The Peace Is My Culture

Thoughts



I was thinking about another kind of soul, one that runs through every one of us, no matter where we come from. It's the pure, essential truth of what each of us is, and can achieve. All my life I'd been a fighter. I was always ready, too ready, to fight for what I loved, and against what I deplored. In the end, I became the expression of that fight, and my real nature was concealed behind a mask of menace and hostility.

They nailed their stakes into the earth of my life, and marked it with a new name, Shantaram - man of peace. Whether they discovered that peace or created it, the truth is that the man I am was born in those moments. The better man that, slowly, and much too late, I began to be.

- Roberts, Gregory David (2003) Shantaram

The Soul Has No Culture

Thoughts



I was falling a sleep. At that very moment she came and touched my shoulder. Reached out to comfort me; only there and then did I see and feel the torment of what I'd done, and what I'd become. My heart broke on its shame and sorrow. I suddenly knew how much crying there was in me, and how little love. I knew, at last, how lonely I was.

But I couldn't respond. My culture had taught me all the wrong things well. So I lay completely still, and gave no reaction at all. But the soul has no culture. The soul has no nations. The soul has no colour or accent or way of life. The soul is forever. The soul is one. And when the heart has its moment of truth and sorrow, the soul can't be stilled.

I clenched my teeth against the stars. I closed my eyes. I surrendered to sleep. One of the reasons why we crave love, and seek it so desperately, is that love is the only cure for loneliness, and shame, and sorrow. But some feelings sink so deep into the heart that only loneliness can help you find them again. Some truths about yourself are so painful that only shame can help you live with them. And some things are just so sad that only your soul can do the crying for you.

- Roberts, Gregory David (2003) Shantaram

CityVice Is Open!

Business

CityVice project is steaming ahead in a nice pace. Plans has been drawn, war chest piled up and teams are shaping up. No, actually we opened demo site for the videos this and are still heavy in talks about funding the next step: We need to build a custom player and video distrib.ution platform. So a lot to do but, we will get there. Stay tuned -> http://www.cityvicetv.com

Oh yeah, this one is for Helsinki, so most of the content is in Finnish. Sorry.

Zeitgeist Addendum

Philosophy + Thoughts

Tonight I watched the hyped film Zeitgeist Addendum (watch it here). It is a very eye opening and thoughtful film. I must say, I am very pro capitalism ideas of motivating people from inside and giving them incentives to work to make their life better. I don't believe that state managed world would never survive because of the sloth people will endure eventually.

Zeitgeist Addendum argues "there should be no states"

The internet is opening the world to mash up culturally and economically. We are opening our world to new information. In addition, as we speak the monetary system is about to collapse. I believe, within the next couple of years, the world will start to accelerate away from the monetary system, where the system is for the profit. Not for the people. I think it could be for both. Monetary system worked in the old world where technology could not take away scarcity. Today it is outdated, because of the still emerging information and technology revolution.

Is the solution towards the ideas the Venus Project states in Zeitgeist Addendum? Maybe, maybe not. That does not matter. The film's strength is that is makes you think.

However, the film does have its weakness. One issue it does not cover is power. Ultimately, people do not look for money or easy living, they look for power. And we should not be naive to believe, that even with all needs provided, people would live in harmony with no power hungry individuals emerging.

Still, the point of the film is that it is time for a new system. I agree. We are no longer living in a world where scarcity is an issue. Human society has means to provide everything for everybody, from energy to transportation and food. if we just could take away the power hunger.

Could we live in a world where cultures mash up to produce individual opinions and little notions about places, people, behaviors. About the good and positive issues human mind truly wishes to have. In a world where no war is fought because there is no scarcity?

Free your mind.

Right From the Start

Poem

The world and I are not on speaking terms
The world keeps trying to win me back
But it doesn't work,
I guess I'm not the forgiving type

I saw that in her too
right from the start
the brutal determination
the cruel courage
and the lonely longing to be loved
for someone to lay next to her

So what is the best thing in the world?
Power
And even sex is about power.

Helsinki - Home Sweet Home

Thoughts

[caption id="attachment_394" align="alignleft" width="128" caption="refurbishing"][/caption]Last couple of weeks been intense. London trips, intense business development meetings, refurnishing my new flat and getting all together for moving. Some of my sensible assumptions been wrong, still I am getting a good story out of all this mess. Out of what mess someone might ask? The problem is, that once again I seem to be on a run. Where are man's roots?

"Act one was when we met, I loved you at first glance
You read your line so cleverly and never missed a cue
Then came act two, you seemed to change and you acted strange
And why I'll never know
But I'd rather go on hearing your lies
Than go on living without you"

Elvis Presley

So in this situation those words of Elvis can be thought to mean for falling in love with a girl, or falling in love with a place. Beside falling in love with girls, I always want to fall in love with a city. To see if I can grow my roots there. Helsinki was the town I fell in love with for the first time, second London, third New York. However, the real love seemed to be in my hometown of Lappeenranta. Still, once again I feel the need to be on a run away from the memories hitting hard. Man never learns?

