THE NEMESIS STORY – SO FAR
THE NEMESIS HYPOTHESIS
“SUPPOSE OUR SUN WAS NOT ALONE BUT HAD A COMPANION STAR. SUPPOSE THAT THIS COMPANION STAR MOVED IN AN ELLIPTICAL ORBIT, ITS SOLAR DISTANCE VARYING BETWEEN 90,000 A.U. (1.4 LIGHT YEARS) AND 20,000 A.U., WITH A PERIOD OF 30 MILLION YEARS. ALSO SUPPOSE THIS STAR IS DARK OR AT LEAST VERY FAINT, AND BECAUSE OF THAT WE HAVEN’T NOTICED IT YET. THAT STAR IS NEMESIS.”
THE HYPOTHETICAL BAND
The birth of Nemesis dates back to 1.1.1987. That day two Finnish schoolboys with mutual musical interests decided to form a band. Nothing unusual about that. Except that they had very clear image of how good music should sound – but nobody seemed to make such music at the time, so they decided to have a go at it themselves…
They live and work in Kokkola, a rather small town in the northwest coast of Finland. They are not truly professional musicians, mainly because it is virtually impossible to make a living by playing this kind of music in Finland. Nevertheless, Nemesis has always had a very professional attitude towards its music making.
Both guys had experimented with music and sounds in their childhood like almost every kid with a microphone and a cheap C-cassette recorder did… in those days, anyway. But for Ami and Jyrki, it was clearly more important phase than for most.
AMI: “WE HAVE NO FORMAL MUSICAL TRAINING. JYRKI HAD NOT EVEN PLAYED ANY CONVENTIONAL ROCK MUSIC INSTRUMENT BEFORE NEMESIS. ANYWAY, HE HAD HAD A LONG-STANDING HOBBY OF MAKING UP WEIRD SPACE NOISES WITH OLD RADIOS HE USED TO OPEN UP AND RECONNECT. HE ALSO MODIFIED C-CASSETTES SO THAT YOU COULD RECORD NEW MATERIAL TO THE CASSETTE WITHOUT ERASING THE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED STUFF. SO THE SOUNDS ON THE CASSETTE COULD BE LAYERED WITH “OVERDUBDS”. VERY SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE MEANS OF MAKING THINGS DIFFERENTLY…A BIT “ENO-LIKE” RELATION TO TECHNOLOGY”. AMI HAD PLAYED BASS GUITAR IN VARIOUS BANDS IN KOKKOLA FOR YEARS – USUALLY IN A VERY PSYCHEDELIC FASHION – SO HE HAD A MORE “CONVENTIONAL” BACKGROUND. CURIOUSLY, THEY BOTH HAD BEEN KEEN AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS AND SCI-FI FANS IN THEIR EARLIER YOUTH. DOUBTLESS ALL THESE ELEMENTS HAVE HAD AN HEAVY INFLUENCE ON THE NEMESIS-SOUND.
JYRKI HAD ALREADY BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE COLLECTIVE CALLED UNIVERSAL MIX. IT WAS A SIDE PROJECT OF A PUNK MUSICIAN TOMMI CEDERBERG FROM KOKKOLA. JYRKI WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH HIM AND SO JYRKI PARTICIPATED IN SOME OF THE RECORDINGS. AMI ALSO GUESTED ON A COUPLE OF TRACKS AND IT WAS THE FIRST EVER MUSICAL MIND-MELT BETWEEN HIM AND JYRKI.
HERE´S TWO EARLY RECORDINGS TO GIVE GLIMPSES OF THOSE DAYS:
NYT SITÄ SAA – A SORT OF INDUSTRIAL GUITAR/BASS EXPERIMENT, WHICH TURNS INTO A RENDITION OF A WELL KNOWN FINNISH XMAS SONG. JYRKI IS ON GUITAR AND EFFECTS, TOMMI CEDERBERG ON BASS…THEY BOTH SHARE VOCALS. THE YEAR IS 1984 OR 1985.KROOSA JA KANARIALINNUT – JYRKI´S FIRST EVER COMPOSITION. HE PLAYS ELECTRIC ORGAN AND PERCUSSION, TOMMI C. PLAYS ADDITIONAL PERCUSSION. THE CANARIES IN THE BACKGROUND ARE REAL BIRDS, TWITTERING IN THE LIVING ROOM OF JYRKI´S PARENTS – THE ROOM WHERE THE ORGAN WAS. THE YEAR IS 1985.
