Sat in the freezing cold upstairs of Nottingham’s own Rescue Rooms, vocalist Susanna and guitarist Niila seemed almost at home. Among the first things Niila said when asked about how similar he felt Britain was to his native Finland was “Yeah, I feel kinda like home – it’s cold, cold and dark.” So much for having a nice cozy December. Susanna was a little more abstract, mentioning how vast numbers of crisp flavours and vegan options were two of the biggest things she had noticed since being here, although they both agreed that Brits and Finns share a similar sense of humour. After a little back and forth on the merit of prawn cocktail crisps, the conversation deviated somewhat towards how they’ve enjoyed Britain as a touring band. Both have been immensely surprised, and grateful, at the sheer number of “fans who actually know us,” as they grin excitedly, as well as how many people have been singing along, buying merch, and giving them feedback across the merch table. Later that night, the Nottingham fans corroborated their story perfectly by queueing up in droves to meet them and talk about their love for the band, whether as long term fans or new-found ones.
The sound of Cyan Kicks then was brought to the table. As a band from Finland, they’re highly aware that there are plenty of stereotypes around the sound of Finnish metal bands, but Cyan Kicks don’t fit that mould. Niila was keen to say how much of an influence they take from all sorts of sounds, not least pop. In his own words, “Since we listen to so much pop, and take influence from so many other genres, it’s like a metal band with a pop type heart”. He carried on to say how, when the band had first started out around 12-13 years ago they’d sounded quite different – “super pop punk, Paramore-ish, not super original” which all changed when, as Susanna explains, “[they] found CHVRCHES, PVRIS… these two have been our biggest influences”.
Not to let their metal credentials be taken for chance, Bring Me The Horizon were the very next band mentioned, and both Niila and Susanna are enormous fans of how vast the band’s sound has become, doing almost entirely what they want whilst still being able to keep their fans onboard and sounding like themselves. In a slightly bold, but not unwarranted comparison, the pair cautiously mentioned how much they back their own ability in how they feel they can also make almost any song type, “from a metal song to a hip hop type track” sound like them, “we have our own sound”.
“"Yeah, I feel kinda like home - it's cold, cold and dark."”
From pop in metal, things flowed seamlessly to talk of Eurovision, as the band have competed in the qualifiers previously and are friends with Finland’s most recent entrant Käärijä, who picked up second place, along with first in the public vote. After taking part in the UMK’s a few years ago “…things changed.” Given a large platform for the first time, the band’s confidence shot up and “for the first time, people actually took us seriously.” When we talked, we asked the pair if they had any plans to return to Eurovision qualifying, and they rather coyly responded “Maybe, like if the right song comes up, but need to be sure about it.” Well, it would appear that the right song has indeed come up, as Cyan Kicks have just announced that they are a part of the Finnish UMK competition this year to qualify for Eurovision, so you may well get to see them on that grand stage this year.