Interview with Pastis: ‘We’re gelled together by our love of melodic pop’

Helsinki 70’s-infused pop rock band Pastis brought out their second self-titled album earlier this month, giving us songs awash with the sounds of the swinging 60’s, 70’s glamour and unabashed 90’s rock.

The band comprises Markus Nymalm (guitar, vocals), Emil Inberg (guitar), Sakari Palmroos (guitar), Henrik Vuoksenmaa (bass) and Kalle Valkama (drums). ‘Most of us met at a local football club, watching football,’ Nymalm said. ‘We knew each other’s faces. Emil and Henrik have known each other all their lives.’ Valkama weighs in: ‘We also met on the local club scene and they said they were starting a band. I joined in December 2017.’ Vuoksenmaa came up with their name when he was living in Paris; it’s a reference to the anise liqueur of the same name.

Valkama describes the new album as ‘an eclectic collection of pop songs’ and Nymalm agrees: ‘It’s a pop album, it kind of plays with the freedom of different genres without being a sub-genre,’ he said. ‘It brings together different elements from the 90’s, 60’s and 70’s – it’s a mash up!’

‘David Lynch, the film director, talks about being like a radio station, connecting with the world‘

The album opens with the anthemic, gloriously singalongey ‘Champagne For The Heartache’, which manages to be equal parts ABBA, Britpop and swinging 60’s. They describe it as a song that will ‘bang your doors and rattle your walls, and wake you up in the middle of a night with a sing-a-long chorus and an untamed guitar solo’, which is entirely accurate. Starting with reverb’d vocals, it pulls you into a sublime, dreamy soundscape which swells as it reaches the chorus: ‘It’s the only song where I didn’t write the lyrics. Emil did, in just 20 minutes in this room,’ Nymalm said. ‘It was the quickest song on the album. The best songs happen like that, you’re like a vessel.’ Valkama nods: ‘A lot of the classics were written like that, too. David Lynch, the film director, talks about being like a radio station, connecting with the world.’

As the track kicks off: “Saturday’s got ways right to my heart. Happy hour pulls me from the park. And as I swing in through the gate, I’m asking “Who am I to blame?” ‘Cos I have always been this way. And by the chandelier, I fall down to my knees.”

The sunny melody contrasts strikingly with the actual story behind the song: ‘It’s a serious topic made happier by the melody but it’s about an upper class alcoholic,’ Nymalm said. Valkama nods: ‘He has the possibility to be anything but he ends up drinking a lot. Emil tried to paint a feeling.’

The highlight of the track, in addition to the massive chorus, is the guitar slide around one minute 50 into the song that is then reversed a few seconds later as the guitars build and build. It’s one of the most striking elements I’ve heard in a song recently and very difficult to unpick as there’s so much going on it in: ‘That’s our guitarist Sakari,’ Nymalm said. ‘I’m not quite sure what happened there but the amplifier was on ten and it even broke down at some point during that session. I guess he slid up and down on the fretboard before going in and out of the solo. The key also changes from C major to D major at that point. Sometimes, we also change the key in the middle of a song for the chorus if it’s too high for me to sing (laughs). It’s like a sonic surprise!’

‘It’s a melancholic song about doing the same thing over and over again’

Interestingly, they tend to write the melodies first: ‘Almost every time, the lyrics come after,’ Nymalm said. ‘Sometimes I write them on the day we record them.’ I tell him that sounds very stressful and he laughs: ‘It’s like someone holds a gun to your head but I’m a master procrastinator!’

‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ is a bittersweet love song, opening with Nymalm singing wistfully: “Hey Vivi, are you coming back? ‘Cos I don’t see you ‘round here”. It has a real 80’s feel to it as the guitar solos, baselines, and synth progressions create a clash between love and longing. Sonically, the chorus reminds me slightly of ‘Shattered Dreams’ by Johnny Hates Jazz.

There are also a few brief, spoken interludes on the album, one congratulating Nymalm and another called ‘Fuck The Drink, More Smoke’, that sums it up and I ask where they come from: ‘That was a voice message I received one early morning from a dear friend of mine,’ Nymalm explained. ‘We met on the streets of London a long time ago and he’s always been very supportive of whatever we’re up to. It was such a heartfelt, beautiful message that we decided to chop it up and include it on the album. A living legend, he is!’

Sharp contrasts are one of the defining elements of the album. ‘Hoover Street’ takes you on a completely different kind of journey. It’s also a song full of sharp contrasts, from the Beatlesey melody to the more melancholic lyrics. It feels both sunny and gloomy simultaneously, something that is achieved in part by the bright, tinkly piano line weaving in and out amongst the gently mournful guitar chords. I ask if it references a real life Hoover Street: ‘It’s an imaginary place, a state of mind,’ Nymalm explained. ‘I wrote the lyrics. I used to live in London. I went there to study music but I was drinking and partying a lot. It’s a melancholic song about doing the same thing over and over again.’ I say that I love the way they incorporate both sunny and bleak elements into their songs and he agrees: ‘I don’t think anything should just be depressing, there should be hope in there either in the melody or the lyrics. Emil wrote the melody first to make it happy clappy (laughs). Just like Paul McCartney would write something happy then John would add in something cynical (laughs).’