AMI WAS PLAYING BASS IN MANY BANDS LOCALLY, BUT CERTAINLY THE MOST SERIOUS ONE WAS CATAL HÖYÛK. IT WAS A SORT OF JAZZ-PSYCHEDELIC-HEAVY ROCK GROUP AND THEY WROTE THEIR OWN MATERIAL. APART FROM THE MORE ROCK ORIENTED STUFF, THEY MADE QUITE A FEW EXPERIMENTAL RECORDINGS AS WELL.KOKEILU 2 – AN EXPERIMENT WITH AN OPEN-REEL TAPE RECORDER, ELECTRONIC AND ACOUSTIC SOUNDS AND VARIOUS TAPE SPEEDS. THE GUILTY ONES ARE AMI, JONNI KUUTSA (CH GUITARIST) AND HIS BROTHER TOMMI. THE YEAR IS MOST LIKELY 1983.
Jyrki: “We both have loved synth music as long as we can remember. When Ami bought his first synthesizer in 1985, it was goodbye to the conventional rock music”. With fresh enthusiasm, Ami put together a cassette of his synth music as “Blue Sky Machine”. Jyrki became interested in joining forces after he heard another tape, which was put together by Ami at Xmas 86. Ami: “We decided to try a basic jam session on the first day of 87. It worked surprisingly well and we have been making music together since that day more or less regularly. Our aim in music is to bring together a variety of styles: psychedelia, a dash of world music, ambient music, the progressive elements of the synth pioneers and the feverish pulse of the 21st century. Whatever it takes to make interesting and moving music.”
THE SYNTH AMI HAD BOUGHT WAS A MICROMOOG FROM 1975. THE RESULTING PROJECT WAS NAMED “BLUE SKY MACHINE” AND QUITE A FEW OF THE CASSETTES ENDED UP WITH THE PEOPLE, WHO WERE INTO CATAL HÖYÛK AND HAWKWIND. JYRKI WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE AND THANKS TO THE CASSETTE, AMI WAS ASKED TO GUEST WITH THE UNIVERSAL MIX.HERE´S TWO TRACKS FROM THE BSM:
UNDERWATER DESERT * – THE ONLY INSTRUMENT HERE IS THE MICROMOOG WITH THE HELP OF MULTITRACKING (AN OPEN-REEL MACHINE, FROM THE 60´S). WHILE RECORDING BLUE SKY MACHINE, AMI WORKED REALLY HARD TO USE THE SYNTH´S CAPABILITIES AND SURPRISINGLY RICH SOUND PALETTE RESULTED.* Not in jukebox. Direct link.
MIRAGE* – A MORE MELODIC EFFORT FROM THE BSM. TWO THINGS ABOUT THE “SEQUENCE” IN THE BACKGROUND: IT SHOWS THAT AMI HAD ALREADY ENCOUNTERED THE MUSIC OF TANGERINE DREAM…AND AS HE HAD NO SEQUENCER OF ANY KIND, HE PLAYED SEQUENCES BY HAND (USING THE SYNTH LFO TO PROVIDE THE PULSE, BUT PLAYING THE NOTES BY HAND – A RATHER TIRING PROCESS).
* Not in jukebox. Direct link.IN THE LATE 1985, BOTH GUYS HAD TO ENLIST TO THE ARMY SERVICE FOR A YEAR, AS IT WAS CUSTOMARY IN FINLAND AT THE TIME. IT MEANT THAT 1986 WAS A VERY QUIET YEAR FOR THEM MUSICWISE. BUT AFTER THE MILITARY SERVICE WAS OVER, AMI RECORDED A FEW NEW TRACKS, WITH THE ADDITIONAL HELP OF YAMAHA CS-15 SYNTH (IN ADDITION TO THE TRUSTY MOOG). JYRKI HEARD THE CASSETTE AND THEY DECIDED TO TRY A JAM SESSION ON THE FIRST DAY OF 1987. THIS WAS THE MOMENT WHEN NEMESIS WAS FORMED.
