Toni-Matti Karjalainen - homepage

Packaging design contest by Stora Enso & IDBM

2012-02-07T04:55:00.000-08:00

A re-thoughtful packaging design contest by Stora Enso, coordinated by the IDBM Program:
www.recreatepackaging.com

11th Nordcode seminar in Helsinki & Stockholm

2012-01-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

11th Nordcode Seminar & Workshop and IDBM Research Seminar with title “Strategic design communication in business” will be hosted by: IDBM Program, Aalto University School of Economics on June 11-13 2012. Activities take place in Helsinki, onboard Silja Serenade cruise ship, and in Stockholm.

See www.nordcode.net for more information.
Description and call for papers here.

Open researcher positions in the DESMA project

2012-01-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Our new EU-funded research project has opened its web site:

www.desma.gu.se

We are looking to recruit 12 Early Stage Researchers to DESMA, a European doctoral level research training network in the area of Design Management. The positions are full time for three years, starting in September 2012. Opportunities for adding a fourth year for completing a PhD will be discussed separately for each position.

DESMA is an Initial Training Network funded by the European Commission’s Marie Curie Actions that combines 4 leading universities within the area of Design Management (University of Gothenburg, Aalto University in Helsinki, Politecnico di Milano, and Imperial College, London), 4 leading European design consultancies (Ergonomidesign, Engine, Live|work, Future Concept Lab) and 4 complementary product and service organizations (Volvo Group, Philips Innohub, Poltrona Frau, Living Labs Global) in an unprecedented cross-disciplinary effort to understand how design can be exploited as a driver of innovation and competitiveness in Europe.

We are seeking applicants with a master degree in either design or business and some professional experience. The employed researchers will conduct research projects in collaboration with their host organization, take part in a common training programme with doctoral level courses and build a forum for design management research in Europe.

Last date for submissions is March 15^th 2012

For more information visit our website: www.desma.gu.se

New IDBM article in Spanish

2011-11-15T02:02:00.001-08:00

Hemos publicado un nuevo articulo sobre IDBM en español:
Our recent article (in Spanish) published:

Koria, Mikko; Graff, Daniel & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Facilitar los ecosistemas de innovación a través de la educación superior. La universidad Aalto y su International Design Business Management (IDBM). Revista Economía Industrial, no 381. 35-42.

Revista Economía Industrial 381

Facilitar los ecosistemas de innovación a través de la educación superior. La universidad Aalto y su International Design Business Management (IDBM) [PDF][109 KB]

Corky Laing lectures @ Aalto on 21/11/2011

2011-11-05T17:16:00.001-07:00

Extended abstract: Heavy metal artefacts onstage

2011-09-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Extended abstract presented in the Nordcode 2011 seminar in Roskilde: www.nordcode.net

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Heavy metal artefacts onstage: Construction of a visual code system within a subculture. 10th Nordcode Seminar, September 28-30, Roskilde.

Home of Metal papers

2011-09-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

Two short papers presented in the Home of Metal Conference at Wolverhampton, UK, on Sept 1-4 2011:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Ainamo, Antti & Dorman, Matthew John (2011). Exporting metal from the land of the thousand lakes. "Heavy Metal and Place", Home of Metal Conference. Wolverhampton, UK. September 1-4 2011.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Designing visual references and narratives in heavy metal."Heavy Metal and Place", Home of Metal Conference. Wolverhampton, UK. September 1-4 2011.

New article in JMRE

2011-08-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

A BogFires related article published:

Laaksonen, Laura; Ainamo, Antti & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Entrepreneurial passion: an explorative case study of four metal music ventures. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 13 (1), 18 - 36.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1939677&ini=aob

"Messenger Package" book online

2011-06-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

The final report of the Messenger Package (VIP) project is published as a book:

Elina Rusko, Sanna Heiniö, Virpi Korhonen, Jali Heilmann, Toni- Matti Karjalainen, Panu Lahtinen & Marja Pitkänen. Messenger Package – Integrating Technology, Design and Marketing for Future Package Communication. Final Report. Espoo 2011. VTT Tiedotteita – Research Notes 2586. 90 p.

PDF version online: www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/tiedotteet/2011/T2586.pdf

New journal and conference papers

2011-05-07T09:47:00.000-07:00

JOURNAL PAPERS:

Laaksonen, Laura; Ainamo, Antti; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Entrepreneurial Passion: An explorative case study of four metal music ventures. Journal of research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 13:1.

Koria, Mikko; Graff, Daniel & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Learning Design Thinking: International Design Business Management at Aalto University. REDIGE Review on Design, Innovation and Strategic Management, 2 (1). www.cetiqt.senai.br/redige

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Selvefors, Anneli; Rahe, Ulrike & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011, forthcoming). Encouraging sustainable lifestyles through product innovation: an exploratory student approach to eco-branding as business strategy. 13th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education. 8-9 September 2011. London, UK.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Heiniö, Sanna; Graff, Daniel; Koria, Mikko & Salimäki, Markku(2011, forthcoming). Speaking design: Development of multidisciplinary language and project management skills in design, business and engineering education. 13th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education. 8-9 September 2011. London, UK.

SHORT PAPER:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Ainamo, Antti (2011). Visual identity of Finnish heavy metal bands. IASPM Benelux Conference: Music Theory and Practice in the Lowlands. 14-15 April 2011. Haarlem, Netherlands.

10th Nordcode seminar at Roskilde University Sep 28-30 2011

2011-04-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

More information:
http://www.nordcode.net/?page_id=672

The 10th Nordcode seminar in 2011 will be in Denmark, at Roskilde University, 40km west of Copenhagen. The seminar is organized and hosted by Performance Design at the Department of Communication, Business, and Information Technologies. This years theme recognises the performative turn of product design. Over the past decade there has been a focus on performance studies. Jon McKenzie in his book “Perform – or else” (Routledge 2001) recognises three kinds of performance: organisational performance, technological performance, and theatrical performance. The performance perspective allows the designer to understand both the design process and the usage of a product as a performance, where artefacts and persons play together in a certain context. The performative turn opens a new world of thinking about design: How does the user perform using a new design? How does the design perform in a certain context? How does the designer perform when designing an artefact? How does the designer perform, when a design is evaluated? The spatial context of a performance is crucial to the way, we design. How can we design artefacts to perform in certain contexts? What does the context mean for the design process?

We invite you to submit a paper within the theme of design of space and performance. It may include one or more of the following subjects: (the list is not exhaustive).

− the design process as a performance
− evaluation of products
− performative methods in product design
− the performance of artefacts in context
− the relation of design and context
− the performance of users
− improvisational techniques in product design
− design usage in selected contexts
− conceptualisation methods
− performance design
− design for spatial performances
− technological artefacts as performers
− a performative view on product design

Important dates

Seminar: September 28-30.

