One of Finland's hottest djs/producers at the moment sits down with i:Vibes and reveals his sources of inspiration, his history in dance music and why his records almost never get a proper release...

Hello Orkidea, nice of you to clear space in your schedule for us. How is life for you at the moment?

It's been a great but busy summer. I've been doing soundtracks for two
finnish 2 hour films. It's all new stuff composed and produced for these
films and as there are all together 35 tracks I've spent most of the
summer in the studio.

Although you are one of Finland's biggest names in dance music right now, not too many people know who you are. So tell us a little about yourself.

I've been DJing in Finland and mainly in Scandinavia and Northern Europe for the last 12 years. I run my own clubnight 'Unity' in Helsinki and I'm responsible for Renaissance Worldwide Helsinki events. I work as a sound designer and make music for advertisements and films. I've released one single so far,it's called 'Unity' and was signed to Steelfish back in '99, remixed Tiesto, Bomfunk MCs etc. I have a new single called 'Melancholy' coming out on Tiesto's Black Hole label and Universal Music will release an album of my productions and remixes in October.

How did you get into dance music in the first place?

I was involved with organization taking over empty houses in Helsinki and we were arranging all kinds of events there. We went to the first rave in 1991 and all got excited about electronic music and decided to start arranging raves at these squat houses. It was very underground back then. We didn't know any DJs back then so decided to do it by ourselves! I used to play guitar in some rock bands and got my first analogue synth in 1993 and I've been learning and producing dance music ever since.

How would you describe yourself musically?

When listening to music I'm pretty open minded and like everything from Philip Glass, Cure and Jose Padilla to BT and Paul van Dyk. When DJing I would describe myself as a trance DJ. Still,as my roots are in early Eye-Q/MFS trance and the '92 UK progressive house,my style of trance is maybe a bit less banging and more mature than most of the stuff you hear nowadays. I spice things up with bit of progressive, techno and breaks too.

Who/what inspires you musically?

William Orbit, BT, James Holden, KLF, Philip Glass, Way Out West, Jean-Michelle Jarre, Gabriel & Dresden, Junkie XL, Klaus Schultze, Aphex Twin, Royksopp, Zero 7, Leftfield, Paul van Dyk... There's sooo much amazing music out there!

Your productions have a nasty habit of not getting released, such as your remix of Space Manoeuvers - Stage One. You also have very few releases to your own name out. Any particular reasons for this?

Some of the remixes (like Stage One and my remix of Jan Johnston's 'Flesh') were maybe not THE sound of that time and my name was not that well known so they weren't released. During the last years I've been concentrating mainly on the sound design and TV/movie-music work here in Finland so I haven't been that active with my own dance music productions. This year has been more active and I have quite a few new things coming soon...

Your biggest production yet must be "Unity". Tell us a little about how it came to life. Why did it never make it to an official release? Was it perhaps due to its sampling of Dead Can Dance - The Host Of Seraphim?

The sample was never cleared and Steelfish already decided not to release the track. Then Sasha heard Lee Burridge play 'Unity' and wanted a copy. He then opened his 1999 NYE set on BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix with it and the calls started coming in to Steelfish. They decided to make some semi-whites of it but it was never officially released.

As a DJ, your schedule has become busier and busier lately. What has been your biggest moment as a DJ so far?

There are a few very special moments I've had during my career. Last New Year's Eve I played a 16 hour-set here in Helsinki which was amazing experience. Also DJing at Roskilde Festival in Denmark with Tiesto and Basement Jaxx was important because the festival is legendary here in Scandinavia. Also my first ever Live PA (performing my own music live) for 4000 people at Labyrinth event was very special. And of course getting to DJ with BT, Tiesto and Paul van Dyk has been great as they are "my heroes" :)

Do you plan your dj sets differently according to which country you are playing in?

Sure. This sunday I'll be playing at a small sweaty sunday gay club in Berlin so it's definitely different from playing to 1500 trance kids in Tokyo. First gig at a new city or venue is always challenging and with a bit of a learning curve. But that's also big part of the excitement not knowing what to expect!

If you had to pick one big record for you at the moment, which one would it be?

Motorcycle: As The Rush Comes [Gabriel & Dresden's Sweeping Strings Mix] on Armada. G&D have been my favorite producers for the last 12 months and this is maybe their best track so far. And it's always a pleasure to see melodies, production quality and a great vocal combined like this. Mauro Picotto's 'New Time, New Place' has also been huge for me as well as Dirt Devils' 'Music Is My Life (P.O.S remix)'. It's been a great summer music wise!

Who would you like to work with the most, and why?

My favorite collaborator would definitely be BT. I think he is the most innovative and productive producer out there.

Finland is on the rise at the moment, with lots of new, fresh talent getting their records played by DJs all over the world (AR52/Miika Kuisma, Beetseekers or Darude to name some). Do you think there is a specific reason for the fact that things are going so well right now?

I think it took a long time for finnish producers to get all the needed connections to UK/Germany/USA to get their stuff out. Also the success of others always brings attention to other producers from that area and the contacts producers are making helps all finnish producers. It's a very nice community we have here, everybody knows and helps each other.

Also I think there is very specific sound finnish trance producers have (maybe not Darude though;). It's very oldschool in a way. Many of these producers have been listening trance since early 90s and you can hear the influence of old Superstition/Eye-Q/Harthouse/MFS/Guerilla/Limbo releases.

The list of current good finnish producers is a pleasure to read:

Aalto
P.O.S
Matti Laamanen / CosmicMan
Slusnik Luna
U&K
Faraway Project
Super8
Darude
Dallas Superstars
AR52
Beatseekers
Beatpusher
etc...

How do clubs and clubbers in Finland differ from other countries?

As the scene is still relatively small in Finland and electronic music isn't mainstream (in the way it is in UK/Germany etc) I would say finnish clubbers are relatively intelligent and know their music really well. Also the use of latest technology (web forums/camera-mobiles/web-galleries/live-streams etc) is common. In the clubs the production quality (sound/lights/deco) is amazing! I think it's a perfect size community we here.

What are your thoughts on the future of dance music?

I think the future of dance music is about to change totally (once again) with all the kids with their computers and new music software. It's also coming more and more a global community with forums likes www.tranceaddict.com and www.trance.nu. It's coming harder to make your living out of the music but the good side is that people who are involved because of the easy money are leaving and the ones who truly love the music will stay. And that can only be a good thing!

What can we expect from you regarding future releases/DJ gigs?

My new single 'Melancholy' is coming out in October on Black Hole (with Cor Fijneman and Hardy Heller remixes). My yet untitled artist/remix collection album is coming out on Universal in October. Some future gigs include WMF in Berlin and Scandinavian Music Convention in Stockholm with Paul van Dyk.

Do you have any hobbies outside of making music?

Not really! DJing, producing dance music, the sound design work, my monthly radio show Radio Unity on Finnish National Radio and running the club nights in Helsinki is just one big mix of work and hobby. Music is my life.

Finally, what would you like to say to your fans and followers?

Many thanks for everybody who has supported me over the years. I've met sooo many nice people during the years. I still think the best things are yet to come! www.djorkidea.com will keep you updated... Special shout outs to DJ Tokunaga in Tokyo, Hardy Heller in Frankfurt, Kiki in Berlin, Sasha B in London, Ari and Andre in Toronto, Nicka in Copenhagen, Parham in Stockholm, Tanya at Renaissance and Tiesto at Black Hole for supporting me during the years!

Once again, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Good luck with your future projects!

Thanks and all the best with i:Vibes, it's a great site to read!!