I want to be a DJ

"I want to be a DJ (original mix)" is a very catching tune by Finnish Roberto Rodriguez. Tune is almost 2 years old but still very very catching as are most of his tunes. Listen yourself.

Utopia coming real?

Live above the sea! Nice plans were introduced by the construction company YIT couple years ago: residential nucleus is formed of totally 7 buildings by the sea. This year 2008 the first two buildings are ready, BUT the closer look reveals these two buildings are yes near by the sea but not above sea. Hopefully these "above the sea" apartments are built also in the near future!

Echosystem - brazil funk som de Helsinki

Echosystem is a 7-member Orchestra from Helsinki, playing funky tunes spiced up with sunny Brazilian rhythms. In a fresh way, they combine the Brazilian tradition with jazz, funk and contemporary club music producing a unique sound that varies from chic latinjazz to hectic breakbeat.

Their debut album "Madaga" is now released in Japan also!

Pingstate - Art of a Visual Community, Book 1

Pingstate - Art of a Visual Community, Book 1 is a collection. It presents 42 rising stars who work with pictures on both sides of the line that moved an inch. These healthy, playing adults are involved in developing a visual language for 21st century Finland and they made this book free of harassment by parents, cops or clients. It was born as a collective effort and on its own terms, because it wanted to.

Pinsgstate.nu is a web community, the members of which work in visual culture, often in a commercial context.

New Finnish Documentaries @ Docpoint film festival

Docpoint film festival does the reality check: 23.-27.1.08. There are bunch of new Finnish documentaries available. Shame I missed the Arto Halonen's Shadow of the Holy book. It's a film about the Ruhnama, also known as The Book of Soul, written by now deceased Turkmenistan's dictator Saparmurat Niazov.

Jani Leinonen @ Galleria Krista Mikkola 8.2.–2.3.2008

"Dumped ads" is the title of the latest exhibition by Jani Leinonen. Banana girl Chiquita, raisin mannequin Sun Maid, chocolate girl Geisha and many other figures pop up in Jani's paintings.

Galleria Krista Mikkola: Neitsytpolku 9, Helsinki.

Diamonds are forever

Would you like to live forever? Now it's possible, well in a way. Algordanza is offering a new kind of burial. After the cremation the ashes of the beloved person are delivered to Algordanza Finland (link in Finnish) and they produce the high class and sertified diamond out of the ash. Creepy.

www.in-drunk-you-are-blockhead.fi

Old propaganda campaigns are back, but with more street credibility than ever. The on-going "in-drunk-you-are-blockhead" campaign is targeted to teens&youngsters who tend to get too drunk too often in Finland.

Test the simple game and watch the campaign film on the site! Also the posters are awesome. Model vomiting in her handbag and clubber pissing in his pants. Cool or embarrased?

Surpringly the campaign is produced by the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry. Federation promote the interests of producers of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters in Finland.

I thought their interest is to sell drinks as much as possible! But hey we live in Finland. Moral is the keyword here. Good.

Unique design hotels in Helsinki

In year 2008 upcoming design hotels will stimulate the Helsinki hotel scene: Former red-light brothel house (okay it was over 100 years ago) is renewed and new Hotel Helena (Pohjoisesplanadi 5) will be open in autumn 2008 (source: Kauppalehti, in Finnish). EDIT 2013: Olo (a Michelin star restaurant) will move in to Pohjoisesplanadi 5 in August 2013. The plans of Hotel Helena did not become reality at all.

Earlier I mentioned about the upcoming (fall 2009) loft-style rooms of Hotel Linna and alternatives to ordinary hotel stay (guest house Kolo & Maja). EDIT 2013: Hotel Linna is now GLO Art Hotel and loft-style rooms did not become reality? Maybe because of new hotels Haven and Fabian?

The largest private restaurant corporation in Finland Royal Ravintolat Ltd have noticed the demand for unique Hotels and is planning (article in Finnish) to launch a competitor to GLO, Klaus K and old prison Hotel Katajanokka. New hotel Haven will open during the year 2008 to Unioninkatu 17.

We'll see if the plans of the Alvar Aalto & Artek hotel (article in Finnish) will become real by the year 2010. Design hotel by world-class architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron would be a nice new landmark. EDIT 2013: Helsinki City Council rejected Katajanokka hotel project in 2010.

Other unique hotels to mention: Totally new concept was developed for Hotel Helka in 2006 - inspired by Finnish Design and Finnish nature. This theme can be experienced everywhere - in furnishing, service and music.