Submission of paper
Abstract (500 words): June 1.
Confirmation of abstract: July 1.
Extended abstract (2000 words): September 1.
Submission email: nordcode@ruc.dk

New publications

2011-02-21T05:09:00.000-08:00

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Ainamo, Antti (2011, forthcoming). Designing visual narratives for heavy metal bands. 9th International Conference of the European Academy of Design. 4 - 7 May 2011. Porto, Portugal

And my own articles in the IDBM papers vol 1:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Koria, Mikko & Salimäki, Markku (2011). Designing multidisciplinary learning for the real world. In T-M.Karjalainen, M.Koria & M.Salimäki (eds.), IDBM papers vol 1. Helsinki: IDBM Program, Aalto University. 20-26. PDF-version here.

Graff, Daniel; Koria, Mikko & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). Theoretical model of cross-functional team effectiveness. In T-M.Karjalainen, M.Koria & M.Salimäki (eds.), IDBM papers vol 1. Helsinki: IDBM Program, Aalto University. 74-84. PDF-version here.

Heiniö, Sanna & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2011). IDBM student project as a teaching platform for package design. In T-M.Karjalainen, M.Koria & M.Salimäki (eds.), IDBM papers vol 1. Helsinki: IDBM Program, Aalto University. 86-97. PDF-version here.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Ainamo, Antti (2011). Metallic looks: Thoughts on the visual identity of Finnish heavy metal bands. In T-M.Karjalainen, M.Koria & M.Salimäki (eds.), IDBM papers vol 1. Helsinki: IDBM Program, Aalto University. 98-110. PDF-version here.

New IDBM book published

2011-02-18T01:15:00.000-08:00

We just got out our first ever IDBM book, "IDBM papers vol1", including a collection of articles to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and increased research activities. The PDF-version is here.

IDBM 15th Anniversary

2011-01-27T06:06:00.000-08:00

... on February 18th 2011. Seminar and party info here:
http://www.inspire2011.fi/

An anniversary book with IDBM research contents will be published at the same event.

Melissa auf der Maur @ Nosturi 24/11/2010

2010-12-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

Music, Law and Business Conference in Helsinki this week!

2010-11-22T06:58:00.001-08:00

BogFires participates in the arrangements of the MUSIC, LAW AND BUSINESS, the IASPM-Norden 2010 Conference, organised this week in Helsinki.

For more information, please see:
http://iaspmnorden.wordpress.com/mlb/

The conference book of abstract can be downloaded here:
http://iaspmnorden.files.wo rdpress.com/2010/04/mlb-book-of-abstracts.pdf

Katatonia @ Nosturi 11/11/10

2010-11-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

IDBM Research Publications

2010-11-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

An updated list of IDBM research publications can be foud at:
http://project.hkkk.fi/idbm/programme/IDBMResearch.html

There have been over twenty papers published during the ongoing year, few being still in the pipeline.

LOUD PARK 10 @ Tokyo, Oct 16-17: Festival report

2010-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

By Toni-Matti Karjalainen

Loud Park, “the heaviest metal festival in Japan” and most certainly the biggest one with some 10.000 daily visitors, returned back to its “home” at the Saitama Super Arena from 2009 exile at the Makuhari Messe. The BogFires delegate was of course present in Tokyo on both days and jumped onto the Keihin-Tohoku and Shõnan-Shinjuku line trains from our base camp in Shinjuku.

By visiting this in-house festival for the fourth year in row, precise Japanese customs and hospitality during this well-organised event are already taken as given. And no disappointment was experienced this time either. Some improvements would possibly be needed to the insufficient ventilation of the Arena, resulting to sweaty condition particularly at the front sections of the stages. Moreover, altering sound quality of the performances was notable.

DAY 1

Photo report at: http://www.loudpark.com/10/gallery/index.html

Saturday was kicked-off by the Americans Holy Grail and Engel from Sweden. Despite the early start at eleven, the Arena was already quite full and the atmosphere easily lifted to a proper heavy metal level by these two energetic gigs. A good thing about Saitama is that the venue doesn’t allow a single beam of sunlight to enter the hall, which makes even the morning and day slots feel like if it was evening. Moreover, it is easy to get around to spot bands from different angles. Or, alternatively, to follow them all from the same spot with only 5-10 minutes waiting times between the sets, as the two stages are placed side by side.

The Big Rock Stage was next invaded by Chthonic. This fast and furious Taiwanese group has created an interesting concept fusing black and death metal twists, and orchestral elements, with the flair of their local tone and heritage. A nice set indeed. And extra points for the impressive make-up of the singer.

Next the left stage was invaded by some Swedish vikings in the form of Amon Amarth. The band is seemingly enjoying wide popularity in Japan, and the audience was easily captured into the stodgy but joyous thumping of these Scandinavian mythologists.

A man has to eat to stay fit, and due to the poor availability of meatless options inside the venue, the sets of Edguy and Dir En Grey had to be sacrificed for some Starbucking and chatting time. Then back to the hall to see a good bit of Hellyeah and the latter part of their grooving set, before Ratt rolled onto the stage to realize my anticipated personal highlight of the two days.

It’s almost 25 years since the big impression that Invasion of Privacy and other early Ratt albums made for that small boy, and now I finally got a chance to witness this L.A. group live. Objectively looking, the band was certainly not in a top form, but of course it was pretty emotional to hear the three original members with two later Ratt packers playing a number of classic tunes. In fact, surprisingly many songs were played from the debut album in addition to the self-obvious “Round n’ Round”, not however forgetting the later anthems “You’re in Love”, “Lay It Down”, and “Way Cool Junior”. “Best of Me” and “Eat Me Up Alive” were heard from the recent “Infestation” album.

Ratt was followed by their German coevals Accept. Even though the band is naturally not the same without Udo, their new singer Mark Tornillo is doing his part as a vocalist and front man really well. The new songs are pretty rocky and the old ones also manage to engender some reminiscences from the days back.

As Stone Sour next populated the stage, they were welcomed by increased clamor by the audience. Corey Taylor has obviously been able to channel much attention also to his second band thanks to the high popularity of Slipknot in Japan. The gig itself seemed quite standard, and the emotional bursts of Corey were perhaps a bit overscale. But of course very legitimate at the same time, given the hard period he has recently been forced to go through, resulting from the demise of SK band mate Paul Gray.

The Metal God Rob Halford was in a good shape, musically and visually, with his solo band. Perhaps an illusion of different context, but Rob’s presence seemed somehow more jovial than usually with the Priest, and the band rocked hard. However, the Halford songs are mostly unfamiliar to the undersigned, which made the experience a bit bland.

