Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

8. FaustRavvivando

Faust have been very important for me. When I first started to try and find their records in Finland it was very difficult. There weren’t vinyl pressings around in those days. It was CDs. Whenever I found one it was like a birthday. I found this one, Ravvivando, and when I heard it, I realised that’s what ‘good production’ means. When I was in high school there were always some yuppies who were really into Toto and Sting, and they always said they are ‘very, very, very well produced’. But the first time I realised this was with Ravvivando. It’s one of the best produced albums, it’s very dangerous – some parts were very loud, and some were very quiet, it felt like four-dimensional music.

I wanted to contact Faust. They had their own record label Klangbad, and there wasn’t any internet then, but there was a fax number. So, I sent a fax to them. And they answered me with 20 pages – a full list of cassette recordings, live shows and other recordings. I made an order. I wanted to hear those ‘secret’ Faust live recordings. They were amazing. I listened to them when I was driving. Suddenly Hans Joachim Irmler, the keyboard player, my rock & roll idol, sent a message asking if we wanted to play Burg Herzberg Festival in the middle of the German countryside with Arthur Brown, Magma, etc. And they asked Circle to play!

Wow. Did you send them music when you sent a fax, then? 

I can’t remember exactly. But Irmler said he wanted to record an album. It was a dream come true. Firstly, we were at this Burg Herzberg Festival and saw all these bands there. After that, we went to Würzburg and saw Magma playing in a small club. And after that, we went to Hans-Joachim’s Faust studio. We stayed five days and he recorded an album that Klangbad released. It was the early 2000s. We became very close friends with Irmler. He has since played in Pharaoh Overlord. 

This was when I realised some people have such a strong vision. They are not trying to make good sounds or mainstream sounds; they just do what they just want to do. And Irmler, he told me two very important things. One was: ‘Jussi, remember: just do, do and do’. The other one is even better. It was: ‘Jussi, remember, bad recording is always better than no recording’. That’s why I’m not worried about whether I am doing good music or bad music – I just make music.

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