How “Verstas” Helped Petri Selin Finish His Father’s Story
Punk Head: You describe “Verstas” as a tribute to your father’s life as a craftsman, musician, and entrepreneur. When you first started writing, what detail refused to leave you alone?
Petri Selin: I did reach out nowadays as a singer-storyteller and also have already about 15 years ago shared to publicity those facts already I patiently collected and write to Jarmo Selin / Wikipedia as a project owner and writer. I have also the best and most clear obvious chance and ability to paint a musical vision to public about "local hero" in poetic song form. A picture of those times, seeing the survival story of WW2 group leader hero father, was also a well known bassist from after WW2 war to 50's dance music bands from Varkaus to Helsinki in Finland continuing his interesting life as self made advertising business owner, also Patent claim applicant with his invented graphical new methods.
In this song I try share positive hope, strength, guiding others to get things done with positive attitude and even jewels creating way by living hard working through rough times with success. Here I can give a song for an positive example to share.
How my multitalented father succeed to reach in his quite short 50 Year Life from 1923 to 1973 so many milestones. I was born in Year 1963 as his 4th Child in his next family. I was only 10 years old when he passed away. I spent only short period besides him to get familiar each other better as a father and son. Short one summer period -72 "grow together also with father" happened to me and him beside his work time in his one man advertising company (named Verstas in song ). He tried also hard to get role of the father beside his full time responsibility in customer deliveries of company
Father's Life, Who died too young was extraordinery rich in superlative of positive details surely deserves to have a bigger public audience as it was formerly a torn story of happened facts in Wikipedia.
Punk Head: There is an eight-year gap between your debut single and this release. What was happening in the silence that ended up shaping this song more than any active writing period?
Petri Selin: I have driven taxi as chauffeur of special customers regular weekdays, about 20 years to stay economically independent. So it affect partly my energy and time. I sure like my day vacancies and see social aspect and cause in customer service very positive way. Song writing is possible and rich beside daywork without losing inspiration.
Punk Head: You perform only in Finnish. Do you ever feel that language acts as a boundary, a shield, or something else entirely when the music leaves your room?
Petri Selin: Mother language Finnish fit well and sound good in this song. I have also now fresh English written song project on the table that isn't yet ready to publish. So no boundaries to prefer specially some language. That depends on song.
Rap genre has risen very popular nowadays in Finland. Rap community history consists lot of songs written in Finnish. One brightest positive example I like to mention is popular rap artist Elastinen, who established Finnish rap genre tens years ago.
Finnish pronounciation suits very well to rap. In my song appeared Sub-genre would be melodic rap ? #RapInfluenced #melodicRap
Does it already exist sub genres like Melodic rap or Rap influenced way to sing?
Punk Head: The idea of a cellar workshop is central to this release. If your father’s workshop had a sound, what would it be?
Petri Selin: Father’s workshop imagenary sounds would be a rhytmic Blacksmith hammer and grinding machine with sparks . Those sounds unfortunately excluded from recording 😃