Finally, the closing slot was devoted to the pulsating and furious set of Korn. Clearer highlights or changes in dynamics could have made the set even more entertaining, but the overall performance quality of this Californian quartet was highly respectable. And for the first time during the long day, the sounds were as good as they should be; powerful and discernible at the same time.

DAY 2

Photo report at: http://www.loudpark.com/10/gallery/1017.html

On Sunday, the openers 3 Inches of Blood and Trash Talk were unfortunately not seen by this delegation. But we were right at the spot when Reckless Love kicked off their first ever Asian gig. The young Finnish band performed the songs from their debut album with such a professional workmanship and cheerfulness - the latter being a natural ingredient of the classic 80’s hair metal setting - that it is very easy to foresee that the band will be a regular visitor to the Japanese ground in the future. As heard from the guys later that day, the excitement before the set was palpable: even though RL has recently played a number of sold out shows in mid-size venues for instance in the UK, the audience of few thousands eye pairs was a new experience for them. From the spectator perspective too, the set felt quite different from my previous RL experience in June when they for a handful of tired visitors in a small Finnish festival. But the intensity and attitude was the same, as this band takes the entertainment very seriously.

To follow the good start, the warmed-up audience faced another newcomer to the Japanese ground, Halestorm from Pennsylvania, US. This vibrant band was the biggest positive surprise and experience of the festival for me. Lzzy Hale, the female-front figure of the band appeared highly charismatic onstage, and what a powerful and beautiful voice she has. The set highlight was delivered by the power ballad “Familiar Taste of Poison” that caused notable shivering in one’s spine. There was nothing wrong with the rest of the band either, as it played in a tight and amusing manner with good sounds. In fact, the band was much more interesting in a live setting, sounding rougher and more dynamic, than on its self-titled 2009 which suffers from somewhat overproduced and flat profile. The album is not yet available in Japan, but Halestorm also received very good response from the polite Japanese crowd.

Turisas, the Finnish folk metalers with black and red painted faces, in turn, visited Tokyo for the second time during this year. Their appearance on the Finland Fest in May had probably provided the band with an extra boost in popularity, and the number of Turisas T-shirts and even full costumes on the hall floor was notable. However, their unique style dressing- and music-wise did not convince the BogFires team this time either, so after a couple of songs it was time to test the promising pasta place outside the Arena.

Alexisonfire had to be sacrificed for this successful excursion too, but we were back in the darkness to get most of the Kuni set. The songs or performance of this Japanese heavy metal veteran perhaps were not of the most interesting kind, but his band was surely worth checking. The stage was manned by the whole bunch of long-term heavy metal workmen in the form of Mark Slaughter, Frankie Banali, and Chuck Wright. And in fact, it was somehow refreshing to enjoy some old-school jamming among a number of more modern offerings.

Spiritual Beggars continued on the more traditional style current but was a slight disappointment, perhaps due to my rather high expectations ignited by their moody “Return to Zero” album from this autumn. There was nothing wrong in the presence of Amott, Wiberg and the rest, as such, but the somewhat messy sounds and perhaps even too loud volume in general, and particularly the dominating bass sound covering guitars made the experience more unpleasant than it could have been. And as anticipated by numerous SB interviews in recent magazines, the new vocalist Apollo Papathanasio was indeed quite talented.

Angra was skipped for some talking in the guest bar, but Motörhead was of course a must-see. Well, at least the beginning of the set. I have to admit that this was my first Lemmy experience, but did of course offer no grand surprises or emotions. After a couple of songs the set is more or less seen. To keep up the Motörhead image as a loud band alive, Lemmy insisted the sound guys to get the volume up, from the already loud standard Loud Park level. I guess they didn’t fulfill his wish.

Avenged Sevenfold, closing the Ultimate Stage, was of specific personal interest. The gig was good and emotional. The latter quality was increased by the tragic decease of the band’s drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan at the end of the previous year. The drum virtuoso Mike Portnoy, who just had shocked the world order of progressive metal community by his resignation from Dream Theater, had joined A7X not only to fulfill the drum tracks on the latest “Nightmare” album but also to handle the cans on the subsequent World Tour. During their set, much focus was also paid on Mr. Portnoy by his band mates as well as the camera men. Speaking of which, it is a pleasure, as always in Loud Park, to follow the big video screen between the stages, as the work of camera men and the director are of highest quality. And as a nice gift for the bands, we heard that they are handed a CD of their set immediately after they have climbed off the stage. Good Japanese service indeed!

The familiar soccer yelling echoed from the back of the stage a few minutes Ozzy Osbourne stormed on the stage and caused the whole Arena cheering for his grandpaish and joyful appearance. In terms of his singing, well, Ozzy was Ozzy, in fact dealing the show quite well regarding. The set consisted of a number of classic Ozzy and Sabbath tracks, as well as the familiar amusements of the Prince of Darkness such as the constant shout requests for the audience and the custom water bucket show. The current OO band is in an extremely tight shape, and the integration of Gus G as the newest link in the history of Ozzy’s talented guitarists has seemingly functioned well.

We want to express our warmest thanks to Onta-san and Creativeman for their hospitality! And thanks go also to the staff of the guest bar and Current Rock Inn as well as to the bands and people we had the pleasure to meet in Tokyo.

--TMK-- :)

To see the official photos, check the live report at www.loudpark.com.

New BogFires publications

2010-10-01T01:02:00.000-07:00

New publications added to the publications list:

Laaksonen, Laura; Ainamo, Antti & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2010). “Dark Passion Play”: Exploring Entrepreneurial Passion in Creative Industries. EURAM 2010. May 19-22, 2010. Rome, Italy.

Laaksonen, Laura; Ainamo, Antti & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2010). Cycles in causation and effectuation: A case study of four metal-music ventures. HTSF Conference. May 27 & 28, 2010. Enschede, the Netherlands. (Best Ph.D. paper award)

Laaksonen, Laura; Ainamo, Antti & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2010). Entrepreneurial Passion – a case study of metal music ventures. 2010 Research Symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. August 12-13. Boston, MA.

IDBM Program @ Facebook

2010-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

A new forum for IDBM-related stuff:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=154550794568719

Lutakko Liekeissä 2010: festival report

2010-09-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Lutakko rock club, a concert venue in the city of Jyväskylä, the Lutakko Liekeissä (“Lutakko on fire”) festival was organized on Saturday 28th of August 2010. The special year has also made this the annual momewhat bigger than before. The festival area with two open-air stages and the Lutakko club was like a miniature version of a “real” festival venue, providing the crowd of approximately 2000 heads with an intimate experience. The weather didn’t quite embrace the visitors or bands, as temperature stayed under 10 degrees and drizzle disturbed the first couple of performances outside.

