Pulse Lab

Flashback Wednesday: from October 2022 to Sparkstember 2026. Timo Montage Collective tends to come up with conceptual releases, and one of them was two volume project “Androgyny”. The idea was to take original songs performed by the opposite gender and do your own version. 2022 was the year when I first saw Sparks live, and they got me buzzing :D Timo had been a fan for many years, so the choice was naturally approved.

“Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins” remains my most favourite record by Sparks. The one that likely got me into them plus their incredible live show, of course. I went with “Now That I Own the BBC”, as I like a chaotic message in this song. The music sounds lighthearted, but there is some element of amusing panic as well :D

I asked my friend Dora to pose as a second half of our “duo” for the promo shoot. Obviously it would be too much to expect she would wear a moustache as well 🥸 I invested a bit more going with unisex haircut, which would be popular in the mid 90s.

Since then I haven’t had a chance to see Sparks live anymore, but Timo actually beats me in that with 1-2. Australia seems to be luckier with Brothers Maels’ visits. And wouldn’t it be a great thing if they actually owned the BBC? 📻📺

I was going to do a Sunday vinyl snippet play today, but these last few days “impressed” me with the 80s trend, so I decided to make this post instead. I had a fascination with the 80s myself. It’s a bit weaker now, as I think at the moment I am in my 70s disco era appreciation. However, if I wanted to have the elements of the 80s fashion style, I would rather try to experiment myself. I used my imagination to create this image, not generic ideas of the machine. Ok, this photo is from 2021, but I wouldn’t want ChatGPT to create something now that never existed in the first place.

Why not to ask some talented artist to paint how they would see you in the 80s style? Is it really better instead to feed the machine with your personal pictures that will be used for training? And drinking water it took to spit those images…Whilst there are people in the world who don’t have a regular access to one of the most essential resources for living.

If there was reasoning before “it’s not gonna happen in my lifetime”, well, know there is a prognosis that AI might destroy the humankind in 10 years time. More and more data centres are being build, sadly even Finland became a financial target by Google. People developing AI admit themselves that they have no idea what really lies beyond, and yet their greed pushes them for a further destruction.

I know it’s not an easy read for Sunday, but ChatGPT isn’t a good thing. It damages the planet, it damages a critical / analytical thinking and relationships too. We lived without it for years, why now it had to become our entertainment / friend / therapist and even a romantic interest? And at what cost. Let’s see where we are in 10 years from now on…

P.S. There are examples of the 80s trend, when people showed their actual photos from the era or when younger generations dressed up to look like they could be in the 80s. Real experience or effort always beats fantasy in the end

The story was old, and the story was true. Maxx Silver had been feeling so blue inside that he turned blue outside in the video. Just for a bit, but still. As his “therapist”, I can’t disclose all the details, but the recommended treatment worked not just for him, but for me too.

Obviously electro-cution and Paul’s symbolic axing of sorrow couldn’t be achieved without the power of music. In this case it was electronic music, which you can listen to and, if you wish to, dance to.

Now that four years went by, I am revisiting the case, and I think that Maxx Silver is doing significantly better. In fact, he isn’t just consuming music as a listener, but actively producing new releases as an artist too. One of them “Arcipelago - Il viaggio (The Journey)” is scheduled to be released later this month (26/09), and there should be a Bandcamp listening party at 8 pm UK time this Friday.

The video we made back then is a bit in a lockdown format, “remote consultation”, even though it was done post-lockdown. The last still is from completely another video. “Tonnes of Attraction” by Vacuum, in which Mattias Lindblom gets executed because of…I actually don’t know why. Maybe it’s a bit like the last scene in the movie “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”, but less extreme. Anyway, both videos are on YouTube, you can make your own assumptions and conclusions 🎥💭

I got inspired by Rich James | Radio Show and series of “Five Things You Don’t Know About Me”, so these are some random facts about my life. Of course, this is the first and foremost my music page, but some variety won’t hurt every now and again, right?

1) That’s true that I am not “heavily” musically trained, and my diplomas are for linguistics / translation / inter-cultural field. Does it help me with my music? I’d say so. I’ve learnt how to express my thoughts and feelings in the second language, and partially it’s thanks to those English teachers who gave me piles of homework back then 😅

2) Even when I was a teen, I felt like I would eventually live in some other country. And it happened three times. All studies-related. I seem to have been more settled now, but, of course, never cease to be a student of life :)

3) If parallel scenarios do exist, then there is a version of me who grew up in Germany. What does she do? What are her interests? Does she like chocolate as much as I do? 🍫 Maybe she is the opposite of me, but if she exists somewhere else, I hope she is happy

4) Now that…I am actually a bit lazy when it comes to learning languages. The teachers with a good balance of demand and encouragement were efficient to “kick” some knowledge and sense into me. I do some self-studies too, but sometimes I have that inner perfectionist in my way, who wants to do everything flawlessly straight away. And obviously this is not how it works 🛠️

5) Before I gave my heart to music, I liked to paint. I only remember two paintings from that period now: “Post-Impressionism” style “Sea World” and way more minimal “Chicken”. Guess which one they sent to an exhibition 🐓

I might do another random bio facts post at some point. For now, I hope it kept you entertained more or less

This is an announcement for the gig next year, but you know I couldn’t just sit on it, once it got confirmed. So the basic, but important info for now:

When? 12/02/27 That Friends’ Day / Valentine’s Day Week, but we are the ones you could start your weekend with 🎊

Where? Pethaus Pethaus in Tampere. I will post about the logistics later 🚃🚎

Again When & Who? I am opening the evening at 19. Electropop, nudisco, occasional moody vibes, irony. It’s not gonna be a typical electronic pop in terms of lyrics for the most part, so come and experience something different 🎶

At 20 Possible Space: abnormal pop music from the cosmic underground will guide you through a musical journey filled with…actually, Robert’s setlist is never predictable. So if you’re into a darker side of electronic music with inspiration drawn from gothic/industrial music (but not only!), this is a journey for you 🎶

At 21 we are delighted to have a special guest from Helsinki, a retro electro FUNky 𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 The son𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧snippet is the part of the EP and visual EP “Natural Lover Springs”: https://youtu.be/vPE_DqM1E58?is=pIADqkZiXFrbr-rq

To sum up: if you’re into electronic music, you live in Tampere or happen to be there that Friday evening, we will be happy to see you! 💙 Bring your natural lover or friend along, or come naturally yourself :D