♥, ♥

Sydän, sydän (Heart, Heart) is a rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Their style is one that would like to be given a name and hasn't yet garnered an "official" one, but some use "vinohevi", which means "tilted heavy". Other common adjectives for this particular band are "post-punk", "art rock", "prog" and obviously "artsy shit". Sydän, sydän themselves do not want to define a name for the music they play. In common with a few other Finnish bands* after 2000, Sydän, sydän uses theatre in their live shows. The difference to these bands is that, in my personal knowledge, Sydän, sydän is probably the first band to do this, being formed in 2002 (some sources will say before 2000 - I'm not quite sure what's the idea behind this, but these people are wrong), although it's unknown whether the other bands were influenced or simply had same kinds of ideas.

Members of the band are Tuomas Skopa (vocals, guitar), Juho Minerva (guitar), Tomi Flyckt (bass guitar) and Mikko Rekonen (drums). The booklet of Auto ("Automobile is "Auto" in Finnish) tells, along with this information, their mass, BMI and height. It's also got child-like drawings and disturbing pictures. This album was, after the self-released Reilu puoli hetkeä (Fair Half a Moment) and Kännykkä (Cell Phone), their breakthrough to - well, not exactly mainstream, but bigger audiences nonetheless. It's also the first album I've heard, and for what I understand, the self-produced albums are rather hard to find nowadays. The weird thing about Auto, opposed to these records, is, along with being released on a label, is that it's (almost?) completely acoustic. This doesn't mean the style would've changed: it was simply a bit quieter due to being played acoustically. A very interesting album and personally I like it the best of what I've heard from them. A bit of folk music is inserted every now and then, I like to think. The start of "Ei voi olla totta" ("Can't Be True") is probably the best example. The start of the whole record is also interesting, as the first song, "Pappa sanoi, että" ("Grandpa Said, That") is actually a fast waltz. I actually had to be told this since I wouldn't recognize the waltz from the fast song.

Electricity was taken back into action with the Tårta på tårta EP (Swedish: Tart by Tart). This is yet another record that is hard to acquire and I haven't heard. The 2006 album Au (Ow) starts with an electric noise, accompanied by lo-fi laugh of the band members. This is the 9 seconds before "Kissa ja hiiri" ("Cat and mouse") which starts with electric guitar. Yeah, I think that's enough emphasis on taking electricity back. I think of the album as heavier than Auto, but that could be attributed to this exact "detail". Not to say that this record would be boring, however, as some songs are definitively interesting(one of the more humorous parts includes the words "it's reggae time, boys"), and the album is a very nice change from Auto.

Usko itseesi (Believe in Yourself) was released on 12.3.2008. Click that hard link if you want to.

Meille on syntynyt kolmen vuoden aikana alati vaihteleva konsepti, jonka teema hahmotellaan yleensä impulsiivisesti automatkoilla ja rekvisiitta haalitaan nopeasti ja halvasti. Sydän, sydämen voi siis luokitella myös haparoivaksi teatteriksi. Ainoa toistuva teemamme käsittää kolme pappia ja punaisen alastoman miehen. Hahmokavalkadista löytyy myös ajoittain vierailijoita ystäväpiiristämme.

Soitamme yleensä aika kovaa. Soitamme myös pseudoakustisesti, mikäli Rekonen saa riehua mustekalamaisesti jonkin takana. Emme soita tarkasti, mutta raivolla ja lämmöllä. Sydän, sydän perustuu liikkeeseen.

- sydansydan.info

Translation:
In three years, we have given birth to a constantly changing concept, which's theme is usually impulsively perceived on car trips and the props are acquired quickly and cheaply. Sydän, sydän can therefore also be classified as hesitant theatre. Our only constant theme consists of three priests and a red naked man. The inventory of characters also sometimes includes visitors from our circle of friends.

We usually play quite loud. We also play pseudoacoustically, if Rekonen can rampage like an octopus behind something. We do not play precisely, but with rage and warmth. Sydän, sydän is based on movement.