The LL line-up had quite a heavy emphasis, accompanied with some mellower sets, though. In addition to the Finnish acts, including a strong local representation of Jyväskylä bands and artists, the fest had added some foreign small and middle-size names on the bill. The Haunted was kind of a headliner of the day, although not playing last, and succeeded to convince the shivering crowd with a powerful set. Strike Anywhere, the American melodic hardcore punk group was also appreciated by the fans in the audience.

From the performances that I witnessed, Before the Dawn generated the strongest impression. The band that also visited the latest Finland Fest in Tokyo is in top shape right now, particularly live. The gig was such a pleasure to watch and listen, as the sounds were assertive and clear at the same time. The performance of these talented musicians was also flawless. Tuomas Saukkonen as the mastermind of the band is always a convincing figure. The more serious yet, in some funny way, ataractic appearance of Saukkonen is interestingly accompanied by the relaxed manifestation of singer and bass player Lars Eikind who also takes care of the speaking parts of their shows. Juho Räihä in the second guitar supplements the front row which is brilliantly backed up by drummer Atte Palokangas. He merrily keeps up his own precise, powerful and amusing show behind his pot kit.

The BtD set also highlighted the fact that the club stage inside functioned in general much better for these smaller bands than the two cold stages outside. From the other BogFires bands of interest, Ghost Brigade and Swallow the Sun slightly suffered from the chilly weather and open-air conditions that are not ideal for their moody metal. Mokoma closed the main stage with their trademark combination of energy and precise thrashing. The guys commented afterwards that they experienced some difficulties with the chilly conditions, but such details were not really visible to the audience.

To conclude, LL, if continued, is an intimate and well-organised event, a distinctive closure to the long and otherwise warm festival summer.

TMK

http://www.jelmufestival.net/

@ EPDE 2010 Conference in Trondheim, Sep 2-3 2010

2010-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Presenting our paper:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Heiniö, Sanna & Rahe, Ulrike

Visual recognition wrapped: Student explorations of product packages as brand messengers

@ http://www.iepde.org/epde10/

U2 360*Tour @ Helsinki 20.8.2010: Photo report

2010-08-25T01:49:00.000-07:00

Some shots from the magical show. Click on thumbnails for larger versions.

Sonisphere Finland 2010: Festival report

2010-08-25T00:35:00.000-07:00

Sonisphere Finland gathered some 70.000 fans to the the Kirjurinluoto arena in Pori on August 7-8, 2010. The event rose to the headlines due to the harsh thunder storm that hit the venue on Sunday afternoon, injuring many unlucky visitors, of whom a middle-aged man sadly passed away later in hospital.

The storm also crippled the second stage and Mötley Crüe, forging the band to cancel their set. Iggy Pop performed four songs acoustically, receiving high points of sympathy for this act, Alice Cooper borrowed some gear from Slayer and was able to perform a full set. And finally, Iron Maiden was able to start their show in almost full forge, although a couple of hours later than scheduled. And what a show it was! Definitely the top Maiden experience of my life. It was quite emotional, due to the unique after-storm atmosphere with magical fog creeping over the field, and interesting, the set list consisting a large number of more recent Maiden tunes.

On Saturday, musical highlights included Alice in Chains and the Cult. Serj Tankian might have been a bit too difficult to swallow for most visitors, and Volbeat boosted the largest hand sea of the day. The first day headliner HIM had a visually beautiful set with well-thought lights and the background "apartment building" theme coupled with the large Heartagram.

Anthrax was a positive surprise on Sunday, whereas Slayer presented quite a routine set. Of the other Finns, Stam1na (Sat), Insomnium, and Mokoma (Sun) carried out the tightest sets, yet quite unsurprising ones.

This year the organizations were also smooth; good amount of food and toilets with no long queues. But, there was still very little information on site about the playing times, unless you had not printed the updated program from the web. The large screens could have displayed this and other information, instead of the ireleevant videos and Sonisphere promo stuff. Anyhow, people seemed to enjoy in Kirjurinluoto, and the event was even voted for the best summer festival of Finland in the poll of IltaSanomat magazine.

TMK

http://fi.sonispherefestivals.com/

TUSKA OPEN AIR 2010 Photo Report

2010-07-10T02:08:00.001-07:00

Some impressions from the TUSKA 2010 Metal Fest in Helsinki:

The musical highlights of the three days included...
Fri: Barren Earth, Insahn, Devin Townsend (Ziltoid)
Sat: Hypocrisy, Devin Townsend Project, Nevermore
Sun: W.A.S.P., Megadeth

Tuska site: http://www.tuska-festival.fi/
Metal Shots from Tuska: http://www.metalshots.com/2010/2010-07-02_Tuska_Helsinki/index.php

MYÖTÄTUULIROCK 2010 Festival report

2010-07-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

My MTR report online here:
http://bogfires.blogs po t.com/2010/07/myotatuulirock-2010-festival-report.h tml

SAUNA OPEN AIR 2010 Festival Report

2010-06-24T03:13:00.000-07:00

My Sauna report online:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2010/06/sauna-open-air-2010-festival-report.html

Nordcode seminar kicks off in Akershus

2010-05-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

The 9th Nordcode seminar runs on 26-28 May in the vicinity of Oslo, Norway, hosted by the Akershus University College.
Web site: http://www.hiak.no/nordcode

TMK lecturing @ Seoul, May 10-21 2010

2010-05-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

For the 4th consecutive year, I am lecturing the "Design for brand recognition strategy" module at the Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies (aSSIST). The module is part of the IDBM KEMBA (Korean Executive MBA) Program of aSSIST. In addition to lectures, the program consists of group projects in which students create new business and design concepts for Korean/Asian and Finnish/European contexts.

aSSIST: http://www.assist.ac.kr/english/

Project Metal Nation

2010-05-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

I talked today with Miika Saari from "Project Metal Nation". A very cool and ambitious project, so you should check this out:
http://www.projectmetalnation.com/

MUSEXPO 2010 / April 25-28 2010 / Los Angeles

2010-05-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

My conference report here:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2010/05/conference-report-musexpo-2010-april-25.html

Sonata Arctica (April 24), and Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow & Finntroll (April 25) @ House of Blues, West Hollywood

2010-05-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

My gig review here:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2010/05/finns-conquered-sunset-strip-sonata.html

MUSIC, LAW AND BUSINESS Conference: Tentative program now online!

2010-04-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

http://iaspmnorden.wordpress.com/mlb/

EDEST - New IDBM research project on design management

2010-04-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

We are starting a new 3 years research project in the IDBM Program in the summer. The project called EDEST (Employment of Design Strategies) investigates design management strategies and practices in a number of Finnish companies. It involves both doctor and master level research. EDEST is funded by Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. More information will follow.

