I recently had the chance to listen to the song Drown by Inkakai, a band made up of multiple members from across the globe. As well as enjoying the song, I was very intrigued about the mechanics of the band, making me want to check more of their music out. If you liked the track, you can read more about them here!
By Jane Howkins
How was your 2022?
2022 was quite chaotic. A mishmash of good and bad stuff, with some crazy things happening in the world. Hopefully 2023 will start the progress towards something more peaceful and stable.
Luckily, we can always influence our own lives where the positive has been on the rise. Let’s hope for more positivity in 2023 and the years to come.
You recently released a track titled Drown, which we reviewed. What can you tell us about the song?
Drown is a prequel to one of our previous singles, Ariel, from 2011. The latter is a tragic, emotional story, and the former paints a picture of the setting leading up to the events of Ariel. Drown was written in 2010 and was originally recorded in 2012 with mixing engineer Jesse Vainio and producer Jukka Backlund. A release was planned, but shortly after that, we took the band on a break which lasted for seven years.
Drown was partly re-recorded in 2020 and first mixed in 2021 by Tuomas Kokko. Once again, the release was planned for the same year with one music company, but we decided to back down from the deal and postponed the song to 2022. A bit before the planned release, the opportunity arose to re-mix the song with Tim Palmer. So we once again postponed the release to make that happen. It’s great that we did, as Tim really did wonders to the sound and came up with some cool ideas for the second verse.
There was so much rescheduling involved with Drown that it was truly a relief to finally get it out of our system. There are few different versions of the song coming up later, before we move to the next single.
How has the reception been for Drown, and where can it be purchased?
Drown has been received very well, and we’re really happy to hear that new and older supporters alike dig the song. It can be purchased online, for example by following this link: https://bit.ly/3TFbPLs
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yes, we’re already planning our next release and hope to release more music as soon as possible. But we can’t yet promise any dates for those releases. Once something gets confirmed, we’ll announce it.
Are there any plans to release an EP or album?
We’re working on our third album, titled Unlite, but once again, can’t yet say when that will be released. We’re not actively working on it or recording everything, so it’s not in the ‘done’ phase yet. Then again, should the need arise, we could record it and get it done quite fast. Let’s see what happens. Best to announce these things when everything’s ready.
Your music has a modern rock sound, also including electronic elements. What/who influences you most as artists? What have you been listening to recently?
Several artists influenced us back in the day – Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, The Police, Deftones, Tool, Linkin Park, Radiohead, Mew, Muse, The Prodigy, Jan Hammer… It’s a looong list, especially if we dissect our music into different elements and their respective genres, and then list the artists who have influenced us in these. No Finnish artists, though.
Nowadays, it’s quite different from the songwriting and producing point of view because the singer-songwriter doesn’t really listen to any metal or rock music, at least not for entertainment. It’s more analytical listening when it comes to those genres. Beyond that, it’s jazz, classical, ambient. Very different stuff that might not influence our music in anyway. Or maybe it does on a subconscious level, who knows. Either way, it’s great to take a break from the genre we make music in, and to experience something completely different.
You’re a masked band. Where did this idea come from and will we see you unmasked in the future?
The idea of donning the masks had been bubbling inside for years but it all came together in 2012 when the singer doodled a quick sketch of an Asian influenced masked band clad in black. Originally, it was planned as a new project, but in the process the mask idea was fused in our band.
Looking back, it looks pretty close to what we are now; our first masked photos were published in 2014, but back then it was just one masked figure. The six Inkakai masks were originally revealed in 2019, and full promos in 2020.
Visually the mask and hood combo is influenced by various fictional characters, ranging from the Sith of Star Wars, Warhammer 40k, Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe to the Thief game series, among others.
The heavier answer comes when discussing the statement behind the masks. It’s rebellion against humanity’s ever-growing oversharing culture and its obsession with attention seeking and immoral attempts at publicity under the excuse of individual branding. It’s also about rejecting the global promoting of cloned beauty standards which leave little room for individuality and diversity in natural beauty.
In the end it’s about privacy: the masks force the focus back on the music, the lyrics, the art – something the artists should be mainly about. Not how they are or look like as individuals in their private lives.
