#181 Tallinn Music Week 2014

I listen to Bass and clap in the morning when I don't want to get out of bed

Sending big props to everyone who were a part of this experience for me. The guys from Stockholm, all the Latvians (you were much fun) and the people from Loftas, which already seems like the coolest Lithuanian venue.
Press play and read on.



Tallinn Music Week had me on a sleep diet ~15 hours of sleep during the three festival nights. It was well worth it as I saw good bands and met great people. The track is what the international crowd had to say about my music at the "Check My Demo" panel, where random demos are picked and critiqued.

Toomas Oljum interviews Kerli Kõiv about her road to making it.

Kerli delivered a very refreshing talk at the panel in a very no-nonsense relaxed way. It was truly inspiring and I have much respect for her.

Kerli Kõiv and the press.

Von Kuusk who I very vaguely remember seeing, but I had this photo.

Hanf Kung who weren't wearing caps for some reason.

Hanf Kung - the rap group who made a rap about my home shop.

Ashnikko was the one wearing The Pants at the Hip Hop showcase.

Ashnikko is a USA born female rapper who lives in Latvia. As petite as she is, she managed to take over the whole stage almost singlehandedly with her impressive energy and in your face attitude that reminded me of Uffie. She had the coolest shorts printed with motives from windows 95, which seems to be a hot trend in some Latvian circles. I might talk more of her in the future.

Ashnikko.

Sus Dungo fairy army with two girls still missing from the photo.

Sus Dungo who are 7 beautiful Latvian fairies took my by surprise and instantly. I couldn't believe it, I would usually run the other way when I hear that something folky is coming up. Sus Dungo filled the audience's field of vision with tangible beauty and sonically blasted their audience with a multitude of voices. I wasn't even bothered by the fact that I couldn't understand the Latvian songs.

Sus Dungo's harp which is apparently from Apple.

Badass Yuki hypnotizing set.

Badass Yuki was a force to be reckoned with and my faith got renewed. They filled my head with the "American Man" for my walk back home. Mart Avi was as certain as a Greek statue and Paul Sild was sporting a Batman shirt and bobing around his side of the stage. The chemistry was something otherworldly.

Badass Yuki.

Odd Hugo on Saturday.

Odd Hugo, who was charming as usual, but I can't wait for the next album to come out, luckily they play some of their tracks a little differently in their lives. They inspire me with their sincerity.

Odd Hugo on Friday.

Head over to my Facebook for info about the "Neon Gold" mixtape that is released under Trash Can Dance label today. It's a very limited release and it won't be in any shops, so if you want one then drop me a line.

Neon Gold mixtape.

More news soon!

Tallinn Music Week 2013 part 2

Respect to the team of Tallinn Music Week!

Hey

Continuing the Tallinn Music Week recollections. Here is part one. So on Friday night after I was in Bibabo to see Cubus Larvik. I headed over to Von Krahl for the delegates' bar and the showcase.

Ranglekodz? Rangelkodse? Oh Rangleklods the only act with a harder name than mine.

I managed to squeeze myself in to listen to one and a half songs by Rangleklods. I haven't seen any starting bands working the stage in such a professional way. After them I didn't try to elbow around and I just enjoyed the spaciousness of the bar.

A girl lost in the men's room

My main assignment was to be present at the Red Bull Music Academy showcase with Dj Zinc headlining. I raced to the last tram and headed over to F-Hoone at around midnight. It's hard to pass Baltijaam without getting a tšeburek, so I did it. F-Hoone's empty rooms seemed like a bliss when compared to the mass of sweaty bodies at Von Krahl.

Two school teachers waiting for Zinc to come on.

My joy was shortlived as 40 minutes later people started pouring in and the place got packed tight. Even the wardrobe didn't accept any more clothes. I go to the farthest room to wait for Zinc to go on.

Dancing on the tables at F-Hoone.

Zinc comes on and his House and DnB fans gather to the dancefloor. Zinc played his Crack House stuff and most of the people didn't mind. I slipped out of the tight crowd and looked at the show from the door. My patience paid off as in 20 minutes enough people left and I got to dance in the first row for an hour or so. There's also a guy sitting on the ledge in the first row. I wondered if it's "the one guy who will always be at the show asking for DnB". 10 minutes later he started bullying Zinc for DnB. The security soon escorted him out.

Ecstatic from music or ecstasy. 

I get to the Nordic Hotel Forum a bit later on Saturday morning. The main panel I want to hear is the "Check My Demo" one. I fuel the day with some coffee, beer and snacks. Vul Vulpes plays a short set in the lobby. Why do recently all the people want to leave their bands to do a solo show? I've been asking around to find out about the Finnish reception to see if there's a free place for that. My Finnish friend sorts me out in 10 minutes. Next I drop my demo to the big brown box and I hope that my lottery luck would be better than usual, better than last year.