Musexpo 2010 in West Hollywood

2010-04-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

A great event with 4 days of music industry insights from top panelists and speakers, as well as interesting showcase bands.

http://musexpo.wordpress.com/
http://www.musexpo.net/

Pakkaus-lehti: Uutta näkemystä pakkausviestintään

2010-04-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed (in Finnish) to the Pakkaus magazine no. 2/2010, concerning VIP research project, IDBM Program, etc. http://www.pakkaus.com/engl.html

New article: In quest of strategically meaningful and attractive forms

2010-03-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

My article in the new "Design Semiotics in Use" book:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2010). In quest of strategically meaningful and attractive forms. In S.Vihma (ed.), Design Semiotics in Use. Aalto University School of Art and Design, Helsinki. 180-195.

The article discusses design semiotics from the perspective of strategic meaning creation and uses BMW (and Volvo) as illustrative cases. The book includes ten articles and is a good overview of various viewpoints within the field of design semiotics. It can be ordered from TAIK Bookshop.

HIM Screamworks tour 2010 in UK: Manchester & Newcastle

2010-03-23T04:32:00.001-07:00

Gig report here:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2010/03/him-screamworks-tour-in-uk.html

MUSIC, LAW AND BUSINESS Conference in Facebook

2010-03-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

"Music, Law and Business", the IASPM-Norden 2010 Conference (Helsinki, 24–27 November 2010), which BogFires is co-organising has now a Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=401766621928&ref=nf

Conference web site:
http://iaspmnorden.wordpress.com/mlb/

Insomnium conquered the Finnish Metal Expo

2010-02-23T05:24:00.001-08:00

My report from the Finnish Metal Expo 2010 here:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2010/02/insomnium-conquered-finnish-metal-expo.html

"Prototype of Aalto alumnus utilizes interdisciplinary friction"

2010-02-18T13:29:00.001-08:00

Article about my speech in the first Alumni meeting of the Aalto University, held in the Helsinki City Hall on January 26, 2010, in English:

http://www.hse.fi/EN/articles/services/article16022010

"Aalto-alumnin prototyyppi hyödyntää tieteiden välistä kitkaa"

2010-02-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

Article about my speech in the first Alumni meeting of the Aalto University, held in the Helsinki City Hall on January 26, 2010 [in Finnish]:

http://www.hse.fi/FI/articles/services/article16022010.htm

The new IDBM master's program - Apply now!

2010-02-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

More information and application instructions:
http://idbm.aalto.fi/

9th Nordcode Seminar - abstract call now open!

2010-01-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

9th Nordcode seminar will be organised in Akershus, Norway, on May 26-28 2010.
Deadline for abstracts (of working papers) is February 19.
Please find more information on http://www.nordcode.net/.

The IASPM-Norden 2010 Conference on MUSIC, LAW AND BUSINESS

2010-01-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

BogFires is co-organising a research conference on music, law and business
in Helsinki, November 24-27.
DEADLINE for proposals is JAN 31!

More information: http://iaspmnorden.wordpress.com/activities/

New article published in JPIM

2010-01-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

Our JPIM article is finally published:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Snelders, Dirk (2010). Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27 (1). 6-22.

Check here:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118487224/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0737-6782

Abstract:
The present paper examines how companies strategically employ design to create visual recognition of their brands’ core values. To address this question, an explorative in-depth case study was carried out concerning the strategic design efforts of two companies: Nokia (mobile phones) and Volvo (passenger cars). It was found that these two companies fostered design philosophies that lay out which approach to design and which design features are expressive of the core brand values. The communication of value through design was modeled as a process of semantic transformation. This process specifies how meaning is created by design in a three-way relation among design features, brand values, and the interpretation by a potential customer. By analyzing the design effort of Nokia and Volvo with the help of this model, it is shown that control over the process of semantic transformation enabled managers in both companies to make strategic decisions over the type, strength, and generality of the relation between design features and brand values. Another result is that the embodiment of brand values in a design can be strategically organized around lead products. Such products serve as reference points for what the brand stands for and can be used as such during subsequent new product development (NPD) projects for other products in the brand portfolio. The design philosophy of Nokia was found to depart from that of Volvo. Nokia had a bigger product portfolio and served more market segments. It therefore had to apply its design features more flexibly over its product portfolio, and in many of its designs the relation between design features and brand values was more implicit. Six key drivers for the differences between the two companies were derived from the data. Two external drivers were identified that relate to the product category, and four internal drivers were found to stem from the companies’ past and present brand management strategies. These drivers show that the design of visual recognition for the brand depends on the particular circumstances of the company and that it is tightly connected to strategic decision making on branding. These results are relevant for brand, product, and design managers, because they provide two good examples of companies that have organized their design efforts in such a way that they communicate the core values of their brands. Other companies can learn from these examples by considering why these two companies acted as they did and how their communication goals of product design were aligned to those of brand management.

Aalto University has started

2010-01-12T01:22:00.000-08:00

Our new Aalto University has now started. The new webpage is:
http://www.aalto.fi

Sonata Arctica @ Trädgårn, Dec 14 2009

2009-12-28T02:57:00.000-08:00

Gig review at:

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/12/sonata-arctica-tradgarn-dec-14-2009.html

Report: Metal in Taiwan

2009-12-28T01:29:00.001-08:00

Report on the Taiwanese metal scene posted on BogFires blog:

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/12/metal-in-taiwan.html

Live report: Mr. Big trilogy 2009

2009-10-31T05:51:00.000-07:00

Live report: Mr. Big trilogy 2009 at the BogFires blog:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/10/live-report-mr-big-trilogy.html

LOUD PARK 09 festival report

2009-10-31T05:04:00.000-07:00

Loud Park 09 report at the BogFires blog:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/10/loud-park-09-festival-report.html

Progressive Nation 2009 in Helsinki and Stockholm - gig review

2009-10-02T05:18:00.000-07:00

BogFires checked the Helsinki (Sep 23) and Stockholm (Sep 25) shows of the Progressive Nation tour featuring Dream Theater, Opeth, Bigelf and Unexpect (only in Stockholm)...

Read more:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/10/progressive-nation-2009-in-helsinki-and.html

IDBM Program acknowledged in BusinessWeek

2009-10-02T02:47:00.000-07:00

BusinessWeek expores multidisciplinary design education in their special report:
"How best to educate the design thinkers and innovators of the future? BusinessWeek's list features promising programs from design and business schools from around the world."