Sydän, sydän is famous for their fast and wild live shows, especially from the tradition of band members removing their clothes. Especially Juho Minerva is known for the habit of being almost or completely naked. I've seem them only once at a festival - I suppose this is the reason why only Rekonen (if I recall correctly) was in his boxers by the end of the gig(whether this was a pleasant or unpleasant surprise is personal). However, as a compensation, it was a birthday of one of the members and we got to party this.

Discography


    Albums
  • 2003 Reilu puoli hetkeä (Fair Half a Moment, self-produced)
  • "Perkele kolme hevosta" ("Perkele Three Horses") / "Vaikea keksiä nimeä, jos ei kerran lauleta mitään kovin tähdellistä" ("Hard to Think of a Name, if You Ain't Singing Anything Very Important") / "Piilo" ("Hiding Place") / "Suu auki" ("Open Mouth") / "Puu" ("Tree") / "Aarre" ("Treasure") / "Kuopus" ("Youngest Child") / "Maailman paras poika" ("Best Boy of the World") / "Jätä paikat siihen kuntoon, missä toivoisit niiden olevan tullessasi itse seuraavan kerran" ("Leave Places As You Would Wish Them To Be When You Arrive the Next Time") / "Revitäänpä tuo kirje auki" ("Let's Rip That Letter Open")
  • 2004 Kännykkä (Cell Phone, self-produced)
  • "Seksiä," ("Sex,") / "huumeita" ("drugs") / "& ruokaa" ("& food") / "Volapük" / "Ei voi olla totta" ("Can't Be True") / "Arvaa, miltä musta tuntuu" ("Guess, How I Feel") / "Oireisto" ("Symptoms") / "Kilo" / "Ihmiset ovat valloittaneet maailman" ("People Have Conquered The World")
  • 2005 Auto (Car, Pyramid imprint of Johanna Kustannus)
  • "Pappa sanoi, että" ("Grandpa Said, That" / "Kuolema tulee" ("Death Comes") / "Suu auki" ("Mouth Open") / "Paskaa" ("Shit") / "Kädet ylös" ("Hands Up") / "XXX" / "Ei voi olla totta" ("Can't Be True") / "Perkele kolme kevosta" ("Perkele Three Horses") / "00800" / "Suu kiinni" ("Mouth Closed") / "Kuopus" ("Youngest Child") / "Ihmiset ovat valloittaneet maailman" ("People Have Conquered The World")
  • 2006 Au (Ow, Pyramid imprint of Johanna Kustannus)
  • "A#" / "Kissa ja hiiri" ("Cat and Mouse") / "Hai" ("Shark") / "Kukko" ("Cock") / "Viha ei kuihdu koskaan" ("Anger Never Shrivels") / "Koira" ("Dog") / "Jänis" ("Rabbit") / "Kolme kysymystä, kaksi vastausta" ("Three Questions, Two Answers") / "Muurahainen" ("Ant") / "Marsu" ("Guinea Pig") / "Rakkaus ei kuihdu koskaan" ("Love Never Shrivels") / "Käki" ("Cuckoo") / "Kärpänen" ("Fly") / "Hirviö" ("Monster") / "Tiikeri" ("Tiger")
  • 2008 Usko itseesi (Believe in Yourself, Pyramid imprint of Johanna Kustannus)
  • "Keskusta" ("Centre") / "100 Rikki" ("100 Broken") / "Jääs" / "Työtön paska" ("Unemployed Shit") / "Käykö täällä Visa Electron?" ("Do You Take Visa Electron?") / "Tutti frutti" / "97-144" / "Valpurin yö" ("Valpuri's Night") / "En tiedä" ("I Do Not Know") / "Tee jotain" ("Do Something") / "Hullu tappaja" ("Crazy Killer")

    EP
  • 2005 Tårta på tårta (Swedish: Tart by Tart, self-produced)
  • "Tårta på tårta" (Swedish: "Tart by Tart") / "& ruokaa" ("& food") / "Kukko" ("Cock")

Sources include original research, Finnish Wikipedia, desibeli.net and sydansydan.info.
Video of "Kolme kysymystä, kaksi vastausta" ("Three Questions, Two Answers").
* Nodevertising left out for your pleasure! If you're really interested, /msg.
Thanks to The Debutante.
Also thanks to Juho Minerva himself for checking my translations and confirming that they started in 2002.

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