The Delegate pass has taken a beating.

I spend the Demo panel listening to one indie band after another accompanied by cider. I have to switch to beer halfway through. Someone has added a record by a world famous metal band, most of the other "demos" are actually official records and one of them is even from Universal Finland. Like usually I don't get picked. I head over to the Finnish reception. I'm not sure I met any Finnish people there but I did meet people from Germany and Norway. Two most epic Finnish tracks were played as well: Freestyler and Sandstorm. They held a draw and I didn't get picked.

Odd Hugo at Sõprus

For the first act of the night I go to see Odd Hugo and I pick up some delegates on the way and invite them along. While their genre isn't generally my thing, their live show is so intense and charismatic that it's impossible to resist.

New mates from Russia

I go by the compulsory Von Krahl showcase and try to catch the bus to Köleri 2 from the Nordic Hotel. After 15 minutes of waiting I head inside to the TMW info desk to get an explanation. The bus driver appeared to be missing. Altogether I waited for an hour for that bus and missed the Russian act I wanted to see there.

Russian army humor

I'm glad I still went there, as I got to meet and hang with those Russian guys. We had vodka in the backstage area, recorded us singing "Sunglasses at night" and talked about everything. I also met a pair of Latvian womanagers. They were there to listen to Deeper Upper. After their performance I got all of them on the party bus and we headed over to Von Krahl.

Latvian Womanagers.

There we saw a Finnish act called LCMDF, they blew my mind and all I could compare them to was Oprah on coke. Don't ask me why. The next acts was MIM project's threshing trance. It was blocks of styrofoam being beaten with bats to trance music.

Threshing that styrofoam.

The styrofoam had microphones connected to it so it was kind of an instrument. At that point I was too tired to enjoy a beating, but it was hardcore.

That guy took some home with him and continued there.

Me, the womanagers and two guys from Slippery Slope grab some beers and head out towards the afterparty. On the way we drop by the band guys' place and drink the beers and listen to some music. We finally make it to Partei at around 4 and there's not too many people there, but I see Osku there.

Ending the Tallinn Music Week at the hotel room.

He's a Finnish sound engineer I met a few years back in Von Krahl. We celebrate with Jaegger. The music is really good, but they close at 6 already so there's nothing else left to do, but head over to Nordic for an hotel afterparty...

See you soon,
next post will be about the burned house rave.
Barthol

Tallinn Music Week 2013 part 1

Aren't you Barthol? I have your music from last year

Tallinn Music Week keeps getting better by the year. (Here's last year's post) This time I didn't have to worry about soundchecks and getting the delegates to the venue as my role was to write you about everything there was to experience at music week.

The festival takes its toll.

The first thing on the agenda was the Latvian reception at Must Puudel. The core of the Latvian reception always are the numerous shots of Riga's balsam they hand you. There were also bands playing and one of them used to be called Brainstorm, but as you probably know, it takes about 15 well placed people to fill up Must Puudel, so I gave up on trying to see them on the stage.

After all the Rigas Balsams at the Latvian reception.

Five or ten shots later it was time to go to the main delegate reception at Von Krahl. I took two Germans journalists with me and on the way there we found some lost Latvians delegates as well for our convoy. There had been some snacks at Must Puudel, but when we made it to Krahl we saw that we had missed the real feast. We didn't mind as there were still drinks waiting for us.

It's a shame when your only pants get drenched in red wine on the first night.

I also met Jussi there, the first person, whom I knew from last year's music week. I managed to see Pastacas and Mr Garfield there before heading over to Sinilind to see Chinawoman. There it was, the same that usual, the place was packed so tight that it was almost impossible to get out of the main room. As I am in no way a fan of being stuck between people, I elbowed my way the hell out and didn't see any Chinawoman.

Finnish VIPs.

I did meet another old friend at Sinilind, Chris from last year. We celebrated our reunion and discussed plans for the nights. I thought it might be the first time in my life I make it to Club Hollywood, as the Bass music showcase was held there, but as things turned out I didn't.

Apparently you also need management.

Next morning the president was giving a speech at the opening. Full seemed to be the way of TMW. Yet again the hall was too full to fit in and hear what the president was saying. Last year he commented on the fresh political issue of Pussy Riot being jailed, but it seems he never ceases to amaze the foreing delegates.

The President's speech.

Another flashback from last years was the bubbly that was served at 10 in the morning. All the foreign delegates always enjoy and comment on it. I guess it's very Estonian to drink champagne in the morning. I was in and out of the different panels as I had heard the same or similar panels last year as well. I felt like a zomby because I hadn't slept that much.

Trying to figure out who to give their promo CDs.

The most interesting panel of sorts was the Red Bull Music Academy talk with Dj Zinc. He was playing the same night and told people about how he had started out and about his history up until now.

A local DJ made Zinc sign like twenty different releases.