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/di_special/20090930design_thinking.htm

Our own IDBM Program in included in the list of "World's Best Design Programs":

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/dschools_2009/index.asp?chan=innovation_special+report+--+design+thinking_special+report+--+design+thinking

In addition, IDBM is listed as one of the nine "Programs to Watch":

http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/dschools_2009/programs_to_watch.asp?chan=innovation_special+report+--+design+thinking_special+report+--+design+thinking

Nightwish Dark Passion Play tour grande finale in Helsinki 19.9.2009

2009-09-22T03:56:00.000-07:00

Gig review the in BogFires blog:

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/09/nightwish-dark-passion-play-tour-grande.html

IDBM Research pages updated

2009-09-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

http://project.hkkk.fi/idbm/programme/IDBMResearch.html

Publication list 2007-2009 updated

2009-09-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

http://tonimattikarjalainen.blogspot.com/search/label/TMK%20PUBLICATION%20LIST%202007-2009

Upcoming papers:

Journal papers:

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Snelders, Dirk (forthcoming 2010).
Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand.
Accepted to Journal of Product Innovation Management.

Conference papers:

Graff, Daniel; Koria, Mikko & Karjalainen, Toni-Matti (2009).
Modelling research for cross-functional team effectiveness.
IASDR 2009. October 18-22. Seoul, South Korea.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Honkaniemi, Sanna (2009).
Cut to the c(h)ase: Communicating strategic brand intent through visual package design.
IASDR 2009. October 18-22. Seoul, South Korea.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Laaksonen, Laura & Ainamo, Antti (2009).
Design for b(r)and identity: Exploring visual concept building within the metal music genre.
IASDR 2009. October 18-22. Seoul, South Korea.

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Laaksonen, Laura & Ainamo, Antti (2009).
Occult, a Tooth, and the Canopy of the Sky: Conceptualizing Visual Meaning Creation of Heavy Metal Bands.
DeSForM 2009. October 26-27 2009. Taipei, Taiwan.

Laaksonen, Laura; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Ainamo, Antti (2009).
Understanding Cultural Exports- Finnish heavy metal music in the United States.
IASDR 2009. October 18-22. Seoul, South Korea.

EPDE conference papers

2009-09-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Two papers to be presented in the 11th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (http://www.epde09.org/)
Brighton, UK, September 10-11 2009:

---
Koria, Mikko; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Salimäki, Markku (2009).
Cross-educating in design, business and engineering: Challenges of coherence and relevance.
11th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education,
Brighton, UK, Sep 10-11 2009.

---
Person, Oscar; Warell, Anders; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Rahe, Ulrike (2009).
"It's a Honda! For me...": An exploratory student project on branding and product design for the older adult population.
11th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education,
Brighton, UK, Sep 10-11 2009.

Sonisphere travel report - Pori, July 25 2009

2009-08-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Added in BogFires Blog:

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/08/sonisphere-travel-report-pori-july-25.html

New article in Asia Design Journal

2009-07-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

New publication (short paper):

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Koria, Mikko & Salimäki, Markku (2009).
Creative Convergence in Multidisciplinary and Multicultural Context.
Asia Design Journal, vol. 4, no.4. 28-29.

Design for Brand Recognition Strategy module in Korea

2009-07-02T00:41:00.000-07:00

TMK is lecturing the Design for brand recognition module in the Korean Executive MBA / IDBM course in the Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies, aSSIST in Seoul, South Korea, July 1-10 2009.

SAUNA OPEN AIR 2009, festival report

2009-06-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

My SAUNA OPEN AIR 2009 festival report at BogFires blog:

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/2009/06/sauna-open-air-2009-report.html

Research paper: "The Rise of Finnish Heavy Metal: A Survey of Finnish Heavy Metal and its Export to North America"

2009-06-15T03:13:00.001-07:00

Wyatt Marshall, a friend of BogFires, wrote an interesting paper as his course work at the Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA.: "The Rise of Finnish Heavy Metal: A Survey of Finnish Heavy Metal and its Export to North America".

With his permission, we publish the text at BogFires blog:
http://bogfires.blogspot.com

"Kantelekansasta tuli raskasmetallin suurkuluttajia", article on Turun Sanomat

2009-05-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

TMK was interviewed to an article that appeared in Turun Sanomat Extra on May 23 2009.

http://www.turunsanomat.fi/extra/?ts=1,3:1010:0:0,4:10:0:1:2009-05-23,104:10:612245,1:0:0:0:0:0:

***
PÄIVI OJANPERÄ, Turun Sanomat
Julkaistu 23.5.2009 2:31:18

Kantelekansasta tuli raskasmetallin suurkuluttajia

Kun keskenään sekoitetaan kalevalainen kansanperinne ja raskas rock, syntyy omintakeinen menestyskeitos. Hevibuumin toinen aalto teki metallista Suomen kansallismusiikkia.

Raskas rock uppoaa suomalaisiin niin hyvin, että heavy metallia voi hyvällä syyllä kutsua kansallismusiikiksi. Hevimusiikin myyntiluvut ovat Suomessa asukaslukuun nähden korkeammat kuin muissa maissa. Suomen musiikkiviennin laajin kärki soittaa raskasta rockia: Amorphis, HIM, Nightwish, Apocalyptica ja Lordi ovat saavuttaneet maailmanmaineen, josta useimmat muut muusikot voivat vain haaveilla. Toisaalta suomalaisyleisö säilyy ikuisesti uskollisena pitkän linjan angloamerikkalaisille hevirock-yhtyeille.

- Iron Maiden on pystynyt keikkailemaan Suomessa aina täysille halleille, mitä he ihmettelivät itsekin. Suomalaisfanit eivät ole pettäneet, toteaa populaarikulttuurin tutkija Kimi Kärki Turun yliopiston kulttuurihistorian laitokselta.

Kimi Kärki selittää hevirockin suosiota geopolitiikalla. Suomi on otollista maaperää itäisen melankolian ja läntisen populaarimusiikin sekoittumiselle, koska maamme on aina sijainnut idän ja lännen välissä.

Hevirockista tuli kaiken kansan musiikkia viimeistään siinä vaiheessa, kun suomalaiset bändit löivät läpi maailmalla. Viimeisen niitin nahkavyöhön löi Lordi, jonka euroviisuvoiton jälkeen raskaan rokin kannattajien joukkoon oli helppo liittyä. Yhtäkkiä pääministeri Matti Vanhanenkin oli sarvikäsi-Matti, joka kertoi olleensa hevifani jo ennen Lordin menestystä.

- Suomihan on maa, jossa menestys kansainvälisellä tasolla oikeuttaa kansallisen arvostuksen, Kärki toteaa.

Populaarikulttuurin tutkimuksen dosentti Kari Kallioniemi huomauttaa, että Vanhasen toiminnan voi nähdä propagandistisena yleisönkosiskeluna, jonka tarkoituksena on viestittää, että valtaapitävät ymmärtävät kansaa.

