Hearts Race in Helsinki

Once upon a time, a trio of guys came together as members in a band of called The Pixel Mittens. Shortly after, they all moved from the country of Victoria, to Finland. There, they played a couple of small gigs before going on a hiatus. Never did The Pixel Mittens return.

Member Cameron Bird met a man named James Cecil while in art school. Soon after, Cecil joined the group as their drummer. Bird also met a clarinet player, Kellie Sutherland, whom he also invited to play. Not long after, Bird embarked on a trip to Portland, Oregon. It was there that he was struck with such profound inspiration. Upon his return, he met three more new members to complete the band. Now, the original trio turned into a group of eight: Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, Kellie Sutherland, Isobel Knowles, Tara Shackell and James Cecil. With Bird's new interpretation of the band's music, he wrote over half of their debut album to be named Fingers Crossed under the band name Architecture in Helsinki.

Two years later, in 2005, the band released their second album under their own label. In Case We Die was also produced by The Carboyhydrates, a production duo company held up by the band's own members Cecil and Bird. The next year, Isobel Knowles and Tara Shackell left the band due to "creative differences." Later in the year, an album of remixes emerged. We Died, They Remixed includes remixed versions of In Case We Die's entire album. One of the artists that helped with the mixes is Hot Chip, whose newest song "Ready For the Floor" has been getting a lot of play.

In July of last year, Architecture in Helsinki released their newest album Places Like This. Their first single "Heart it Races" was released 2 months before the album, and was nominated for an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) award. It is probably the most indie pop record they've released yet. All of the songs on all of their albums incorporate tons of different musical instruments, including the glockenspiel, which makes for quite the ecletic mix.

Now, I'll tell you my favorite song from each album (haha). Let's see, first we've got Fingers Crossed, and my fave from that album is "Scissor Paper Rock." Next comes In Case We Die, and from that one I like "Maybe You Can Owe Me." Last, from Places Like This, I really enjoy "Heart it Races", and "Hold Music."

In October of last year, the band recorded four "vibey, alt versions" of a few songs from Places Like This for Daytrotter. You can download the songs from their website here.

At the band's New Years performance this year, James Cecil announced it to be his last show with the band. Now, they're down to five, but it doesn't seem to be causing any harm. The band is supposedly coming out with some new tracks next month. Let's keep our eyes and ears open!

Photo and Text Sources: Amazon, Wikipedia, My Chemical Toilet

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