Interview: idealism (+mini mix)

I've had my ears on idealism's beats for a while now. The young producer has crafted some of my favourite chilled releases this year and I'm really happy he's the new guest on our mini mix series. He's also part of the group of talented producers selected by Chillhop Records in their Raw Cuts 2 which I reviewed last week. Basically the dude is doing well!

In addition, I had the chance to chat with Lassi, so I hope you guys enjoy the interview and discover more about him.

Tracklist:

Hey Lassi! Where do we find you today?

Yoyo! I am currently chilling at my parents’ new house in the French Riviera. We moved here from our old house (25mins away) a couple of weeks ago.

I think you're the first person I'm interviewing from Finland. I know it's extremely beautiful there, but I always wondered - what do you guys do in the winter? Home chilling and beat-making? :)

Well tough luck for you, I might be Finnish, but I haven’t lived in Finland for 7 years now, haha. I’ve only lived there 2 and a half years of my life (out of almost 20). I do go there during the holidays, usually twice a year. But to answer your question, I think most of the people tend to chill at home. Kids on the other hand go sledging and play outside in the snow and stuff.

What's the most random fact about you, something which people around you probably don't even know.

Hmm that’s a hard one. I don’t really keep secrets, as I don’t have any, nor do I have traits/facts that I hide from people. But a random funny fact about me, is that I freaking LOVE sour candy. I’m totally addicted to it, it’s crazy.

What does idealism come from?

People are probably expecting some deep reasoning behind that name. I actually just had an old gamertag on the xbox called IdeaL, and I was still doing video editing and motion/graphic design on YouTube. I decided to make a new channel, but I wanted a name that was longer and had some meaning behind it, so I picked idealism. I also really like that name as it stands out, yet it has a great and interesting philosophical meaning behind it. I guess you could say that I am a tiny bit idealistic, hehe.

You also crafted a mix for us, how would you describe it in a sentence?

This mix has come dope and cool music that I like or that inspire me it really is a cool mix you should listen to it.

Few weeks ago you dropped your latest EP titled amaranthine. It's beautiful. What's your inspiration/back story behind it and the artwork as well.

Well this EP doesn’t have a deep meaning and story like Hiraeth had. Amaranthine is more of a collection of genres that I like, have tried, and that I am proud of. I wanted to make something a bit different than Hiraeth, but in a way that people could still recognize that it is me. 

The artwork was done by Adelaido Olea. Great artist. He asked me if I wanted some track art etc, I checked out his website and I though it looked really awesome. So I contacted him, told him i’m making and EP called ‘amaranthine’ (which means everlasting, it also means a purple/red-ish color), and he let his imagination do the work, and voila.

What's your setup by the way? Do you mind snapping a photo or walking us through how you make beats etc?

Well as I said before, I helped my parents move out, and I normally study in Edinburgh. So obviously I had to move out all my stuff from Edinburgh, to my old house, and now to my new house. So right now I don’t have an actual set up, although I am using the home piano and my Macbook (picture below). Normally I use my Ableton push 2, Macbook, and midi keyboard (Roland A-800 pro I think).

How I make music is random. Sometimes I might start with the beat, sometimes the chord progression. Usually if I start with the beat, I end up never finishing the track lol. But I usually record the piano, then add the overall ambience and textures on top, to get the general feel of the song, and what kind of beat would fit on top.

How did you get into production actually? Do you have musical upbringings or?

I used to play drums (from 7 years old to 17 years old). I have never taken piano lessons, I picked that around a year and a half ago or something. I have always been a fan of music, and wanted to make some as a hobby, but I always had other interests (moviemaking, special effects etc). But I kind of grew out of that, so I decided to try making music. I had 2 editor friends who kind of hyped me into it, and I made my soundcloud page, and started screwing around with (lol) vaporwave, samples, learning ableton etc. And here we are!

How does your day look like? Is music a full time thing at this point or?

Right now I’m on holiday and travelling, so I haven’t had time to make music much. But normally it would consist of me going to class, then exercising, then playing video games/making music. It’s still a hobby for me, yet I take it very seriously. I’m getting more and more interested in doing this full-time, but doing that is quite a big risk, so maybe not yet.

I don't know much about Finnish's music scene. Are there other talented producers to check out? Do you play often live there?

Me neither hah. All I know is that there is quite a lot diversity. Finnish people in general tend to like rock and metal I would say, but then you can find a lot of underground stuff too.

Most of you probably already know Tomppabeats, great beatmaker, recommend checking him out. Also Olli, TWWTH, octn, Kupla are dope.

What's next for idealism in 2017?

I am currently working and planning on my debut album, which will probably be out in 2018. But in the meantime, I will probably upload some tracks out of that, some extra ones, and some collabs. I’m mostly aiming for quality, not quantity. hehe.

Hope you guys liked the interview & the mini mix. Stay tuned with Lassi's sound adventure on idealism's artist page.