However, the version we know of ‘Hoover Street’ bears little relation to the first version they wrote, according to Valkama: ‘It was meant to be a totally acoustic song,’ he said. ‘But then in rehearsals, Emil said “Maybe we should do this”. Nymalm weighs in: ‘The instrumental melody in the chorus makes the song,’ he said happily. ‘I needed a break from singing!’

‘I wrote it with The Libertines in mind’

Another standout track is ‘Ooh La La (It’s Alright)’, which is like a collaboration between The Beatles and The Clash, mashing up punky elements, powerful drumming from Valkama with the odd embellishment and sunny jangliness in both the melody and vocals: ‘We still call it ‘Punky,” Valkama said. Nymalm nods: ‘I wrote it with The Libertines in mind. I’m a massive fan of The Libertines, we all are.’ I say that I am as well and of Pete Doherty’s songwriting in general. We get chatting about the beautiful album he released last year with French musician, composer and producer Frédéric Lo called The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime, an album that centres around film and art, literature and music, the latter of which serves throughout the album as an elixir for grief and loss. ‘I really love that album, I’ve played it a lot,’ Nymalm said enthusiastically. ‘I really love the song ‘Rock & Roll Alchemy’ on it, he’s an amazing songwriter, so talented.’

Valkama gets to flex his drumming muscles on other huge tracks, such as the rockier ‘A Stranger’s Heart’, which features the memorable line about “the gap between your thoughts”, complete with a huge 90’s style chorus: ‘I love it, it’s a great hooky song,’ he said. ‘There’s a good drum solo! You get used to playing it fast.’ Nymalm describes it as a letter to his old self: ‘I was 20 something and I thought I knew it all (laughs). I was such a rebel but now I’m looking back at myself and laughing at myself. My dad’s a priest, when I was 16, I said “I’m an atheist”, I rebelled against that. The “stranger” in the song is what happens after death. He’s a cool priest, though, he seems very happy doing what he’s doing.’

Their love of music across the genres is really infectious: ‘We listen to a lot of music,’ Valkama said. ‘I’ve never had a guilty pleasure, a good song is a good song (laughs).’ Nymalm agrees: ‘We all have personal favourites but we like a lot of the same music from BritPop and I like a lot of Algerian music, people like Cheb Khaled, his 90’s albums. That hasn’t come into the music (laughs). We’re gelled together by our love of melodic pop. For me, Pete Doherty is the biggest influence. I was 16 when The Libertines’ first album came out (Up The Bracket, 2002).’ Valkama nods: ‘When you’re 14-16, the albums you listen to really influence you,’ he said.

The closer, ‘Pineapple Days’, is one of the most beautiful songs on the album, encapsulating everything that makes it so striking: heartfelt, wistful lyrics, a huge, soaring melody and a powerful, sweeping outro that sticks in your head long after you’ve heard it: ”Pineapple Days’, to me, is a precious song,’ Nymalm said. ‘It was an easy pick for the closer. It grows and grows and finally erupts into that cinematic outro that leaves you on a high. I think I wrote three or four different texts for that song until I realised it needed something highly personal, and I think I was right.’ He is, it makes it one of the most poetic tracks on the album with memorable lines such as “Just like Bonaparte, I cannot invade your English heart” and “I fell for you like raindrops in the sun”.

‘I’d ask him how much of his character is theatre, just for the stage, and how much is real’

If he could go for a drink with anyone, Valkama picks Bruce Springsteen: ‘I would ask him: “How did you create your career and be so productive?” I’d just bring the beers!’ Nymalm looks deep in thought. ‘I think I’d like to drink with Tom Waits,’ he said. ‘I’d ask him how much of his character is theatre, just for the stage, and how much is real. In a way, the answer doesn’t matter, it’s just out of curiosity.’

Their supergroups for a night would be fantastic: ‘I wanna say Ginger Baker on drums, Benny Rietveld on bass, Ray Manzarek on keys, Mark Speer on guitar and Grace Slick on vocals,’ Nymalm said. ‘Get them in a room and see what they’d get up to! I’d pay good money for that!’ Valkama has other ideas: ‘I’ll say Robbie Robertson, Noel Gallagher, Freddie Mercury, Linda Ronstadt and Taylor Hawkins. A collection of talent, feeling and charisma. Unforgettable musicians. ABBA with a twist!’

(Top photo from left to right: Emil, Henrik, Markus, Sakari and Kalle.)