Understanding privacy has been somewhat lost in this process; the need for privacy is understood in big names with publicity and fame but not so much in those with lesser exposure or success. The expectation is that if you haven’t made it, you should be out there trying to make it along with everyone else, following the same pattern as everyone else; trying to make an impression, as if holding your hand up, jumping up and down while shouting “Pick me! Pick me!”
To each their own but that is definitely not us.
Perhaps the constant everyday oversharing in social media has become so normalised that people don’t actually comprehend what the concept of a private person is. It seems to be considered weird or pretentious if you’re not a real celebrity. These people cannot understand why you wouldn’t want to eagerly share everything that warrants a post; to share your face and name with everything that could bring you instant attention – to ride the algorithm wave and aim for the ‘perfect feed’.
And since everyone’s doing it, it’s the new ‘normal’. To hear younger people being bullied for making the brave choice of going offline is fucking unforgivable. There’s this sense of luring people on the pretense of “you too can become a celebrity with a huge following” that’s encouraging people into addictive and unhealthy use of social media: living double lives with the glamorous illusion in the social media vs. the regular, boring, lonely and/or empty life in reality.
These false images have created unhappy broken people because of the unrealistic expectations and unnecessary pressure, especially on the youth. It’s damaging their self-image, creating needless comparison and competition with others, and simply making it harder to grow up with a healthy self esteem and sense of identity.
It’s mass-misleading people into building their activities on pleasing algorithms and throwing a filter over their lives. The lack of integrity in promoting, and even encouraging this is staggering.
It’s basically sending out this message: “Look at all this matter, this skin, this money, this fame. Strive for this, want this. You have to be beautiful, handsome, and fit. You have to be rich and famous. You have to be popular. You have to be noticed. You have to do this pose in the photos, do these things in the videos. You have to share it online. You have to do this to be good and accepted. Don’t think about what you want to do, look at this – repeat this, follow this. Be like this, not how you are. Become this.”
That’s what happens when bigger companies have zero sense of responsibility and only the interest in fuelling a business model that feeds off people getting addicted.
Perhaps that’s why some of us are being so loud about these things. Everyone who has some kind of a platform should use it for making some kind of positive change in the world – not exploiting or enforcing humanity’s weaknesses. We all have a universal responsibility to each other.
Maybe the message should instead be something like this:
“Go offline. Go into the real world. Go read or listen to a book. Take a walk somewhere in the nature. Get lost in your own imagination and write that down. Not to share it online, but for yourself. Learn to be just with yourself. Go find out what makes you tick, what you love, what’s your passion. Don’t think about what others are doing.”
“Your life is your journey, your story, your path. You are unique, you are different but we’re all in the same boat together. You are beautiful as you naturally are, and you don’t need to change that for anything or anyone, as long as you’re not hurting others. Recognize but don’t focus on the physical world – the skin, the money, the matter – but instead bring your focus to becoming balanced and happy by yourself. Focus on things that you love, things which bring you peace and happiness; enlighten yourself about things that are happening with the people you love, and in this world.”
“Consider if you can contribute something good here, to make a change for the positive, while you’re on this journey to bettering yourself. Think about what good comes naturally to you. Because when you do that, it becomes a natural part of your life. Learn wisdom from those who are more experienced and wiser, but know that we never stop learning, we never become ‘finished’. Pass on the good to others who are willing to listen. Encourage them to do the same. Don’t try to please or be with everyone. Not everyone has to like you. It’s not the quantity but the quality, you only need a handful of good people in your life to be happy. Choose those people carefully and keep them close. But learn to carry yourself without anything or anyone. Understand that your life, your journey – you yourself – isn’t something that needs validation from others. You don’t need to share your moments with everyone to give them worth. You don’t need to share anything with anyone online – and that’s completely fine.”
“The value of a jewel doesn’t change even if nobody knows about it. There are hidden gems everywhere.”
Of course, none of this rant delivers to the TLDR people and it’s true all this could be tilting at windmills. But making a stand isn’t about the odds of success. It’s about standing for something that at least tries to change things for the better.
What do you think is the biggest challenge in the music industry at the moment?
