Blog

Yesterday I took a long walk and filmed a selfie style pitch video for my upcoming crowdfunding campaign. It’s funny how difficult it is to talk to the camera, especially when no one is interviewing! I remember when I started doing my Street Records, I felt the same way with microphones. The moment I pressed the big red record button I would just freeze. But luckily it’s just a question of practice and I got soon over it.

I’m now editing the video & will publish it when the campaign goes online. My target timeframe is early next week, but time is scarce these days…

Today I spent half a day writing fund applications and describing my old works. I also added my recent soundpiece to my portfolio. Check it out here.

Last week I also sent my first newsletter for Kumea Sound. If you’re interested in reading more focused updates about my music, please subscribe to the list on the Kumea website. I will be also sending out exclusive free music downloads for all subscribers every now and then!

Tomorrow I will be playing two gigs in Helsinki. First at an independent art festival at Hietsun Paviljonki at 18:30, then later at an event called Power to be you around 20:00. If you’re in town and want to do something different, check out the two events on Facebook and show up!

Now… trying to finish that damn video…

Lately I have found myself doing a lot of graphic design for friends: cd covers  flyers, posters, websites  I feel a bit stupid, because I should be focusing on getting my album out as soon as possible! But on the other hand, it feels good to contribute to my friends’ projects, even if it means sitting and staring at a computer screen…

Today I played a live soundtrack to a full moon meditation session at Pihasali  Thanks to all you folks who showed up! I’ll do another acoustic meditation gig in a couple of weeks at Helsinki Zen Center  Even though I love playing at clubs, these small alternative gigs are refreshing every now and then. Also, after a busy busking season it’s nice to play in very calm, quiet places for people who do not run but sit still instead…

Despite all these sidetracks, my new album is not that far away — it’s all recorded and tracklisting will be finished in a week or two. I will be launching a crowdfunding campaign as soon as I have some details fixed — if you follow Kumea Sound on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know when something exciting happens!

I better get some sleep before it’s too late. Tomorrow there’s an exhibition opening at Vuorikaiku sound gallery. The future of the gallery is a bit obscure at the moment, but I’m optimistic about it. Things will find their way…

“Wow, you play a hang drum!”

I hear that phrase almost every time I go busking. Usually I explain politely that it’s not a Hang by PANArt, but basically the same instrument. In English they are usually called handpans. They can also be called cupolas or pantams. But not hangs or hangdrums or spacedrums. Unless, of course, if you play a Hang or a Spacedrum.

Hang is a trademark and a brand name. So is Spacedrum.

“But everyone call them hang drums!”

True. Or at least the masses call them hang drums. But usually these people know the instrument only through Youtube from videos with titles like “Amazing Hang Drum Player” or “Street player plays Hang drum insanely”. And yes, even I call them sometimes hang when I don’t want to start picking about the correct way of talking about the instrument. But it still sounds a bit like calling all guitars “gibsons” or “fenders”…

Why is it important then? Aren’t we supposed to just enjoy the good vibes? What does it matter what the instrument is called?

There’s a certain cultural mystical aura around the term “hang drum”. Some people have heard stories about the builders who live somewhere in the Swiss Alps and don’t want to sell their instruments to anyone. Some people have heard that you have to write a letter to them and prove you’re worthy of playing a hang drum. Some people know for sure that these are 1000 year old instruments from Asia and that they used to be made of porcelain…

Of course, not much of this is true. There’s plenty of information about these instruments available online, but often people just read the titles, watch the popular videos and don’t dig deeper. Calling these instruments hang drums just add to the mythical aura that speaks mainly of misunderstanding or ignorance…

So, unless you really want to sound like you spend a bit too much time on Youtube the next time you see a handpan player, instead of claiming to know what the instrument is, just ask. Maybe you’ll even get to try it yourself!

(Oh and btw, I have some big news coming up about my new album soon! There is also a new collaboration in the works with the insanely talented beatboxer Felix Zenger. But I’ll leave that to next time! Gotta run to a gig!)