There were some interesting bits, like the fact that when the instant messenger came out then productivity fell. Also how Dj Hype was very blunt with his feedback about Zinc's bassline being shit and why it took Zinc two years before he agreed to visit Red Bull Music Academy. I promise I'll come over faster.

The Biit crew when I arrived.

After the talk I swang by Biit record store, but the City stage part had already ended there, so I just hung around until it was time to Head over to Bibabo. There Cubus Larvik gave a mind blowing performance. Two stoic performers. One standing, the other sitting and a web of light pulsating behind them to the rhythm of music. It sounded like Vladislav Delay during a polar night. I haven't been in a trance like that for a while.

Cubus Larvik taking it to the next level.

I was pleasantly surprised also by Rangleklods whom I at first mistook for my new favorite Estonian band. It all fell into place when I was explained that they are Danish. Their big stage feel was awesome and I recommend you see them play if you have a chance.

To be continued...
Read last year's part 2 while you wait.
Barthol

Music filling up Tartu

I was told your live in Tartu was awesome

Tartu Music Week was inspiring.
The days started with the panels where different topics about being a band were discussed. I attended all the panels and (not so) strangely all the discussions led to the same points. I was a bit disappointed to see so many musicians missing out on the opportunity as the panelists made valid points about the local scene and it's opportunities.

The panel about Tallinn Music Week with Aivar Tõnso, Helen Sildna and Toomas Oljum.

I hadn't played a live in Tartu for about two years, but that drought ended with Tartu Music Week, as I got to play two lives in one day. That's the first time I've done a thing like that, but it was great in a way that I got to warm up decently for the live at Gen Club.

Berk Vaher, the moderator of the panels was dressed for the part

I played in a bizarre line up which I like to call Barthol and the two elephants, as the bands before me were Galvanic Elephants and Elephants from Neptune. The biggest band of the night was Elephants from Neptune whom I also saw warm for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have great energy and good stage presence, but some say their tracks are too alike to each other. It' decent Rock'n'Roll with all it's goods and flaws.

The frontman of Galvanic Elephants - Taavi-Peeter Liiv

Different stages were spread around Tartu during the day time. I saw Argo Vals at Cafe Noir and Multiphonic Rodent at Y-gallery. The latter managed to jam even with the sound guy as he hadn't shown up for sound check and they had to set up the booth monitor for him in the middle of the set. The absurdity of the situation was amusing.

Listening to Argo Vals aka Pastacas on Prozac and testing the smile trigger on my camera.

The set at Nälg was okay, as it was at 7pm and without anyone playing before me. The people were sitting down and listening to my stuff. It's been years since I've played to such a lounging audience. I used the beats and the smoke machine to get them on their feet. The night in Gen club was a totally different deal.

Unfortunately there are no photos of my live at Gen Club. To make things worse (or maybe better) it made my top three of all time performances with 2010 in Von Krahl and I would leave the first place open. The special part of the live was the improvisation with a coffee grinder. With beats in the background I rocked the electric coffee grinder through the mixer using various effects. I might do it again for some live because it was really cool so bring a mug with you for next time.

Ending the set with people on their feet.

I plan to take a break from playing as I have achieved my goal for the year and I need to work on the music for the next release, which might actually be on a disc.

See you soon
Barthol

Morning, banks and stars: Tallinn Music Week part 2

Working as a musician means living in a bus for a year

...Waking up on last Saturday wasn't easy, but it had to be done. No breakfast and a tram full of angry people later I was back at the Hotel's conference center. (click here for part one)

Knob twiddling

One of the highlights of the conference was Edward Bicknell who has been the manager for Dire Straits and other celebrities. The first gig he booked was Pink Floyd and it was for 100£. He had some unbelievable stories about Led Zeppelin's deaf sound guy and what not. He was the first multimillionaire I've seen. Really rich people seem to have this aura of confidence which says: "I'm not afraid of anything, I have money to pay for it."

Check my demo panel at Tallinn Music Week.

I dropped my demo into the check my demo box and hoped it would get picked. "#¤%& it  didn't! Mart Avi was a favorite and Kazk, a close second. Then I had to go to sound check at LHV Bank. I even made my first video test in the backstage. Check it out:

I had some breakfast (not a burger) and then played my show. Two toddlers were very enthused and broke out their dance moves, other people stood still or were spinning in their chairs. After the show I got to sign a couple of autographs and to take some photos. At that point I had been squeezed dry and just wanted a power nap. 

Supersonic dancer

A brief visit to a friend's place with pasta and then we went to Von Krahl for all the indie bands. I didn't see a single act on Saturday. Mostly because the venue was packed full and the most spacious place was the delegate lounge. The night ended between four and five.

Special cards for TMW. You can ask for one if you see me.

It was a great festival and an introduction to the big music world. A bit sad that I didn't get a mention in the international media, but it will change soon.

Make it a Fluon moment!

Barthol