There’s so much volume out there that it’s very hard for individual artists to stand out from all that noise without bigger money invested in marketing – let alone rise to success. Also, the royalties from streaming require bigger numbers to start making sensible income, so there are many challenges. Radio play has always been a great source of income for musicians, but the rock sound has been long dying in the commercial radios, so it’s not the same anymore. Touring of course helps.
On the plus side, recording and releasing music has never been easier, and if one likes social media, say TikTok, those can really help you get noticed and building a fanbase online. There are lots of opportunities for people who are into social media.
Not so much for some of us who are a bit anti-social media and overall absent from the whole online sharing business. But just because it isn’t easy, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. If you really want to do it, then go for it. Obstacles are made to be overcome.
Where are you based? What is the local music scene like?
We’re based in the US, Japan and Finland. So, the local scene in our case means several cities in three different countries.
For example, those of us living in LA feel the local scene is quite wired. Artists from different places come and go. It’s very hard to get into the right circles. Music wise, hip hop, pop music and some 80’s cover bands are popular. It’s also pretty chill in Japan – everyone has a chance, as long as it’s good music.
While we originally started out as a purely Finnish band, before the multinational one we’ve been lately, our group hasn’t been working in the Finnish music scene for years now.
In the past, we toured all over Finland, played a few bigger festivals, got Top-10 singles, some among the most played ones that year, got a Best Nordic Song award and two movie features. Good memories, good achievements. Overall, there was bigger national fanbase and even after the line-up and name change, we got hyped with both new and old fandom behind us.
It was a very upwards direction, and it would’ve lasted longer if some of us hadn’t become so tired and disillusioned, which led to taking the band on a break.
Yet, it’s hard to regret it, knowing it was the right move. There was spiritual exhaustion, mainly because of the unresolved damage taken in the previous line-up; the 2009 transition being made difficult by certain ex-members, and in many ways, everything being back to square one. None of that left much room to think, process or breathe, and instead, it required active battle-readiness and pressing on for the momentum. Add some partying, insomnia, and heartbreak to the mix – and you get one worn-down musician.
A few years later, we pulled the band on a touring break, assumed a more inactive role, and eventually took a full break. Obviously, whatever hype there was disappeared, but that’s nothing new under the sun: what goes up must come down.
But during our time on the seven-year break, we found that our most loyal following had been outside Finland. Yet, almost everything we’d been doing with our previous label, had been targeted at Finland. It didn’t seem right, and we decided that should we ever come back from the break, next time we‘d do things differently.
And we kept this in mind when we returned in 2019. This explains why our approach has been quite different to what it was before 2012. We love Finland for its nature, education, and safety, but can’t say we dig what’s in the Finnish media or commercial radios. But maybe that just further confirms that we chose the right direction for us.
All in all, it was nice to experience all the craziness of being in a ‘momentarily hyped’ band in our twenties, in the safety of our small homeland. But honestly? Even if there was a chance to go back and do it all over again, the answer would be no. It seems so pointless now. If we could go back, we would do it all differently – but in this life you can’t go backwards, only forward. What matters is the now.
And now we feel much more comfortable in the band. All these decisions with the masks, our target shifting outside Finland, new international band members, the Asian influences – we can feel these were the right choices. And unlike the trend in rock and metal bands – decision making blurred by rather enthusiastic alcohol use – all of these choices were made with a clear, sober mind. Perhaps that’s why there haven’t been any regrets.
Today, all of our associates and a clear majority of people listening to us, are located outside Finland, mainly in the States. Which is fitting considering that’s where our influences come from. So, we’ve kept our eyes on that direction and can say we’ve been happy to do so. But we’re definitely also interested in the UK and several European countries.
Overall, there’s so much beauty, richness of culture, and unique phenomena to draw from in different countries. We’re hoping the day comes soon when it would become possible and make sense for us to start touring, so that we might visit all these great locations. There’s definitely interest from our part to make that happen. Let’s see what the future brings.
Do you have any UK tour dates lined up?
Currently we’re still on a touring break and as of yet have no tour dates set. If this changes, we’ll announce it officially. Let’s see what happens, fingers crossed.
Any last words for the fans?
Thank you for your support! Hope you’ll stay with us even when we’re not that active. We hope you stay patient as we prepare our next release. We can’t yet promise when that’s going to be, but we’ll definitely aim to make it as soon as possible. Stay safe!