NEVERTHELESS, THE NAME OF THE BAND WAS DECIDED A MONTH LATER…IT WAS A SORT OF JOKE, PROBABLY JYRKI´S IDEA… THE MEANING OF THE NAME WAS ITS ASTRONOMICAL ASPECT, NOT THE GREEK MYTHOLOGY. AT THE TIME IT WAS A WORD VERY RARELY ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, OR IN FINLAND AT LEAST. LATER IT PROVED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST UNORIGINAL BAND NAMES EVER…AS ANYONE CAN SEE WITH A LITTLE SURFING IN THE NET. BUT AT THAT POINT IT WAS TOO LATE TO CHANGE IT ANYMORE.THE TRACK THE GUYS RECORDED THAT DAY HAS BEEN LOST OVER THE YEARS, BUT IT WAS PROBABLY NOT THE IDEAL VERSION AS THEY RE-RECORDED IT A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER FOR THEIR DEBUT RELEASE. IT WAS A C 90 CASSETTE CALLED “MOONLIGHT INTERFERENCE”. BY THAT TIME THEY ALSO HAD BOUGHT A GEM PK 4900 POLYPHONIC SYNTH/ORGAN. HERE´S TWO TRACKS FROM THE C 90 CASSETTE RELEASE OF 1987:L´OISEAU BLANC* – THE AFOREMENTIONED VERY FIRST NEMESIS-COMPSITION, RE-RECORDED IN THE SPRING OF 1987.* Not in jukebox. Direct link.
DISPOSABLE UNIVERSE* – A BIT JARRESQUE SHUFFLE, JYRKI COMPOSED A KILLER MELODY FOR THE ENDING.* Not in jukebox. Direct link.
AFTER THE RELATIVE FAILURE OF THE MOONLIGHT INTERFERENCE TO STIR UP ANY WAVES, THE GUYS RECORDED NEW SESSIONS ALMOST WEEKLY. IT WAS A GREAT PERIOD, WITH LOADS OF NEW MUSIC AND IDEAS. VERY SOON THEY BOUGHT THEIR FIRST SEQUENCER, A ROLAND MC 202. HERE´S A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF ITS USE:ACCENT – ONE OF THE FIRST TRYS TO USE THE SEQUENCER. THE YEAR IS 1988. THE POLYPHONIC BITS ARE PLAYED WITH AN ARP OMNI 2 (AMI BOUGHT IT FOR VIRTUALLY NOTHING IN 1988 FROM HELSINKI. AT THE TIME ANALOG SYNTHS WERE DESPISED GENERALLY…FOR A WHILE. ONLY A YEAR LATER, THE TECHNO SCENE BEGAN TO INFLATE THE PRICES VERY FAST)TIME CANYON – JYRKI BOUGHT A BOSS DELAY UNIT INTENDED FOR GUITARISTS. NEMESIS USED IT EXTENSIVELY FOR ALMOST EVERY SOUND FOR A WHILE. THE YEAR IS 1989 AND THIS IS THE FIRST TRACK TO FEATURE AMI ON VIOLIN!THE FIRST ACTUAL DRUM MACHINE IN THEIR STUDIO WAS A YAMAHA DD-10 – A SIMPLE, ALMOST TOYLIKE UNIT WITH PADS FOR EASY PROGRAMMING. THE SOUNDS ARE QUITE LAUGHABLE FOR CONTEMPORARY EARS, BUT AT THE TIME IT WAS USED WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM. IT WAS ALSO POSSIBLE TO USE IT IN SYNC WITH JYRKI´S NEW SIEL POLYSYNTH (WITH A REAL-TIME SEQUENCER) AND APART FROM THAT, ONE COULD TAKE THE DRUM SIGNALS OUT FROM THE PHONES OUTPUT AND SYNC YAMAHA CS-15´S FILTER AND VCA WITH IT. WHAT ALL THIS MEANS, WAS THAT THE RHYTMICS OF NEMESIS MUSIC BECAME MUCH MORE ELABORATED AND COMPLEX OVERNIGHT.ORBIT HOUSE – BOTH GUYS MADE A LOT OF SOLO TRACKS AS WELL. HERE´S ONE OF JYRKI´S FROM THE LATE 1988. YOU CAN CLEARLY HEAR THAT THE NEW TECHNO/HOUSE-ELEMENTS STARTED TO SEEP INTO NEMESIS. IT WAS VERY CUTTING EDGE STUFF AT THE TIMELAND OF ENTROPY – JYRKI´S SOLO TRACK FROM 1989. THE SOUNDS COME MAINLY FROM HIS SIEL POLYSYNTH.TRAVELLER – HERE´S ONE OF AMI´S FROM EARLY 1989. YOU CAN CLEARLY HEAR THE INFLUENCE OF HIS ROCK MUSIC INFLUENCES STILL IN THE BACKROUND. IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THIS TRACK WILL BE RESURRECTED ONE DAY… AS AN ALL NEW VERSION.
NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMED
Nevertheless, the initial enthusiasm started waning after a couple of years, when it became apparent that it wasn´t easy to make alternative music in a country with no truly alternative record companies. The things the band recorded were often much too out-there or simply too strange for any label in Finland at the time. However, Nemesis appeared on the Finnish radio with positive feedback from the audience (it was a program called “Space Junk”, still the Finland´s foremost regular radio program, which features electronic music). Nemesis also created music for art exhibitions and a couple of short films but that seemed to be the limit. By the autumn of ’91 Ami was becoming so frustrated over the situation as to give up the whole thing. Luckily, he went to see the Kraftwerk gig in Helsinki, came back to his senses and started again with tremendous devotion that has kept things going ever since.
“THAT AUTUMN WE DECIDED TO PUT TOGETHER OUR NEW STUDIO TO BE ABLE TO REALISE OUR NEW IDEAS. UP TO THIS TIME IT HAD BEEN JUST US AND A FEW SYNTHS ALTERNATELY AT AMI´S OR AT JYRKI´S HOME AS THE SITUATION PERMITTED DURING ANY WEEKEND. WE BOUGHT ALSO MORE EQUIPMENT (BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG) AND DAT CASSETTE RECORDERS. THE STUDIO IS STILL RATHER BASIC BUT QUITE HANDY AND ESSENTIAL FOR OUR WORK. WE TRY TO RECORD MOST OF OUR MATERIAL “LIVE” WITH THE HELP OF SEQUENCERS AND RHYTHM UNITS. THAT WAY, WE HOPE TO AVOID SOUNDING TOO MECHANICAL AND PRE-PROGRAMMED. IT’S ALSO MUCH MORE FUN AND MORE INTERACTIVE THAT WAY,”THE FIRST GEAR LIST OF THE STUDIO INCLUDED: MICROMOOG, YAMAHA CS-15, COMMODORE 64, ROLAND MC 202-MICROCOMPOSER, ITALIAN GEM-ORGAN/POLYSYNTH, SIEL-POLYPHONIC SYNTH, TEAC DAT-RECORDER WITH A FOSTEX C-CASSETTE MULTITRACK AS A MIXER, ELECTRIC GUITAR, BINSON ECHOREC ECHO/DELAY UNIT, ALESIS MIDIVERB III AND C-CASSETTE PLAYERS AND RADIOS. A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF GEAR WAS KORG POLYSIX, BOUGHT IN 1990.
IN 1991 THE BAND TOOK UP DIGITAL SEQUENCING WITH THE AQUISITION OF KORG M1 AND A WHILE LATER KORG O1W/FD.THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL, MULTITRACK SEQUENCING WAS A TREMENDOUS BOOST FOR CREATIVITY. THE BAD POINT IS THAT ALMOST A YEAR WENT FOR TOYING AROUND WITH PRESET SOUNDS AND STEP SEQUENCING. THE RESULTING MATERIAL WAS VERY RIGID AND SOUNDS INCREDIBLY DATED NOW. SO NO SAMPLES OF IT HERE YET.IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE LEARNING CURVE AND MAKING THE OBLIGATORY MISTAKES (YOU CAN USE PRESET SOUNDS LIKE “ORCHESTRA HIT” OR “MAGIC ORGAN” FOR A LIMITED PERIOD ONLY ;-), WHEN THE THINGS STARTED TO SOUND LIKE NEMESIS AGAIN. THIS WAS LARGELY THANKS TO THE HABIT OF PROGRAMMING THEIR OWN SOUNDS AND COMBINING THE SOUNDS OF OLD SYNTHS WITH THE NEW ONES.
