Kwan

KWAN BIOGRAPHY

Kwan has realized on its fourth album that small is beautiful, but that small can also be pompous and touching. Little Notes is the band’s most intimate, outward going, relaxed and heartfelt album to date. On Little Notes you can hear a confident group with a clear idea of its strengths.

This time around key figure Pauli Rantasalmi, who is also known as the guitarist of The Rasmus, has taken a slightly smaller role than before. He has still composed the starting points of the songs, but the album’s recording and production as well as the song’s arrangements have been more of a collaborating between the band and Antti Eräkangas, who produced the album, and also plays guitar in Kwan.

Musically Little Notes is a logical step from the band’s previous albums. Even though the band’s music hasn’t been hiphop since its early days, the music is still firmly rooted in strong rhythms. Those rhythms are the base around which Kwan’s catchy pop melodies circle creating the music’s cunningly mysterious moods.

The music ranges from the fast paced stream of Diamonds to Island Hopping’s light rolling feel and Artwork’s dynamic edge.
… If you get energy from the album, we’ve succeeded, says the band’s vocalist Tidjan.
… This is definitely an album full of good vibes, agrees Mariko, the band’s other vocalist.
… We’ll never give up on our pompous moments, but on this record we also have nice little things, both little written notes and little musical notes, Mariko continues, explaining the album’s title.

The added touches of emotion and intimacy are results of added confidence in the band.
… We wanted to get closer to people on this album … blood, sweat and tears, says the album’s producer and the band’s guitarist Antti Eräkangas.

The goal has been reached by tapping into the energy that has always been one of Kwan’s strengths, especially live. Before recording Little Notes the band had stopped to think where they should head next.
… We all shared the feeling that what’s best about Kwan is the energy and the f*%…*ng good vibes. So this time we’ve relied on what’s cool about the band. We’ve put the emphasis on positive energy this time, Mariko says.

Kwan’s members are visibly content with the end result. They say it was the easiest album to make thanks to a stronger sense of the band’s direction. The result is an album with impressive energy, which grabs you in the same way as Kwan’s live shows do. You can’t help but get up from your chair and join the wicked celebration.
… One of the ideas was that music really is one of the coolest things there is, Eräkangas confirms.

KWAN’S HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

1. Kwan was formed in 2000 from Pauli Rantasalmi’s and Antti Eräkangas’s initial idea to make hiphop with a live band. The band’s debut album Dynasty went platinum quickly, and Kwan also won two prizes at Finland’s equivalent to the Grammies, the Emma’s.
2. Second album Die Is Cast sold double platinum, and Kwan didn’t get a chance to catch its breath until after the end of their tour in the summer of 2003. Another Emma came their way.
3. After a short and refreshing break the band returned in 2004 with Love Beyond This World, which sold gold, and included the hits Unconditional Love and Decadence of the Heart. And another acceptance speech at the Emma gala.
4. Kwan’s fourth album Little Notes release in Finland on March 22.