On the Record with MC Raaka Pee & Shag-U of Turmion Kätilöt

This interview was done in April 2020 for Musicalypse.net and has been added to the Off the Record archives as an On the Record interview

First of all, thanks for taking the time to do this interview, and sorry for missing out on the face-to-face meeting. I hope that you are all feeling well? No coronavirus in the band?

MC: Not diagnosed. I'm fine thanks.

Shag-U: Still alive! Hope you are fine too?

Just fine, thanks! So to get started, tell me a little bit about "Global Warning"—how did you choose the name? The wordplay obviously comes from "global warming" but it seems a lot of people have been misreading it—did you expect that when you named it?

MC: I didn’t expect anything. I just felt that the title was good and the wordplay is a big plus.

Shag-U: It's nice to provoke people. "Se koira älähtää johon kalikka kolahtaa." [“it’s the dog that gets punted that pokes truths”]

Shag-U has been with TK now for a couple years—have you guys settled into a good groove as a band while writing music? How much does each person contribute to the songwriting?

MC: Me and Run-Q did the songwriting and most of the lyrics were made by me and my wife as in earlier albums also. Still we have many lyricists and we go with the flow. In this album there were texts also from Shag-U, Bobby Undertaker, DQ, and Run-Q. So almost the whole band participated in the lyrics :) I know Master Bates has also done some lyrics, but we don’t know yet when he'll let us sing it. We also make a lot of impulsive changes during the recording. So the band puts all the little pieces together and the end result is Turmion Kätilöt. The band just sounds like this. Take away one element and it is totally different. I think it is fucking good now :)

Shag-U: Even though I haven't been so long in the band, it's nice to see how equally my opinion weighs.

For Shag-U, how does TK differ from Fear of Domination and Stereo Terror DJs and what does each band offer artistically to you as a songwriter and performer that the others do not?

Shag-U: It's quite hard to compare and honestly and don't see any reason to do so. Naturally FOD is the first bastard child of mine and I have done lots of work for it. Still I think the music always comes first and there is the biggest difference. TK is a bit more spontaneous, disco, and radical. There is a bit of "punk" in it. Both projects still are really close to the heart and both give me that what I demand from this "artist life."

MC mentioned to Tuonela Magazine that "Sano Kun Riittää" was a very personal song. Are there any other songs on this album that are particularly personal to anyone?

MC: Well all the lyrics that are written by me or my wife and all my compositions. We made this album personal to every one in this band. We make every album that way. Then we know how to perform it.

Shag-U: There has to be part of you in every song. Give it a meaning.

Do you hear many stories from fans about how they have connected with your music, but have had a completely different reason for connecting with the song than the meaning it was written around?

MC: Yeah. Sometimes it's very deep and emotional. For the next fellow it’s party music. They hear different meanings because they have different lives. That is our theme in this album. To sing about you, no matter who you are.

Shag-U: In the end all the songs are about you. In good or in bad.

Since you have recently signed with Nuclear Blast, is there anything you would like to tell the new English-speaking listeners about "Global Warning"?

MC: This warning is global and it concerns everybody. Listen with your own risk. About the music? Metal, disco, techno combined. We know how to do that and make you move ;)

Shag-U: We know how to make you cry and we know how to make you dance. Rest is up to you. The warning is global.

Most, if not all of the songs, have a very disco vibe to them, making them very catchy and easy to get into. Is it hard to pick which songs will be singles, when so many of them have the potential?

MC: Yes it is. We have to vote to get the answer. But we also do every song in a way that it can stand alone without the album.

Shag-U: What MC said!

You guys are set to do some shows with Nightwish on their upcoming tour. Have you played many shows outside of Finland before now? Is there anywhere you are particularly excited to go?

MC: I don’t have any dream place to perform. I'm honored to do it. I'm just glad that you guys let me do it. We have been touring before with Pain and Beast in Black in Europe. Also our own concerts in Russia. One festival in Lithuania also. Some of us were very drunk there… after the show of course. The NW tour is something that I’ve never dared to dream about. Marko is a good friend of our band from years back. I think we are going to have lots of fun.

Shag-U: Lets put it this way... it seems that we are the first band ever who will sing totally in Finnish at Wembley Arena. That is quite big if you ask me!

With many shows being cancelled or postponed at the moment, what are your plans for this year as of right now?

MC: Stu, Stu, Stu, Stu, Studio line! Loreal! I updated my studio gear, but these damn devices don’t work. So I’m fixing and installing. Hopefully I can compose soon. We hit the stages as soon as it's possible and safe for human kind.

Shag-U: Shows or not, we have lots of work to do with Nuclear Blast because the album comes anyway. There is no stopping of this beast. In the mean time, might write some new lyrics and test new stuff.

That's all of my questions. Is there anything that I didn't mention that you think our readers need to know about? Any last words?

MC: No last words. For new listeners these were the first words! It is important to listen carefully. We will give you more information in the next album.

Shag-U: “This is not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.”

Thank you so much!