HERE´S ONE TRACK FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS PATH:
LOST SOUNDS – A TRACK FROM 1991. THE NAME ORIGINATES FROM THE FACT THAT AFTER THIS TRACK WAS COMPLETED, JYRKI´S KORG M1 WENT CRAZY AND LOST ALL ITS SOUNDS AFTER REBOOTING.
T MINUS ONE
In the end of 1994 guys were signed to the Belgian Barramundi-label that specializes in ambient music. They made their debut album “Xcelsior” (BAR 6204) and various compilation appearances (the best are the Barramundi- samplers II to IV, that include good, non-album tracks) for the label. They also produced a critically acclaimed work “Evolution” for Finnish capital radio in autumn 1996.They had also a good reputation as a tight live band, that appealed also to rock fans in addition to the more “conventional” ambient-techno freaks. Also in the bag is a remarkable live concert that was broadcast live on the Finnish radio nationwide in sept. 97.
THE DREAM OF A WITCH DOCTOR – THIS IS AN OUT-TAKE FROM THE “XCELSIOR”-SESSIONS. THE TRACK WAS ORIGINALLY AMI´S EARLIER SOLO TRACK FROM 1992, LATER EXPANDED INTO A BAND NUMBER IN 1994.
For the first time the band made an album without deriving anything from previously recorded/composed nemesis material. Everything was made from zero to the finshed product in little more than a month´s time: Feb.-March 1998. Material was almost totally improvised and then cut and pasted into a more concise form. Some minor overdubs and harmonies were added with the new Fostex digital 8-track HD recorder. This was the very first Nemesis album which was created with the help of digital multitrack technology.
The resulting album “Cyberiad” was a huge success for the band. The reviews thanked the band especially for not copying the old music, but creating new music with the old philosophy. That was undoubtely thanks to the years spent making more contemporary electronic music with the accent on rhythm elements. So the end result was a creative combination of old and new styles and sounds.
SKY ARCHEOLOGISTS IN THE HEAVY METAL LAND
The success of Cyberiad brought along the interest of a few new labels and thanks to Marko Laiho aka Gamma (a finnish DJ and an original music maker in his own right) the deal for a new album was secured with finnish Spinefarm Records in 1999. They wanted to expand their scope outside heavy metal and indie rock and created a few new labels for different sounds. Nemesis was signed to make an album for Freeride. The resulting album was “Sky Archeology” and it succesfully took the style honed with Cyberiad to a new level.. The retro sounds were mixed with more powerful rhythms and ambient sections. Many people regard Sky Archeology as the peak of Nemesis so far and in some ways it might well be true. Definetly it is the most focused album in the band´s discography.
KONEISTO-FESTIVALS AND THE NEW MILLENNIUM
The new album meant more gigs and the 1999-2001 period was mostly spent playing concerts, perhaps even at the expense of creating new material. The two man line-up needed boosting for gigs and Jarkko Lahti of Rihmasto was a local friend and an able musician to beef up the soundscapes. He also played didgeridoo, which he had carved from a birch tree that used to grow in his backyard! Typically for Jarkko, he just had the idea one night and took a saw and felled the tree right away.
The setlist included many tracks from Sky Archeology (the title track was usually the opening number, then Anaxagoras as the end piece, Tango Fornax and sometimes Cygnus Loop in the mid set) and from the unreleased Gigaherz-album. Little by little, new tracks started to take over the set list and in 2001 there was just a couple of tracks from S. Archeology in the middle of all new material composed for the new “Kosmokrator” album.