Hevirock tuntuu sopivan hyvin yhteen suomalaisen synkkyyden ja luonnon karuuden kanssa. Tutkimuspäällikkö Toni-Matti Karjalainen Helsingin kauppakorkeakoulusta vahvistaa, että kaikessa suomalaisessa taiteessa on samaa luonnosta ammentavaa symboliikkaa: pitkät talvet, karuus, kalevalaiset tarinat.

Kuvataiteessa samoin kuin musiikissa hevirockia myöten on sovellettu Kalevalan ja Kantelettaren tarinoita.

- Esimerkiksi Kullervon tarina on hyvinkin synkkä ja julma, vaikka sitä on romantisoitu
myöhemmin, Karjalainen selvittää.

Karjalainen tyrmää käsityksen, jonka mukaan hevi olisi yksinkertaista räimettä yksinkertaisille ihmisille. Karjalaisen mukaan suomalaisen musiikin tekninen taso on keskimäärin korkea jo tehokkaan musiikkikoulujärjestelmän ansiosta. Osalla menestyneistä hevirock-yhtyeistä onkin takanaan klassinen koulutus.

- Nightwish, Children of Bodom ja Apocalyptica ovat teknisesti hyvinkin monimutkaista musiikkia, Karjalainen korostaa.

Sen sijaan Kotiteollisuuden kaltaiset äijärock-yhtyeet soittavat suhteellisen yksinkertaista raskasta rockia. Vertailu ja erottelu on kuitenkin hankalaa, sillä hevimetallin voi jakaa lukuisiin eri alalajeihin aina iskelmähevistä doom metaliin.

Suomalainen hevirock yhdistää toimivaksi keitokseksi kalevalaisen kansanperinteen ja anglosaksisista maista peräisin olevan raskaan rockin. Muun muassa Suomi-metallin pioneereihin kuuluva Amorphis hyödyntää sävelkuluissa, lyriikoissa ja visuaalisuudessa suomalaista kansanperinnettä.

- Teema on suomalaisfaneille tärkeä, mutta toimii myös vahvana erottautumistekijänä ulkomailla, Karjalainen toteaa.

Kalevalaista hevirockia ei pystytä muualla soittamaan. Suomalaisia hevirockbändejä alkoi syntyä 1970-luvun lopulla. Uudisraivaajayhtyeet Sarcofagus, Iron Cross ja muut eivät saavuttaneet suurta suosiota. Hevibuumi iski kunnolla 1980-luvulla, kun Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, WASP ja kumppanit alkoivat esiintyä jokaisessa luokkahuoneessa etenkin poikien t-paidoissa.

Suomalaisbändien läpilyönti ajoittui vasta 1990-luvulle, kun managerointitaidot oli Hanoi Rocksin jälkeen viritetty kilpailukykyisiksi.

Viime vuosina on koettu uusi vahva hevirock-buumi, johon Lordin euroviisuvoitto vaikutti vahvasti.

- 30-40 -vuotiaiden sukupolvi on siirtämässä perintöä eteenpäin lapsilleen niin, että hevi on muuttunut yleiseksi makutottumukseksi, Kallioniemi selvittää.

Kallioniemen mielestä raskaan rokin synkkyys ja tuska ovat myös jonkinlainen vastareaktio EU:n pukuherroille.

- Yhteiskunta on nykyään niin pirstoutunut, että tarvitaan uusia yhdistäjiä, Kallioniemi analysoi.

***

Forthcoming seminar paper

2009-04-20T03:04:00.000-07:00

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Laaksonen, Laura & Ainamo, Antti (forthcoming 2009).

Analyzing concept building and visual communication within heavy metal music.

8th Nordcode Seminar & Workshop. May 27-28 2009. Kolding, Denmark.

http://www.designskolenkolding.dk/nordcode

Forthcoming conference papers

2009-04-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

Two papers accepted to the International conference on engineering and product design education, 10 & 11 september 2009, UNIVERSITY of BRIGHTON, UK:

Koria, Mikko; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Salimäki, Markku (2009). Cross-educating in design, business and engineering: Challenges of coherence and relevance

Person, Oscar; Warell, Anders; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Rahe, Ulrike (2009). “It’s a Honda! FOR ME…”: An exploratory student project on branding and PRODUCT design for the older adult population

http://www.epde09.org/

New conference paper

2009-04-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Koria, Mikko & Salimäki, Markku (2009)

Educating T-shaped Design, Business and Engineering Professionals

CIRP Design Conference
Cranfield, UK, March 30-31 2009

http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/cirp-design/

Hanoi Rocks farewell at Tavastia, Thursday April 9th

2009-04-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/

BogFires checked the gig number four in the sold out series of Hanoi Rock’s eight farewell shows at the Tavastia club in Helsinki. The two hours midnight concert presented a charismatic band in a good form with solid playing and sounds, supported with impressive stage design dominated by the classy spotlight installation at the back wall. The song list was compiled quite evenly from the two Hanoi Rocks eras, the “original” (1979-1985) and the “rebirth” (2001-2009), the main focus being however on the latter.

Why stopping now, when the band’s success is at its peak since the rebirth and constantly increasing, has been the key question in recent interviews. In Iltalehti Plus magazine (28.3.2009), the main man and guitarist Andy McCoy comments that finishing at the top is what the band wants. According to him, they do not want to become a jukebox playing “re-union” gigs. Morever, Andy and Michael Monroe, the singer and accompanying main force behind the band, are reportedly lacking the needed creativity to write new Hanoi Rocks songs. “Now, when it doesn’t have a new spark in it anymore, it’s better to leave Hanoi the best kept rock ‘n’ roll secret of the world. The band must be finished with dignity”, comments Michael.

The magazine also reminds Hanoi Rocks being the first Finnish band in the 1980’s that focused on international markets from the beginning. The band’s 30 years career is also wrapped-up in a brand new (Finnish) book “All Those Wasted Years” (LIKE, written by Ari Väntänen) which presumably provides an amusing reading experience and an important historic review of these pioneers of Finnish rock export.

TMK

http://www.tavastiaklubi.fi/

http://www.hanoirocks.info/

http://www.iltalehti.fi/

Nightwish @ Brussels & Rotterdam

2009-04-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

http://bogfires.blogspot.com

BogFires had the honour and pleasure to appear as guests in two Nightwish gigs in their recently started European tour with Pain and Indica: Forest National in Brussels (14/3) and A’hoy in Rotterdam (15/3).

The shows were the second and third on this leg after the sold out kick-off for over 4000 people in London (Carling Academy Brixton, 11/3). The size of the audience was reportedly around 5000 in Brussels and over 6000 in Rotterdam and comprised, as generally in the case of Nightwish, a mixture of young and old, women and men, metal heads and other Nightwish fans. Our small sample of interviews and general observations (as well as various YouTube comments) suggested that many of them regarded the concert as a great experience. Brussels crowd seemed to include many Finnish visitors, and a couple of white n’ blue flags were also spotted in the audience.

