music to be a part of my life, but the question has always been to what extent. I’ve been kind of stuck between getting an education and a “regular job” on one side, and creating and playing music on the other side. That kind of doubt can be very dangerous. Luckily, the older I get, the more convinced I get that music is the only way for me. Right now I have both feet planted firmly in the music side.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?

I would call it bright, shiny and sparkly electro pop music. It contains elements from 80s synth pop as well as quirky retro video game music. I guess you could say that it sounds very happy and optimistic. The lyrics are very neurotic and pessimistic, though, so there’s quite a contrast there.

What music influenced your sound?

I was quite an avid gamer when I was younger (still am, though not to the same extent), so naturally the music in these games really got to me. I now find that I automatically put in these cheesy video game sounding synths and elements – it’s just that big a part of me. I’m also very much influenced by 80s pop production – that kind of over the top, super dramatic, synth-driven sound. All in all, you could say I’m quite nostalgic.

What do you think is the most important element for a great pop song?

I would say a great pop song has the right balance between being safe and ballsy. It knows how keep a firm grip on the audience with traditional pop songwriting “tricks”, but it also knows how to throw in something completely unexpected and special. I think that having one foot in each of these sides is the way to create genuinely interesting and good pop music.

How do audiences respond to the material live?

I had a performance in Madrid last weekend, and there was a whole lot of dancing going on – even if it was a sitting concert, these people somehow managed to find space to dance in.

What’s your favourite part of performing live?

For a lonely home recording one-man-band musician like me, it’s always a breath of fresh air to take the music outside of the studio and jam around with it with three other guys in front of an audience. You get so used to your own songs, so it’s a blast improvising some of the stuff and seeing it from a fresh angle.

What would you say are the struggles in breaking the UK market for musicians from the Nordic community?

I don’t really know that much about UK and the music scene. But from what I’ve heard, it is very difficult for a foreign band to break into the UK market, seeing as you have shitloads of good bands of your own. But now there’s this whole Nordic thing going on, where everything from the north seems to be hip and cool. So maybe that will help me along!

How do platforms such as Ja Ja Ja help musicians in your position?

I’ve been getting a lot of likes on my Facebook page since I was announced to be playing at Ja Ja Ja. I’ve also just been getting a lot of media attention and interviews and opportunities lately, and I haven’t even played yet! I’m hoping my music will connect with the brits and that the whole thing will be taken further in the UK

If you were booking Ja Ja Ja festival, who would be your ultimate act?

Well, if we’re talking Faroese bands, there’s an electro outfit called Byrta that would fit perfectly into the festival. It’s dark and hip electro pop with Faroese lyrics. As Nordic as it gets.

Are you excited about playing Ja Ja Ja Festival and which other act are you looking forward to seeing the most?

Yes, I’m very excited to be playing there. The Roundhouse is a legendary venue, and I’m very thankful to get the opportunity to stand on that stage. Unfortunately, I’m leaving the UK straight after the show, so I won’t catch any of the bands.

Any surprises in store?

Yes, actually. Let’s just say that our show is going to be quite tasty (quite literally).

For the full stage times for the weekend’s festivities, head here for Friday, and here for Saturday.