Meet the experimental Finnish music producer JORI SJÖROOS

JORI SJÖROOS, an award-winning Finnish producer and label head, has announced the release of his upcoming album, SJÖROOTS via his own imprint, 11 ONES. Giving fans a sneak peek into the upcoming album, he’s already released the stunning single, “GOTH PERREO” which features the vocals of fellow label head and wife, Chisu. JORI has an impressive history behind him, with 10 Finnish Grammy’s and several awards being held neatly in his back pocket. However, his sound quickly becomes the forefront of this producers persona, marking itself as one of the truely unique creations in the music industry in recent memory.

Find out more about this experimental musician in the interview below.

Who were your first musical influences that you can remember? Who inspired you to start producing music?

I was 5 when I first heard ABBA as my parents were playing it a lot. I remember wanting to rush home from a daycare so that I could listen to their albums. The music sounded so colourful, so meaningful, so deep, so home (though I was 5). Then as 12 years old onwards I played in different bands and after they all had splitted I started to make music on my own – first with 4-track cassette recorder and then with a PC and a DAW (Cakewalk). I think back then DJ SHADOW’s “Entroducing” and BECK’s “Odeley” albums really inspired me to produce music in a new way – using tons of samples but still having amazing and coherent songs. Also DAFT PUNK’s “Homework” blew my mind as well as RADIOHEAD’s “Ok Computer”.

What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?

Music is energy. I want to share that energy with people. Music has the healing power and the ability to give people inspiration and emotions.

I admire people like Ludwig Göransson and Trent Reznor who do music in so many different ways – ancient but modern music for films, but also contemporary music with more mainstream kind of aesthetics. I feel really connected to their work and their way of doing it. I actually have the same kind of template in Finland, but my ultimate goal is to expand global.

Success – to me it means to wake up inspired in the morning, to see people receiving joy and inspiration of ones creativity, the freedom to do things in life that I feel passionate about – and get enough paid for it, to love oneself, using the gift and definitely NOT denying oneself.

Describe the process of collaborating on ‘GOTH PERREO’ with your wife Chisu?

She’s basically a pop singer but at home she sometimes entertains her daughter by imitating different vocal styles and one of her bravuras is definitely La Gibberish Opera (Opera in gibberish). I hired her to use that tone on “GOTH PERREO” and she totally nailed it!

Does Chisu feature on the rest of the upcoming album?

She’s been helping me with some mixing as she is an amazing producer herself and got absolutely golden ears. And of course she’s my wife so she’s also involved in the album spiritually.

What does your current software/hardware setup currently consist of?

I’m all laptop with Universal Audio Apollo Twin as my audio interface. I use Ableton Live as my main DAW and a lot of different plug-ins, Soundtoys, Universal Audio, Waves, Fab Filter, Izotope etc and also tons of samples.

Outside of music, what inspires you?

Fashion, art, movies, Netflix/HBO series and definitely The Nature. I started to have walks in the woods last year and it totally changed my life. I also love my Transcendental Meditations. And I DEFINITELY love my kids. I get so inspired of them in every way, but especially of their innocence – they’re living their life without masks.

What kind of relationship do you have with the internet? How does this inform your artistic expression?

I have a love/hate relationship with social media and the internet. Sometimes I get super inspired of it and sometimes I feel super numb and dumb of it. But I know it is a huge tool for showing people around the world that I exist – after all that’s what I’m trying to achieve with my music and art, when going public. I’m also manifesting to become more pro with the social media.

If you made a ‘GOTH PERREO’ into a music video what type of scene or mood do you envision?
I would hire Diana Kunst to direct it! The scene would be in a dark, south american club with odd and abandoned mystic tropicana atmosphere (can you imagine that?). There would be only 2 people in it. They would be dancing perreo in (natural) ecstasy in two parallel realms – 3D as reality and 5D as transcendental realm. There would be torches, crosses, symbols on the walls, sweat and lust. At the end part of the song the couple’s perreo dance would go further and further turning almost into a voodoo trance moves – booom they would rise into a transcendental state – and then Diana Kunst would show her visual talent how to end a video with an ecstatic euphoria.

As a performer or as a member of the audience, what single show has been the most memorable for you?

One of the most powerful shows I’ve ever experienced was Kendrick Lamar in Stockholm. His energy exploded the arena – he’s just the best rapper in this planet period. It was “no words” kind of experience.

Any new or upcoming artists on your radar?

Yes – our label’s new signing LiAURORA. She is just so crazy talented. She did her first ever song in 3 weeks and when I first heard it I thought “this is not mathematically right, it’s impossible to do a first song with this kind of quality in 3 weeks” but she did. She’s like that.

Please suggest an album for us to listen to.

ROSALIA : “El Mar Querer”. The whole album is such a masterpiece.

What can we expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?

Me and my wife Chisu (who’s famous artist and producer in Finland) have a creative duo called ROOS+BERG. We create, write and produce for other artists but also for ourselves – we think ourselves as Daft Punk. I’m super excited about it. Also I’m doing new songs for my 2nd album. I’m super excited about that too.

Famous last words?

The darkness is always benevolent.