The audience was surprisingly loud, especially in Brussels where we watched the show mainly from the arena floor. Indica and Pain both already got people active, and Nightwish really exploded the place. The venue with the downward floor and wide profile is excellent for this purpose – despite the large size, the arena incorporates a certain feeling of closeness. A’hoy in Rotterdam is more of a normal kind of a sport arena, but also a pretty good one for concerts like this. AC/DC played there two days before Nightwish and the venue can be checked e.g. from various concert recordings like “Live & Off the Record” By Shakira and the DVD concert in “The Katie Melua Collection” set.

Finnish Indica filled well their opening slot, and the girls were seemingly enjoying their time on the stage. Their happy mood was transmitted to the audience as well, and the band probably got a number of new friends in both countries. The sets ended with Kate Bush cover “Wuthering heights”, an apparently risky choice, but which was carried out beautifully by the band.

Swedish Pain then took the sound and visuals to the next level, using basically the same stage setting as in their recent European headline tour. Despite small technical problems in Brussels, the set was intense, ending with the catchy “Shut your mouth”.

Nightwish performed a determinate, good sounding and fancy looking set on both days. The visual appearance of the show was particularly staggering with beautiful lights, grand and precise pyros, sneaking smoke, and other eye candy. The new sea theme with the majestic anchor and the wooden boat around the keyboards of Tuomas worked as a perfect background for the story line of the set. In particular, the transition from the intro with the secretively blue-lighted cross to the blasting “7 days to the wolves” was something one can only comment with great admiration.

Two days after the Rotterdam show, we spotted a short gig review in the Rotterdams Dagblad newspaper. Quite contrary to our experience, the reviewer gave 3/5 stars for the show and seemed to complain about the empty chairs at the venue and problems with sound quality. It is also quite strange that in such a short story, more space was used for the (seemingly eternal) comparisons between Tarja and Anette, and between (yes, in Holland, of course) Nightwish and Within Temptation than for actual concert reflections.

During the trip, we also checked the local rock magazines. Nightwish appeared in the cover of Belgian/Dutch Rock Tribune with a 4 pages long article. The French edition of RockHard also included a 4 pages long interview of Tuomas.

In addition to amazing concert experience, it was also interesting to follow how smoothly the organization of such a big enterprise functions behind the coulisse before, during, and after the gig. It really comes out that this caravan has toured the globe for a long period of time. Everything was managed with high professionalism, and the atmosphere backstage was remarkably friendly and relaxed.

BogFires really look forward to the next chance to see Nightwish live, which is not a very long away. We would like to express our warm thanks to Tuomas, Ewo, Toni, Adam, Peter, and the rest of Nightwish, Pain and Indica members and crew for their hospitality and such a nice time in Brussels and Rotterdam.

Nightwish setlist (both days) 1. Intro 2. 7 days to the wolves 3. Dead to the world 4. The siren 5. Amaranth 6. Romanticide 7. Dead boy’s poem / walking n the air 8. The poet and the pendulum 9. Sahara 10. Nemo (Nemo played before Sahara in Rotterdam) 11. The islander 12. Escapist 13. Dark chest of wonders Encores: 14. Ghost love score 15. Wish I had an angel

TMK & LL

Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth likes Finland (regardless of Nokia ;)

2009-04-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

http://bogfires.blogspot.com

Opeth (from Stockholm, of course) recently finished its mini tour in Finland. I witnessed two gigs; in Helsinki 15/3 and Tampere 16/3. Both shows were amazing sonic and visual experiences, not to mention the always so amusing notions of the singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt. Among other things, he wondered how Finland has grown to such a metal country, a "metal paradise" to which he has even been considering moving... as was put in the Tampere gig. He also mentioned some forerunners of Finnish metal such as Amorphis and the pioneering thrashers Airdash. No wonder Finland has been one of the most successful countries for Opeth, including the high positions of the latest "Watershed" album in charts and various polls.

And the infamous Nokia incident in India is described e.g. here: http://www.bravewords.com/news/105522

Lamb of God shook frostbitten Lahti

2009-04-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

http://bogfires.blogspot.com/

BogFires research group made its first "official" excursion, Frostbite metal festival being the target. On Friday, feb 6th, we drove to Lahti fair centre and made serious ethnography on the spot.

About the bands: The headliner Lamb of God was really really good. Sounds were massive but clear (and load, of course), playing accurate, show energetic, crowd active, and so forth. Between the songs, Randy Blythe also made references to his friends in Children of Bodom, who seemed to have taught him lots of Finnish words as well. He seems to be genuinely keen to Finland, which was made clear also when the BogFires team had the honour to meet him before the show. A real gentleman!

Arch Enemy, nice to watch and hear, as usually. Angela and the boys were in the top form and in good humour. And when one feels the killer riff of "My Apocalypse" live, nothing else is needed... The Dutch band Textures was quite a positive surprise. For me formerly unknown group really played well its math/death/whatever modern metal. Despite being a bit too meshuggahish at time (which is, on the other hand, nothing but positive, if you will...), they sound very original. A band that deserves a closer look, definitely.

On the smaller stage performed lots of smaller Finnish bands. The local Profane Omen made the biggest impact. And the festival itself... nothing really worked. No accurate schedule available, not any information whatsoever, practically no food available, VIP stands didn't arrive, people had to wait outside in the cold (it was freezing) to get to the bar or fetch their jackets... and so on. And on Saturday it seemed to be even worse, as some of the bands didn't arrive due to missing payments or accomodation (?!?!), and news stating that "metal festival ended up in chaos": http://viihde.mtv3.fi/uutiset/musiikki.shtml/796200?frostbite_metal

Fun anyway, but this event was probably a one-timer...
TMK

http://www.frostbite.fi/

HIM & Helldone @ Tavastia 29.-31.12.2008

2009-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Such a nice experience! My first time in traditional HIM party which was organised now for 9th year in row. HIM played superbly, Ville is charismatic as always, the set list inclusive, and Tavastia a perfect place for this band. And of course the international audience and devoted fans make the atmosphere extraordinary. A nice video in YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8423ItgVmk

Ville's interview in Helldone: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1186621/ville_valo_intervieuw_helldone_2008/

About the other bands... Godsplague and Diablo on Monday really nailed it down, and Stam1na was superb, convincing, hilarious and everything, as always. And lots of musicians hanging around there in the club... Tuesday with Sara, Negative and the 69 Eyes was calmer and lamer but basically ok. On Wednesday, I missed 45 Degree Womean, but luckily experienced the peculiarly entertaining KYPCK.

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

2009-04-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Karjalainen, Toni-Matti & Snelders, Dirk (forthcoming)
Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand
Accepted to Journal of Product Innovation Management
To be published in 2010