"You look like an angel,
Walk like an angel
Talk like an angel
But I got wise
You're the devil in disguise
Oh yes you are"

Elvis Presley

Why a man has to run looking for something and when the world turns, suddenly be hungry again. One has to walk the streets again, learn to steal and suddenly the cold wind breaks again. When can a man stand tall and proud?

Helsinki, I beg you, do not betray me.

London Again

Travel

[caption id="attachment_381" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Camden"][/caption]
Another few days (and hours spend on airports....Hate them!) in London. We finished filming for Behind The Bass, I have to thank Jonas, Victoria, Kalvin and Max for all their work on it. It is shaping up to be a very good project. Beside attending the BT Digital Music Awards in Camden's Roundhouse, I was lucky to have a night out with all the good old colleaques. Callan was leaving MoS, and we had a blast in the pub.

[gallery]

Pleasure

Poem



Your cold stare is haunting me
can't sleep, can't be still
How far will you take me?
Is it a pleasure of your will?

There is only one in this world
What happened, how an earth
What do you want from this world?
How much pleasure is it worth?

CityVice

Business



CityVice project got a logo. We have great ideas and are coming your way. Be ready!

Basshunter Diary pt. 4

Feature + Academic

After five days on the road and about 10 photoshoots and TV interviews later someting opened my eyes. All these directors who are working on the projects...hmmm...for maybe because they have to pay their rents, but not because their heart is at it. They tell the artist to be normal, but do not really understand what is needed. Me instead am working slowly to gain the trust of Basshunter and thus getting more realistic side of him on the road. This all leads back to why Anton Corbjin is so good: he is one with the artists, not above or below.

In addition, Basshunter project has confirmed something. Pop culture embraces all the layers of the package. Brian Eno says it well:

You sometimes hear something being dismissed because it’s all image and no substance, as though these are completely separate, the first ephemeral and lightweight, the second profound and permanent. But one of the messages of pop culture is that you can’t usually separate them: ‘image’ is constantly turning into ‘substance’, and vice versa. The package is part of the contents.

This represents a decision about where the edge of the work really is. What is being seen as the permissable site for creative work by the artist, and what is just ‘the rest of the world’? What is ‘inside’ and what is ‘outside’?

This problem - if you think it one - is particularly acute in pop music. When Madonna appeared, she was attacked for her concentration on everything other than the music - on the things that people call the package. Even if this had been true, would it have been so awful? Who said that pop music was ever just to do with melodies and lyrics and whatever else the word ‘music’ historically meant? For forty years, pop music and its culture have been at the center of the everyday conversation that our culture has with itself, and the talk is mostly about style: how you choose to look at things, how you value what you are and what you have and what you do. Lifestyle, I suppose is the word.

Is short: for Madonna, designing the package has become her work.

Most directors' and photographers' problem is that they try to loose themselves in situations where it is impossible. How about trying to loose yourself in a real situation where the artist really can feel normal and does not have to pretend the camera is not there. Just let camera be there!

In a wider aspect this gets down to the fact that one has to know the subject being directed. Whether a film director, music producer, academic or company director.

Behind The Bass on Hard2Beat. Tour documentary about Basshunter.

[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Behind the Bass"][/caption]

Basshunter Diary pt. 3

Feature

Whole running through London with a crazy driver who knows all the shortcuts. 30min from east to west london in a rush hour. The most amazing drive I’ve ever been in. The question I had to raise today is how much promotion can an artist take? Isn’t there a limit when the stress starts to effect the quality of it? Consequently rendering away all the benefit? Well, Jonas had such a day. Now in Malmo, hometown of Basshunter.

Behind The Bass on Hard2Beat. Tour documentary about Basshunter.

[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Behind the Bass"][/caption]

Basshunter Diary pt. 2

Feature

The tour with Basshunter continues. Writing this from London, K-West Hotel, which is a place where you bump into the touring bands. Just today in the hotel lobby we’ve met Kings of Leon and such names. Good to be on the road and feel how the miles are eaten when working our way to the next destination. Well, for us, the next destination is Copenhagen by plane.

Behind The Bass on Hard2Beat. Tour documentary about Basshunter.

[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Behind the Bass"][/caption]

Basshunter Diary pt. 1

Feature

It is night time in Manchester, filming Episode 2 for Basshunter’s tour documentary. On top of the Hilton hotel. I’m having an amazing mojito looking down to the city lights flickering 200m below. How an earth life can feel good sometimes. I feel love, even I’m alone here. Of you who know the film “Lost in Translation”, the situation is not far from it. Only thing is that the girl is a few thousand miles away home drinking hot chocolate…. Sounds like a storyline, right?

Behind The Bass on Hard2Beat. Tour documentary about Basshunter.

[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Behind the Bass"][/caption]

In Manchester with Platnum

Log

So, a bit of log update from Manchester. It's wicked to be back in here for a couple of days. Filming with Platnum for a little guide to Manchester. Check them out. Its another freelance one for Ministry of Sound, seems that I can't get away from London. Don't really mind though.

Technopolis Ventures

Business

Project CityVice has been under heavy development in the recent month. The start-up been given truck loads of feedback and huge amount of support from various people. Our business model is shaping up well and is becoming way stronger. The best thing is acceptance into Technopolis Ventures, and the consultancy support from there. This should accelerate growth and open doors to various contacts. Looking good.