THE PINNACLE OF THE CONCERT SERIES WAS A GIG AT THE FIRST KONEISTO FESTIVAL IN TURKU. IT WAS A MAGNIFICENT FESTIVAL AND IN MANY WAYS THE TRUE PEAK OF THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENE IN FINLAND. NEMESIS PLAYED A NORMAL SET BY HASSINEN/KASTMAN AND ANOTHER SET AS AN “AMBIENT BIG BAND” WITH RIHMASTO AND TWO GUESTS. SIX GUYS IMPROVISING FOR 45 MINS. THE GUESTS WERE TEEMU LUOMA AND CERTAIN JONI VIRTANEN, WHO WAS TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN NEMESIS AFTER THAT…
IMPROVISATION 2000 – HERE´S A BIT FROM THE AMBIENT BIG BAND SET. THIS IS THE FINALE…
BY THE WAY, A SORT SECTION OF THE MAIN SET AT KONEISTO WAS SHOWN IN FINNISH TV NATIONWIDE… IT WAS 20 SECS OF “GIGAHERZ”, ILLUSTRATING A NEWS REPORT ABOUT THE FESTIVAL.
MUSIC FOR EARPORTS AND KOSMOKRATORS
After the gigs promoting Sky Archeology, there was a feeling that it would be nice to make some quiet music for a change. The gigs had increasingly turned to feature almost heavy metal renditions of nemesis electronica! Meanwhile, Jarkko Lahti had moved from Kokkola to Helsinki and his role was after that taken up by Joni Virtanen in 2000. Joni was a musician with good keyboard skills and an unashamed way of smuggling traditionally pretty melodies in his compositions…that was a very good thing as Ami and Jyrki were becoming more and more involved in soundscapes and weren´t that much into melodic elements in their music at the time.
Apart from the musical like-mindedness Joni had also been a very keen amateur astronomer in his youth! Nemesis may well be the only band in the world with all the members owning a reflector telescope. Jyrki has a RET-50 with 11,5 cm mirror, Ami a Helios Skyliner with 20 cm and Joni has made his 20 cm mirrored telescope mainly himself, which is a no mean feat at all. At least couple of times a year the guys still take their telescopes, dress up for the ocassion (in Finland the stars can be best seen at the coldest time of the year…that´s mid winter with night temperatures of -20 to -30 celcius) and head to the frozen sea nearby to watch the skies and northern lights.
Joni made his first serious work with Nemesis with a string of studio improvisations in the Spring of 2001. The three-man line up improvised for a few days, live recorded most of the stuff and the best moments became the backbone of “Music for Earports”, namely tracks “Occultation”, “Kopernikus” and “Talisman”. They sounded so good, that an ambient album was created around them and some more ambient material was selected from the band archives. The album was ready and released just in time for the second Koneisto festival in 2001. It was also the debut for the line up Hassinen/Kastman/Virtanen in concert.
AMI HAS MIXED MEMORIES OF THE GIG: DURING THE SOUNDCHECK HE WAS CHATTING WITH PERTTI GRÖNHOLM (OF CORPORATE 09 FAME) AND BEING SLIGHTLY DISTRACTED WHILE LOADING SOUNDS TO HIS KORG O1, ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED A WRONG BUTTON IN HIS KORG O1…ERASING ACCIDENTALLY ALL THE SOUND DATA FROM THE SEQUENCER. OF COURSE, THE BACK UP DISC SHOULD HAVE BEEN WITH THEM IN TURKU, BUT JUST THIS TIME IT LAID FORGOTTEN IN THE STUDIO IN KOKKOLA, 500 KMS AWAY! AMI TRIED TO REPROGRAM THINGS AS WELL/QUICKLY AS HE COULD, BUT THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PROBLEMS DURING THE SET. NOTHING TOTALLY SERIOUS, BUT ENOUGH TO KEEP AMI IN COLD SWEAT DURING MOST OF THE SET…AFTER THE GIGGING AND RELEASING MUSIC FOR EARPORTS, IT WAS TIME TO START THE SESSIONS FOR THE NEW ALBUM “KOSMOKRATOR”. BUT AS MANY OF THE TRACKS HAD BEEN IN THE SET LIST FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, THE BAND WAS QUITE BORED ABOUT SOME OF THEM. AND THEIR NEW RECORDING STRATEGY INVOLVED A LOT OF MULTITRACKING, WHICH RESULTED IN A FEW PROBLEMS. FIVE COMPOSITIONS WERE COMPLETED, BUT THE RESULTING VERSIONS SOUNDED RATHER “DEAD”. THE RAGGED LIVE VERSIONS HAD HAD A BUZZ OF ENERGY AND THE STUDIO VERSIONS WERE NOTE-PERFECT, BUT LACKED ENERGY AND COHESION. AS A RESULT THE ALBUM WAS PUT ON A HOLD, WHICH WAS TO BE MUCH LONGER THAN ORIGINALLY INTENDED.UNTITLED – HERE´S A SECTION OF ONE OF THE FIVE TRACKS – STILL A BIT UNCOMPLETED.
