Doomed Confessionary: Konsta & Ossi (Askel)
Photo by Tero Hyrkkänen
Askel’s debut full-length album »Cycles Of Ruin« was released on February 1st, 2024 in cooperation with Gate Of Deliria and minoRobscuR.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Askel is a sludge band based in Helsinki. We started in early 2022, and have done an EP, an LP, and a bunch of gigs around Finland since then. We mostly focus on the output coming out heavy, dark and oppressive and less on the genre, so you can probably hear influences ranging from crust punk to black metal and from post-metal to noise.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Ossi: Making our debut LP »Cycles Of Ruin«, from finishing the material to recording it, then making the release a physical reality with a fitting visual presentation.
Konsta: And not necessarily the challenge of making the thing itself, more the fact that it’s always a challenge to find the time and energy for even the things you enjoy.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Ossi: This would have to be the debut LP as well. The hard work paid off, and »Cycles Of Ruin« came out this February on vinyl and digitally, sounding and looking like the way we intended. Holding your own LP in your hands is a special experience that none of us had before. What was initially a vague vision has gained a concrete form that we can be proud of.
Konsta: The LP definitely as the proudest moment, but when talking about what has made me the most content, just playing shows and meeting other like-minded and lovely folks really makes this worthwhile.
What was your biggest regret?
Ossi: Life comes with enough failures and disappointments already, so I try not to regret anything band-related. Of course, recordings and gigs involve compromises and shortcomings, but you live with them and move on.
Konsta: To be honest, my anxious as hell brain turns everything into a regret in one way or another. In this field, I mostly wish I could’ve just spent more time making music and playing it live.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
The highlights would definitely include the DIY house show we put up at Mäkitorppa in Jyväskylä with a great line-up of sludge and grind, as well as the gigs we shared with Sunniva, Svarta Havet and Vainoa. Our best set was probably the last one of the year in Lappeenranta, that was a furious one with not too many fuckups.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Konsta: The positive feedback we’ve gotten? Still takes me by surprise every time someone actually listens to our output and likes it.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Ossi: We’re insatiable music nerds, so lots of things, such as the back catalog of Japanese weirdos Sigh, the later albums of Norwegian noise rockers Barren Womb, and the latest full-length by Dutch black metal punks Heretic. Also, based on the first listens, the new Cock Sparrer album sounds like it’ll be on my playlist all summer – it’s amazing how a band can be in such top-notch shape after over half a century!
Konsta: I’ve been going through a lot of the collabs The Body has done, Nails and Vermin Womb have been making me want to start a grind band. I still love the new album by Throat, great post-punk/noise rock from Turku. Also gotten back to 90s alt/noise rock, especially Dinosaur Jr. Finally DJ Kridlokk’s new album is good as hell.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Konsta: I’m not sure if this is from any single person, but the general attitude of not caring too much goes a long way. There’s always a time and place for going into the weeds on details, but somehow it usually ends up sounding better (at least in this music) when you don’t focus too much on being exact and rather put all that effort into beating the shit out of whatever instrument you’re playing.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Ossi: I’ll stick to answering this question in terms of my listening habits. While I feel no shame about my plethora of perversions, some might call this one a guilty pleasure: I genuinely enjoy some of the first mainstream attempts at making Finnish hip-hop in the early 90s. (For non-Finns, I can add that those attempts were largely laughable). Listening to MC Nikke T. or Spraykaalit just gives me a fuzzy feeling that I find myself craving for on a semi-regular basis. I guess it’s a sense of nostalgia that I get from the aged sounds and the outrageous lyrics, even if I was too young back then to actually remember those artists from my childhood. There’s also a certain fascinating absurdity to the listening experience.
Konsta: Pretty much on the same page here with Ossi regarding guilty pleasures, don’t see a point in them. Or I prolly enjoy way too many things others would consider cringy (e.g. I fully stand by my opinion of Girl’s Generation’s Gee being a perfect pop song) and I’ve been trying to learn to get rid of my own knee jerk reactions towards others regarding this shit as well.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Helsinki / Finland?
Ossi: Finland has a great and thriving music underground, and things are especially active in the capital area, with many interesting gigs on a weekly basis. There’s also a healthy amount of crossover between styles, with e.g. death metal and hardcore bands playing at the same shows. People tend to be down-to-earth and open-minded, so there’s not a lot of bullshit scene politics either. As for the Finnish sludge scene, it’s doing well, as evidenced by the likes of Betelzeus, Frogskin, Ilon Lapset and Kettlehead putting out strong records last year.
Konsta: Also a lot of younger folks at the gigs (of other bands, definitely not at ours) and not uncommon to see the local all ages venue Oranssi being sold out by the time you show up at the door before the first band. So all signs pointing towards a prosperous future as well.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Not much to advertise on this front so far, but at the turn of June and July, we’ll be at least playing in Turku and Helsinki in good company, see our social media for details. Some more dates for the summer and fall are in the talks but not confirmed yet. We’re always looking to play more gigs, so if you need something slower and uglier to fill your lineup or have tips on cool venues/cities for us to visit, drop us a line.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Konsta: More new music, more playing live. Would be nice to take this abroad and play for a foreign empty room for a change, let’s see if our initial plans for that would come together.
Ossi: The next release will most likely be our participation on a damn fine compilation album of Finnish sludge this fall, featuring unreleased tracks from the same session where we recorded the debut EP.
How can people best support your band?
Listen to the music, recommend it to your friends, show up at gigs. If you really like it, maybe buy a record or a shirt. Bandcamp works for digital copies and you can get directly in contact for other stuff. The new record should also be available at plenty of distros and some might even have copies of our first EP.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Konsta: Be kind to yourself and others, make art for your own sake and yell at racists, homophobes and other assholes to fuck off.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well