Japan Benefit EP

"March 2011, Japan was hit with a devastating earthquake and tsunami which left people in a great need of food, shelter, just about everything you can imagine. In addition the event created an ongoing dangerous nuclear problem. As I watched the horrorfying waves wash off entire towns, I felt completely helpless. So I turned to the one thing I knew I could do: writing a song and releasing a benefit EP. All proceeds coming off of "Japan" EP (including ringtones, seperate singles and any additional products that may be added) will be donated to the Red Cross to help the Japanese in this time of crisis. They need our help. So please, look into your heart and help me help them by purchasing a product. Thank you." — Kimmo, Press Release for Japan Benefit EP

JAPAN BENEFIT EP was released on March 31, 2011. Additional single "Japan (Alternate Stadium Edit)" was released on April 1, 2011.

To buy the EP, go to either of the following stores:

http://www.reverbnation.com/store/index/artist_1404110

http://kimmo.bandcamp.com/album/japan-benefit-ep

(more stores to be added soon)

Thank you to each and every one who buys the EP, or a song from it, or the alternate version of "Japan", or a ringtone. Every purchase counts in helping the Japanese, so take part in my mission. Also, I would appreciate it very much if you could spread the word through by posting a link to your FB pages, Twitter, or any other media. The more people hear about the EP, the more good we can do. Thank you!

"The Last Day"

Requiem for Aurora - Original Composition

In the end of January 2010, my grandmother passed away. I wrote a song "Be Set Free" as she was laying in the hospital with no hope of returning to us. Last Saturday we said our goodbyes and laid her to the ground. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... And I felt I was not yet finished living through all my emotions, that there were parts of me that still haven't quite realized what has happened. At times it seems like I'm drifting through a surreal fog. Letting go is never easy.

The inspiration for "Requiem for Aurora" came to me from the second name of my grandmother: Aurora. The name is of Latin origin, meaning "dawn". It seemed to hold in the most precious thought, the salvation of a soul, it's journey from earth to the infinite light - and the composition wrote itself. I was just an instrument, as I always am. Music helps me deal with emotions of many sorts, and in this time of loss, it has helped me more than perhaps anything else. Music is my instrument of expressing my sorrow, my joy, my hope, my love.

Helvi Aurora, this ones for you. Rest in peace - and above all, be with God.

Thoughts About Making Music

I've found out that it's always easier to do melancholic pieces than it is to do upbeat songs. Do you find it so? Why do you think that is?

I write poetry constantly but it's harder to write poetry when I am content about things. Mostly I tend to write about things that bother me in the world (personal or non-personal) and we all know there are plenty of issues you can attack. But not all of us want to face them and music means escape for many people.

For me it is about presenting the now - even if it's not a pretty picture. It is about bringing forward what I am feeling, what I am thinking right that very moment. That is why I call my songs the map of my life. I have gone through so much in life and because of this I am a person with sometimes very sharp opinions. I love to put myself in other's shoes and look at things from different perspectives. For me music is about sharing my point of view with others. They may like or hate it, it doesn't really matter.

Opinions of others used to mean very much in early stages when I was still trying to learn everything. I started from scratch. Faced with rude criticism (not constructive) I was very hurt by it. After all I was doing this from my heart alone. By no means I am claiming to be a pro now, just saying that I really didn't know anything in the beginning of my journey.

Music has always played a big part in my life, but I never knew I had songs in me. Not until when the first one came out and it really did that out of the blue. It's been a constant growing process and like everyone trying to learn something they have not done before, I too made lots of errors, tries, experiments to find who I am and what I want to say and how I want to sound like. I think I have found my sound and my own voice but it keeps evolving - as it should evolve. I embrace the changes.

What I want to represent through my music always is authenticity. I want to be true to who I am as a thinker and as a songwriter even if it means that I'm not gonna be popular. The talk about popularity seems rather funny because I feel like such an amateur at times. I write songs in my own home; play my guitar (very clumsily) or my keyboard (a bit better) or just sit in front of my t-bone microphone and play with my FL Studio Pro. And somehow songs come about. I am always surprised when I create something. I do think I have a natural gift for this even if I found it later in life. I base this statement on the thought that if I didn't, all these songs simply would not come to me one after another.

What I want to say with all of this? That I am both the student and the teacher. That I am not finished. All people out there who do music and have this gift or are just discovering it, embrace the possibility but remember to do it for YOU first, for popularity, fame, money second. Do it for YOU. Later on, if you become popular - and then much later, perhaps unpopular, you will land and stand on your own two feet.

Making music is a journey. All journeys end but don't worry about it. There's always a new beginning. For me, finding music was a new beginning. No one can take it away.

Basso - The Pug Dog

Hello everyone! Here's a video I made while visiting and meeting with my pug dog puppy for the very first time on June 28, 2008. Can't wait to get him home - oh, and I named him Basso. *that means 'bass' in English - why that, simply cos it's a strong name for a boy + this fellow has a wrinkle to be proud of (on his nose). So he's no wimp, haha!

My Baby Boy!

Here they are! One of those hungry pug dog puppies is mine, all mine! I reserved a baby boy today. I'm gonna go and see him next Saturday. I can't wait! Sorry for turning this blog into Pug Dog heaven, but that is really all I can think about right now. Yikes, I'm so excited!

Haha! How cute is that!

So tiny! They're eyes have opened just this week, they were born on 6th of June.

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You

Watching this was so bittersweet for me... But it's one of my favorites from the new album, one of the best ballads by Madonna. It makes me quite sad though.