RADIOACTIVE PINEAPPLE – interview

Formed in 2014, in the region of capital city Helsinki, Finland, the skate/pop punk band RADIOACTIVE PINEAPPLE has something cool to offer to the fans of the genre, with their catchy choruses and the topics found in their lyrics which are trying to address issues encountered by everyone who deals with mental health. They are also working hard to produce and record their releases, so it is nice to get to know a bit more about this Finnish act by catching up with Ozzie in the short interview below:

Introduce your band, and describe your latest release:

Our latest release is our album “YES!”. It was our first attempt at producing and recording everything by ourselves. We’ve learned quite a bit after that.

What’s the hardest part about being a band in this day and age?
It is really hard to find ways to make money with music. And the bandmates can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but such is life. It can also be super draining mentally, because there’s so much work to be done when you do everything yourself.

When did you realise that your project had the potential to be much more than just a fun idea?

Well, ever since I got the idea to start the band. I’m not playing around, I truly care about our music. I see the potential here, and with enough work and effort it can become something cool. It’s all about the combination of luck and good old fashioned elbow grease.

Tell us about your latest release, why should we check it out?

Well firstly, there are some cool songs on the album, and secondly I think it’s quite unique. I was on an apprenticeship program in a studio back then, so I did everything by myself. There’s plenty of weird things going on in the album, because half of the time I didn’t really know what I was doing. There was so much learning to do, and I’m now so grateful that I found the willpower to go through with all of it. At some points I felt that I had an impossible task to conquer, but I pushed through.

How does a song typically come together for you?

I’ll just strum chords on an acoustic guitar, and listen to what feels right. Then I’ll just hum and sing gibberish until I find words. When the idea starts to get its shape, then I’ll just record it lazily on my phone.

How would you describe your sound to an unfamiliar reader?

It’s influenced by the Californian punk scene, but we try not to sound too generic. The songs are quite manic-depressive with dark and overly neurotic lyrics, but otherwise the sound is quite upbeat.

What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your band?

I hope that we come off as an authentic experience, and I hope that we come off as honest.

Where would you really like to tour that you haven’t done so yet, and why?

Japan is my ultimate wet dream, but otherwise I’m down to play anywhere. We haven’t gotten to tour outside of Finland yet, but it certainly is something that we are going to do in the future. We’ll be playing in Sweden, and if everything works out right we might play in Denmark at the beginning of 2024.

How would you say that the sound of your band has progressed over the years?
It certainly has changed quite a bit from what it was when we started out. Slowly but surely we are getting better at writing lyrics, and all in all the songs are a bit more thought out.

How excited are you for 2023, and what can fans expect from you?

Super excited! We’ll be releasing an EP in the summer, and there’s plenty of other content and such coming up. So, stay tuned and keep on rocking!