The Impersonators came into being after the demise of Finnish pop/rock band Carmen Gray in 2013 when Tommi Tikka, the other half of Carmen Gray’s songwriting team, joined forces with lyricist Antti Autio to write some new songs. While Carmen Gray had recorded for major labels, such as Sony and Warner, the Impersonators’ story was going to be different from the get-go. With this particular group, Tikka wanted to have complete artistic control over the songs he recorded to avoid generic and sterile production typical for modern pop/rock.
For most of 2014, Tikka auditioned musicians for the new group. However, after three failed attempts to put together a lineup that did justice to the new songs, he decided to play all the parts himself. With that decision, the Impersonators became a group of two songwriters rather than a group of four or five musicians – with Antti in charge of the lyrics and Tommi in charge of the music. The best way to describe the sound of the Impersonators is to call it sixties-flavored “alternative pop/rock”. Their goal is to nurture and cultivate the creativity, spirit, and warmth that graced the pop records of yesteryears.
2017 has been a busy year for The Impersonators so far. In May, they released “Luncheon at the Cannon Street Hotel Part 2” as well as signed with FBP Music Publishing based out of Frankfurt, Germany. Their debut single for FBP “You Are the One” came out on November 17 (2017).
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Tommi Tikka about musical styles, the latest release, traveling between the US and Finland, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create?
I’m from the United States and Finland. I grew up in the States but had Finnish parents, so we traveled back and forth a great deal when I was kid. I moved to Finland permanently when I was 29.
One of the hardest things that I’ve had to accomplish during the past year has been to define the genre of the Impersonators. There are so many of them these days; to me; some of them defy logic. I mean, what on earth is “post-punk,” or the other twelve categories that they have these days under “punk”? Does “punk” even have enough variety to fill all these categories? Doesn’t it, at some point, just become pop or rock? I must be getting old and if that’s the case, then so be it.
When we signed with the German FBP Music Publishing in May of this year (2017), one of the obvious tasks was to peg this music down to a genre. It turned out to be rather difficult. In a way, there is no genre for the Impersonators’ music anymore. In the old days, it would have been labeled as pop/rock. However, if you think of the sixties, for instance, and how incredibly eclectic hit music of that era was in comparison to what’s on Billboard Top 100 today, that’s not saying a lot.
To make matters even harder, I am not a very genre-sensitive person myself. The music that I like best has soul. {emphasis from the editor, much emphasis!!!} That’s how I categorize it. By this I mean that I tend to shy away from stuff that’s too dramatic, synthetic or calculative. Going overboard with production isn’t really my thing either. I feel there’s a lot of that these days. I basically like well-structured music with good melodies and meaningful lyrics that’s performed by real players and is computer-aided as little as possible. It would be presumptuous of me to say that that’s what we do, so instead, I’ll say that that’s what we attempt to achieve with our songs. I’m a realist; I know we don’t always hit the spot with every song we record – no one does.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Well, this type of music was the music that I grew up with. My dad listened to groups like CCR, the Stones, the Beatles, the Zombies, and the Beach Boys etc. Every Friday, he would come home from work, pour himself a stiff drink (he was a merchant marine in his youth) and sit down to listen to music. So, that was my introduction to the world or pop and rock, that’s how I learned. Consequently, my goal has always been to somehow recapture what those guys were doing with my own music. I am certainly not suggesting that I ever managed to do that, or that I ever will. In fact, I probably won’t. But it’s good to have goals in life and ultimately, to answer your question, that’s the thing usually that keeps you going: goals in life. Look at mankind. After the West was won, we went to the moon and now, they are talking about going even further. If you don’t run, you rust. In other words, you have to have goals.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Antti is one of the best lyricists that I’ve ever worked with and so that’s his turf; music’s mine. And since the Impersonators has basically been a project of two songwriters rather than a traditional band, being in charge of the music has traditionally included everything from writing the melodies to playing the parts as well as producing. The way this new release is different from anything that we did before is that we brought in an outside produced called Janne Saksa to work with. It was something Antti and I had discussed quite a lot in the past. I enjoy making music by myself that but it’s a lonely job doing it like that. Also, there comes a point when you want to collaborate with someone who might have a different skillset and fresh ideas. If you are the producer as well as the band, you are running the risk of repeating yourself and also, the risk of not even choosing the best material because of the obvious bias you have when listening to your own stuff.
So basically what we were trying to do was to up our game, the arrangements, sounds, everything. And boy did it work! Janne did some fantastic things on “You Are the One.” For instance, listen to his string arrangement – brilliant stuff. We are certainly hoping, he will continue collaborating with us in the future, as I feel he is an invaluable asset to us.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
You keep reading how tough this digital age is and how indie artists have it hard and how much easier it is for those who have record deals etc. While that has a grain of truth to it, the reality is still a little bit more complex than that. If you read the Impersonator’s biography, you’ll notice that I have experience working with major labels in the past. I did that actually for almost a decade. And it’s no picnic either. It’s different, you are well taken care of but it’s not a guaranteed success story. You have to work relentlessly and hard, day in and day out, even then.
The fact is the world is filled with great bands and great writers, so to become successful, you need to have a lot more than great songs. This is what people tend to forget. I don’t like this anymore than the next guy but that doesn’t make it any less true. The Impersonators were unsigned for a few years, not that we were really out there busting our balls to get signed. Having said that, I really do appreciate what our label is doing for us. It is an incredibly good feeling to know that somebody is out there marketing your music and handling your business. I’m very thankful for that. You see that’s really the only difference between being unsigned and signed. If you are an independent artist, then it is up to you to take care of the business end of it as well. And let’s be honest here, if you haven’t been even a tad successful in the past or have no one who believes in you enough to represent you, will anyone care? Every band that wants to make it in the music business needs an audience but problem herein is that audiences consist of people and ultimately, people follow artists they look up to and admire. If you are just some regular guy or gal without really anything overly exciting on your resume, why would they become a fan of yours and buy a t-shirt that has your name on it, when they could just as easily wear one that say “U2” – a great band, by the way – and yes, I have a baseball cap with their name on it.
You see, nobody really wants approach this topic usually this candidly because this doesn’t really fit into the whole “think-pink-and-be-happy” scenario that’s popular these days, nor does it fit into the instant gratification state of mind that all these talent shows on TV teach young kids these days§. However, this is the greatest challenge and will continue to be the greatest challenge for any indie musician. Ask any independent artist that’s out there and has been doing their thing for more than a decade, even the once that are with smaller labels, they’ll tell you, turning people onto your stuff is incredibly hard work. If you don’t get help and you don’t have the necessary contacts, you will hit a glass ceiling relatively fast in terms of the popularity you can achieve. There are always exceptions to the rule but they are one in a million or perhaps, a trillion.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
It’s all in Spotify, iTunes and YouTube, those are the best places to go to check it all out. In Spotify, you even have the biography. Of course, since it is the 21st century, we are also in Facebook. And naturally, FBP Music’s webpages will have our pictures and more detailed info on our comings and goings.
Anything else before we sign off?
I think what you are doing with these pages is rather valuable. There’s a lot of talent out there. It’s nice to know they have a page like yours to send their stuff to. Keep the pages going and keep up the good work and thanks for featuring us.
