BW&BK Exclusive: KYLÄHULLUT - Overview Of New EP And Interview With Frontman VESKU JOKINEN Available
April 29, 2007, 17 years ago
KYLÄHULLUT - Back In The Village
Special report by Carl Begai
The Finnish punk act Kylähullut (loosely translated: Village Idiots) has garnered worldwide interest in spite of releasing albums exclusive to Finland thanks to the involvement of Children Of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho, one of the band’s three mayhem-loving hellraisers. Done strictly for fun and more often than not under the influence of alcohol when they get together, Laiho, vocalist Vesku Jokinen (Klamydia) and drummer Tonmi Lillman (Ajattara) crank out music when schedules allow, their most recent outing being the four song EP, Lisää Persettä Rättipäille. The EP is the logical follow-up to the band’s debut EP, Keisarinleikkaus, and their first full length outing, Turpa Täynna, big on speed and a “fuck you” attitude. And like the last album, the EP features a couple of the band’s drinking buddies, namely Nightwish keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen on the 35 second intro and ex-Finntroll frontman Tapio Wilska on the title track and handling lead vocals on the 1:35 blast of ‘Käkimassaa’. BW&BK; recently caught up with Jokinen to discuss the new EP and Kylähullut’s party-for-life approach.
“We were looking for something new and something fun to do together,” Jokinen says of the band, which surfaced in 2004. “And it was result of a night of drinking, definitely. We like doing Kylähullut, but it’s not a serious band for any of us. Doing the new EP took about three days or something. I don’t remember, I was so drunk.”Kylähullut’s sound is firmly rooted in old school punk, pun(k)tuated by Laiho’s trademark shred and Jokinen’s bull-in-a-china-shop vocal delivery.
“I’m very inspired by old British punk,” Jokinen says with regards to his influences. “The Sex Pistols, of course, and The Clash, but then a little bit by ‘younger’ bands like Exploited, Business, Disorder and Vice Squad. Green Day has some quite good songs, but Offspring is totally shit. I make the lyrics and basic melodies for the songs, and Alexi and Tonmi do riffs and other arrangements. The songs are definitely written for Kylähullut, not for any of our other bands.”Jokinen’s lyrics are composed entirely in Finnish and are often controversial in nature. The title track of the new EP, for example, is translated as ‘More Ass To Ragheads’… and although the lyrics were explained to me it’s probably best if we leave it open to interpretation.
“Yes, the songs are telling serious ideas in a funny way, and sometimes in an angry way,” says Jokinen. “Very angry, indeed. Most Finnish fans like it a lot, but of course there are some puritans who are angry about it, but we don’t fucking care. We do what we like.”With regards to a new full length album, Kylähullut are due to hit the studio during the third week of May for a four day in-studio mosh. Expect a release later this year.
As previously reported, the tracklist of Lisää Persettä Rättipäille is as follows: 'Intro' (Klamydia - E.V.V.K.), 'Lisää Persettä Rättipäille' ('More Ass To Ragheads'), 'Hip-Hop!', 'Majavannaama' ('Beavers Face'), 'Käkimassaa' ('Cuckoo Mass'). An audio sample of the title track can be found at the band's MySpace page. The album can be ordered online at the following locations:
In addition, Kylähullut now has music available via the following legal download outlets:
