Finns artists consider it important that they have the opportunity for political and social commentary. Several well-known and successful artists will also participate in the Me emme vaikene demonstration against racism, which will be organized in Helsinki on Sunday.
Some artists have participated in the discussion on social media during the summer about the actions of government ministers and racist comments. The artists have received a lot of support for their opinions, but also criticism from their own audience. Critics think that artists should focus on making music and not on political commentary.
Aggressive feedback and the fear of losing the audience can raise the threshold of artists to publicly express their own position.
One One of the presenters of the “We don’t keep silent” protest is an actor and a musician Elsie Sloan. In his opinion, artists who refrain from social discussion underestimate their own power and potential for influence.
“People follow what artists say and people are interested in what they say,” says Sloan. “It’s a justified way of using the privilege that comes from that job.”
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“I would like every artist to realize that there is no such thing as apolitical.” – Elsie Sloan
He understands that being in the public eye is difficult, but there are many ways to take a stand on social media.
“You can share one social meme, when you have taken a stand. There is no need to write any opinion piece,” says Sloan.
“I don’t mean that every artist should be megapolitical, but I would like every artist to realize that there is no such thing as apolitical.”
“Artists nowadays take less of a stand than before, and there are many reasons for that,” says the musician Markus Nordenstrengwho performs as a member of the Tuomo & Markus band at Sunday’s Me emme vaikene demonstration.
“Popular music has become mainstream, whereas in the 1960s and 70s it was counterculture. Then it might have been more natural to take a stand. At the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, it started to disappear. Although there are exceptions, I think it’s sad what has happened to rap: after all, hip-hop was once a very strong social genre, but it has largely become tasteless and tasteless. But I would argue that some kind of change is in the air”, says Nordenstreng.
Nordenstreng also counts the polarization of society as one of the reasons for the decrease in adoption.
“Artists don’t necessarily want to take a strong stand, because doing so will immediately put them on the boycott list of a certain audience and be criticized. This is largely influenced by the fact that artists have become self-branders, market men and women. And when you have to be active on social media yourself, the laundry and public shit you get is pretty heavy.”
Nowadays, artists do not take a strong party political position very easily. Nordenstreng refers to the corona years, when there was strong dissatisfaction with the actions of politicians in the cultural sector.
“Participating in demonstrations is currently more natural for artists than being a mouthpiece for any party. In Finland’s corona policy, the entire spectrum of parties neglects the cultural sector and artists. It has had negative effects on how willing artists have been recently to support political parties. Of course, it may be that this summer’s racism debate will change this, because issues of racism and equality directly or at least indirectly affect such a significant part of professionals in the cultural fields,” Nordenstreng sees.
One exception in the relatively neutral atmosphere of contemporary cultural life, there is the Folkhem band, whose members are several top musicians known from other connections. The band includes, for example, people familiar with the Scandinavian Music Group Joel Melasniemi and Called Salokorpi and the Ruusut group Alpo Nummelin. Folkhem is Waiting room-in the songs of his debut album, took a stand on, for example, climate anxiety and the loss of nature, fascism and xenophobia.
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“It’s really uncool to take a stand in mainstream pop.” – Kyösti Salokorpi, Folkhem
Kyösti Salokorpi says that even though the songs have social themes, Folkhem does not write a direct declaration of the day’s politics in them. Instead, the authors strive to find a story-like, carnivalesque level in the songs.
“If you listen to older stand-up songs from somewhere in the 1960s and 70s, the ones that have stood the test of time the best are the ones that have other narrative levels than a direct militant declaration,” says Salokorpi.
“In mainstream pop, it’s really uncool to take a stand or be political in any way, except maybe in certain issues of identity politics.”
The band members work in various positions in the music business and also write songs for other artists.
“When I write songs for others, they are often love or drinking songs. There has not necessarily been an avenue for some social topics that interest me. That’s why it has seemed important to me to be in a band like this where you can deal with them”, says Salokorpi.
Vocalist and songwriter Pelle Miljoona has seen many kinds of political statements and reactions in music during his 46-year career and even before that. He considers the recent Finnish political debate to be unheard of.
“It’s quite depressing. The whole time is so Dada and psychotic and paranoid.”
In his songs, Pelle has dealt with societal and social issues, often from a street-level perspective. In his own opinion, he has not made his music with political motives.
“It’s important to me to be able to say things, but when I’m making a song, I don’t think about who we’re up against today. I take inspiration from the surrounding reality and the time we live in. I’m not the kind of person who takes a stand for my work, I do this before the music.”
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“Now we live in a turbulent and depressing time, and it’s clear that artists are drawing from it.” – Pelle Miljoona
In recent history, he finds examples of how the opinions of artists have influenced the social debate.
“One thing that made the Vietnam War end was the pop music of the time. Or punk in the late 1970s; it had the effect of starting to talk about real issues. The function of culture is also to reflect the times we live in, and now we live in turbulent and depressing times, and it is clear that artists draw from that, whether they are musicians, writers, poets, painters or whatever.”
In Pelle Miljoona’s opinion, comments on social media where artists are told to just make music and stay away from politics are “pretty thick shit”.
“For sure it can scare some artists. For my part, I don’t care about it. I only make songs that come from somewhere and need to be played and sung.”
In August musician Stig or Pasi Siitonen criticized a basic Finnish politician on X, i.e. the former Twitter Anna Koskela a social media post in which he wrote about “male citizens of underdeveloped countries”.
“Initially, there was very little feedback on it other than on Twitter, where I have mostly commented on this,” says Siitonen. “Probably the most visible feedback has been the inappropriate feedback given by trolls, but on the other hand, I have also received praise for opening my mouth. And apparently I’ve also gained more followers.”
Since then, attention also came outside of the X service, when the matter was reported in traditional media as well.
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“I can sacrifice a few listeners because of something I find important.” – Stig
Throughout the summer, Siitonen has been criticizing the government in X in other ways, although he is of course aware that with strong positions he might drive some part of the audience away.
“When you lean in one direction, you slouch in the other direction. But I feel that I am at such a stage in my career that I can sacrifice a few listeners because of something I consider important. Still, I have also been more careful in my opinions in the past. And even if I had taken a stand, I have been careful not to criticize, for example, a certain party.”
At Siito, social opinions are related to thinking about the next stage of a career. He says that he has been on a recording and publishing break since spring.
“During the summer, I’ve been thinking about what else I might want to do in life other than being an entertainer. Because of that, it has also been a more liberated feeling to take a stand.”
This is also related to artist identity. The music made under the name Stig has often been humorous and parodic, and there hasn’t necessarily been room for cutting social criticism.
“I don’t feel that Stig is a stand-up character, for example Big egg man -song has a hidden social criticism – which many people might not have noticed because of the name of the song. However, I don’t feel that Stig is turning into a protest singer.”
If, on the other hand, he works more in the future as a music producer or songwriter Pasi Siitos, social commentary will be more natural.
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