Photo of RUBIC by Flickr user Berto Garcia

Seeing Rubik perform at El Corazon on November 10 was like stepping onto the set of The City of Lost Children. It was an all ages show; the small humans stacked well. On stage Rubik performed with skill, and their music betrayed years of work and lots of talent.

You couldn’t see the face of lead singer Artturi Taira behind his insanity of hair. Their music had the inside of El Corazon living up to it’s name. There was a pulse in the air, and lots of love to go around. I got a chance to interview Artturi Taira by email prior to the show.

Tom Mohrman: How does Solar compare with Dada Bandits?

Artturi Taira: I guess Solar is more about songs and the concept of an album as such whereas Dada Bandits was more collage, more about the overall sound and so on… But it’s hard to say, really, since it still is such a recent album for us in the band. But I think the songs are more cohesive and there’s definitely more darkness in the atmosphere – I mean, it’s still not a gloomy record by any standards, but there is certainly something lurking behind all that light and brightness, as a contrast to all that.

TM: Can you tell me a little bit about your experience coming from the Finnish music scene to international exposure?

AT: Well, if you want to make music with lyrics in English, there is no point staying in Finland only… It has always been clear for us that if given the opportunity, we’d definitely play much more shows abroad than we play in Finland. And it feels great, although I still hope and feel we are only in the beginning of our journey. There are a lot of good bands in Finland at the moment actually so there’ll definitely be more to be exposed.

TM: How do you compose your music? Is everyone in the band a songwriter?

AT: We do a lot of writing in our studio, so it leaves a chance to everyone to play whatever instrument they feel like. It keeps the process really alive and vital since we’re not limited by the usual “roles” within a band – you know, a drummer, a bass player and so on. I guess I come up with a lot of ideas we start working on, but we usually operate as a collective when in studio. Since there is this circle of eight or so people within the group it usually means that anyone present in the studio ends up playing something as well…

TM: Do you work on new stuff while you are on tour?

AT: We try to, constantly, but it’s more about bits and pieces – gathering stuff, writing things down, living it. For years now, I’ve started using my head and memory as the main tool in the writing process. And that can sometimes be easily done while on tour since there’s a lot of waiting and just sitting around.

TM: What have been some highlights of the tour?

AT: There have been so many. I mean, they’re not always related to shows or music… But a show in Salt Lake City was indeed special – after a blizzard on our way, we had to pull an acoustic set out of nowhere because of lacking some backline… Still was an awesome one. Those kinda things keep you awake while on tour, that’s for sure.

TM: Have you been to Seattle before?

AT: Oh yes, we played there a year and a half ago. Some great sushi as well. The show was awesome, too, it was actually the very same venue. Loved it. The city clearly had a vibe of its own.