“One thing that’s very important to me always is that the songwriting must always be rock solid, and that’s certainly something I will never let go of.”
Levinsky, Finland’s “auteur of dark and dreamlike electronic music” certainly lives up to his title. One glance at his Bandcamp page, and you’ll be treated to a visual feast of bizarre-yet-beautiful imagery that would fit right in on a 70’s Italian horror film poster.
Talking to Levinsky about his influences, it seems the comparison is appropriate. This is a musician who’s captured the weird beauty of Claudio Simonetti's Goblin and layered it with dashes of world music, hints of 80’s pop, and other sounds we shouldn’t even begin to classify.
Nocturnes, the artist’s latest release, is a startling reminder that indie music can be just as well-produced and visionary as anything else — if not more so. Read on to learn more about this unique Finnish soundsmith and his latest concoction.
DARKNESS CALLING: Your first album, Electra Complex, was released just last year, and you already have a new album, Nocturnes, releasing today (October 2nd). Did the pandemic provide you with extra creative time (locked indoors), or are you a bit of a workaholic when it comes to your craft?
LEVINSKY: In between these two albums, there was a period of approximately fifteen months, and I did start writing Nocturnes pretty much right after Electra Complex was finalized (Factually, that was early June 2019). I'm a firm believer in putting out only work of highest quality, with great attention to detail. Releasing singles every month is really not my cup of tea, as I prefer to present careful, considerate, and complete pieces — as was the case with Electra and what is very much the case with Nocturnes, as well. Looking at the "synthwave" scene in general, I think a lot of artists are way too preoccupied in churning out releases monthly in some kind of forced illusion that it will keep them relevant to the scene. I find this, as an idea, off-putting and somewhat in contrast with releasing quality work. I like to be totally immersed when I compose, and that takes its time. In my book, art should drive art instead of any kind of artificial external pressure or validation from self-renowned authorities or gatekeepers (This is also a trait that the "synthwave" scene suffers quite a bit from, in my opinion).
DARKNESS CALLING: What can listeners expect to hear in Nocturnes that might be different from the previous album? Or is this an exploration of a similar sound palette?
LEVINSKY: Nocturnes has matured and refined my style further, and I believe many listeners will find this album more progressive in terms of composition and approach. One thing that's very important to me always is that the songwriting must always be rock solid, and that's certainly something I will never let go of.
Thematically, the album presents the listeners with variety, whilst the underlying motif is the one of the night. Soundwise, the album is more organic than its predecessor — live guitar and bass are introduced to some songs (played by my engineer) and the drum arrangements are much more natural than you'd usually expect in the synth genre. My trademark of layered melody structures and rhythms is also more defined and prominent on this album. Also, there are three absolutely outstanding vocal tracks featuring super talented, original vocalists (Enlia from France, Witch Of The Vale from Scotland, and Bara Hari from USA). The vocal tracks flow perfectly with the instrumental ones, and a lot of consideration was put into making the album a well-thought out, solid entity that can be enjoyed from the start to the end, in one listening session during which you can immerse yourself in the beautiful, uncanny, and darkly stimulating nocturnal dreamscape of the album.
DARKNESS CALLING: In general, what are some of your musical influences? I'm sure you have some neat ones — including bands and film composers.
LEVINSKY: Ah, this is a great question, as always! My first and foremost musical influence is Kate Bush — she's such a pioneering and innovative, boundary-pushing artist with a great sense of style and all that unique originality. I simply love all of her work and her music is the kind of "origo" to which I always find myself returning to when I need to calibrate my musical senses and find artistic guidance.
In general, I enjoy a wide range of music. Some other artists to mention that usually find their place in my frequent rotation are Umberto, Claudio Simonetti's Goblin, Goldfrapp, Air, Mylène Farmer, Ulver, Alcest, Zombi, Pink Floyd, Perturbator, Jean-Michel Jarre, The Alan Parsons Project, Peter Gabriel, Tears For Fears, Visage... I also do enjoy some classical, jazz, and even avantgarde music.
Speaking of film composers, I'd like to name Claudio Simonetti, Vangelis, Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Ruyichi Sakamoto, Bruno Nicolai, Angelo Badalamenti, John Carpenter, Cliff Martinez, and Yann Tiersen — just to give a few names influential to me.
“...a lot of consideration was put into making the album a well-thought out, solid entity that can be enjoyed from the start to the end, in one listening session...”
DARKNESS CALLING: To call your music "synth" music might be selling it short. You incorporate a wide variety of real instruments in your music, as you’ve mentioned. Did any of them present a challenge for you?
LEVINSKY: The album closing track "The Tapestry Of Fantasies" is a pretty progressive, trippy, and even a jazzy piece (with some saxophone in the outro). The instruments themselves were not a challenge — some of the tracks have an abundance of aural information in terms of layered instrumentation and rhythms, and a significant amount of time was spent to get all the elements of the mix just right and to get each instrument to "speak" its part as originally intended. My engineer did a splendid job in this aspect, and you can really hear that things were done very meticulously.
DARKNESS CALLING: I've read that your live performances with Susanna Leinivaara [pictured above, right] are a sight to behold. Are there any live shows on the horizon for you two, or possibly livestreams online?
LEVINSKY: Yes, she's a professional ballet teacher, and her style in my performances combines elements of contemporary dance, ballet, and butoh. You can find some live clips on my YouTube channel. As you know, the situation with live shows is pretty restricted globally; the last show we did was on August 21st, and we've done a livestream show in June. Most likely, we'll be doing a live stream show in the near future with some of the fellow artists from the Helsinki Synth City scene (Check out our Facebook page here).
DARKNESS CALLING: Thanks again! Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers?
LEVINSKY: I hope you enjoy the album as much as I did writing it (Physical editions on vinyl and cassette will follow)! Do your own thing and believe in it — it will carry you far! Stay safe and take care.
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