KAIKU-PROJECT – THE TALE OF TWO PORTINS
The years 2002-2004 were a sort of rest period for the band. The failure to produce a follower for “Sky Archeology” in time was a major worry and it marred the actions of the band for a while. There was talk with a certain label about releasing the old “Gigaherz”-album and a lot of time and energy went into updating and partially re-recording the material. Unfortunately the project was scrapped after many delays over the years.
A sort of help was the “Kaiku”-project with the photographic artist Jyrki Portin. It was a sort of cross-over, multimedia project that involved a portfolio of landscape photography and an album by Nemesis, working as a sort of a soundtrack for the photoprints.
The music was created mostly with the well-known woodwind player Marko Portin (who was a member of Ultra Bra, a very huge band in Finland). His delicate woodwind work gave the Nemesis sound a very special flavour. The album is a very ambient, soft and meditative suite in 10 parts. Most of the music was recorded as improvisations in a very old wooden building in a museum in Kokkola.
THE CONCEPT WORKED SO GOOD, THAT IT WAS DECIDED TO CONTINUE IT IN SOME WAY. MARKO AND NEMESIS CREATED A STRONG SET OF ALL NEW MUSIC, WITH JONI BEING AN IMPORTANT FIGURE IN COMPOSING. JYRKI PORTIN MADE A FEW SHORT FILMS TO THE MUSIC AND THE WHOLE THING WAS PERFORMED LIVE AT KAUHAVA CITY CULTURE FESTIVAL IN THE AUGUST 2004. THE PEFORMANCE WAS NAMED “SYSTEMA NATURAE” BY JYRKI PORTIN. THE TRACKS WERE LATER RECORDED IN THE STUDIO AS WELL AND THE BAND IS STILL HOPING TO GET THEM RELEASED AS AN ALBUM. MARKO PORTIN HAS COLLABORATED WITH NEMESIS FROM TIME TO TIME AFTER THAT AS WELL AND THERE´S GOOD MATERIAL ON TAPE, THOUGH MOST OF IT IN A HALF-FINISHED STATE.UNTITLED 2 (PIANO) – A SECTION FROM THE “SYSTEMA NATURAE”-CONCERT.
EXTEMPORISED WORKING METHODS
During the end of 2004/early 2005 Ami spent a lot of time mixing some unfinished material ready and editing more recent improvisations at the studio. He was amazed how much good material there was, very fresh sounding and free in spirit. There was so much workable material recorded during the “rest period” and right after that, so the right format could only be a double album. “Xtempora” was a sort of compilation album, because some of the tracks were rather old, the oldest originated from 1995! But all the old stuff was in more or less unfinished state and needed to be reworked. So virtually it was an album of new material after all. Xtempora was to be a firm favourite for many and is probably the best showcase of all sides of Nemesis. There are very ambient passages, retro elements and more rhytmic bits in an interesting blend. A sort of audio cross section of the areas Nemesis likes to explore.
EXCURSIONS IN AMBIENCE
In 2006 the band has made quite a lot of work in the studio and a new album, which might be finally the Kosmokrator with an updated tracklisting. During the summer the band played a concert in Kouvola Ambient festival and the first 30 mins. of the set was later broadcasted in the YLE Radio nationwide (Avaruusromua-program). In October the band played a well-received gig in Kanneltalo, Helsinki and it seems that the band has gained a good following despite the dwindling of the electronica scene as a whole in Finland as elsewhere. The set list included quite a few tracks destined for Kosmokrator.
The latest release is an Archive live album vol 1 (1995-2001) to fill the gap before the real, new album is out. Now it seems that the studio album might come out in the early Spring of 2007. There has also been talk about finally releasing the “Gigaherz”-album as a download only item. More news about it later…actually rather soon!