Lauri Ylönen took the criticism hard.
Laury Ylönen, the soloist of The Rasmus, relaxes by designing houses. MIKKO HUISKO
Fresh Ari Väntänen the book The Rasmus tells how hard Lauri Ylönen took the criticism he received for his house programs.
Lauri tells in the book how drawing houses is a way for him to relax. For the first time, he was involved in drawing a house in Jolla, Helsinki. It was completed in 2007, and it was Lauri’s home.
He designed another house in Helsinki’s Karhusaari. The design of the houses led to the making of TV series, and Lauri himself proposed a program to Fremantle Media.
First, Lauri’s houses program was shown on MTV3, then Desing by Lauri.
– In those projects, I was able to draw and come up with ideas, that is, to do exactly what I enjoy, Lauri says in the book.
In all of Lauri’s projects, an architect was also involved, who completed the projects.
Lauri’s programs caused an uproar, and Lauri was accused of being a fake architect.
– The out-of-the-box scandal felt really fucked up, and social media was once again full of pundits hanging on to false information.
Lauri remembers how a member of the architects’ union told in public how “it’s terrible that a singer designs houses”.
Lauri invited him to the village and told him exactly how the pattern is going and that there are professionals involved and that Lauri is doing a fun and creative part.
Lauri says how hard it was when the accusing finger was pointed at him.
– When building houses, there is always something that needs to be repaired. The house moves and lives for a couple of years after its completion because it wants to settle down. It is not usually made into a number, unless the construction project is personified by a well-known person, an easy target.
According to Lauri, there is a mentality in Finland where a cobbler has to stick to his shoes. This means that a musician must be a musician and, for example, a model must not try acting.
According to him, there is a different attitude in the United States, and there “it’s considered cool” that the gang does all kinds of things.
– In Finland, you get reprimanded for that. I don’t understand that way of thinking. Frankly, that kind of attitude pisses me off. That’s why I’ve put those projects on hold. It doesn’t seem rewarding to receive negative feedback when you first print unpaid dune for years out of love for the sport. After the TV series, it has been really liberating to focus on making music.
Ari Väntänen – The Rasmus (Work) will be published on September 1.