The music of Leevi and the Leavings plays again with a new line-up. Timo Rautiainen joins the Leavings orchestra as soloist. Gösta Sundqvist also lives on strong in the minds of his bandmates.
The music of the legendary Leevi and the Leavings will soon be played live, when the three original members of the orchestra will take the stage with a new soloist. The line-up will start the concerts in January of next year under the name Leavings-orkesteri as a soloist Timo Rautiainen.
Founded in 1978, Leevi and the Leavings ended in 2003 after Gösta Sundqvist died of a heart attack. Other band members Risto Paananen, Juha Karastie mixed Niklas Nylund got back together in 2011 as the Leavings orchestra, also releasing one album. In all, over the years, five different soloists have visited the lineup, Leavings played their last gig in December of last year. Timo Rautiainen ended up joining based on common discussions.
– We are looking for a soloist with a strong spirit and sympathy for our music. So I decided to try ice with a stick, and contact Timo.
– He had a positive attitude, we met and went through the songs, and then we concluded that it worked perfectly, Paananen says.
On the long run
Nine gigs are currently scheduled for the gig period starting in January. More to come later next year.
– At the same time, we also look further. It would be great if this line-up would live on even after future gigs. Now the pattern at least feels very good.
Paananen chooses a song as his favorite from the set list Heaven is in the back seat of Taunus.
– As you get older, the song touches you even more. It is a song that combines longing and strong emotions.
When pondering what Gösta would say about Rautiainen’s arrival as a soloist, Paananen can’t say anything certain.
– It’s hard to say, it’s an enigma. Gösta had artists he appreciated and artists he called bullshit. At least according to my information, he didn’t have time to associate Timo with either category.
Over generations
At the concerts, you will hear the legendary songs of Leevi and the Leavings.
– We play purely old familiar songs, no new ones are coming. Time has shown that many songs are immortal.
Paananen says he feels great gratitude for still being able to perform songs that Finns love.
– It’s really great. It also feels wonderful to be able to play to an audience where several generations are listening to us.
– Every gig is a leap into the unknown in a safe framework, because we didn’t do live performances with Gösta.
Over the years, Leevi and the Leavings’ music has played in many places, from concert stages to theaters. Paananen says that he only noticed theater performances, for example, through advertising. The matter brings up mixed emotions.
– It’s great that the music is playing, it’s a tribute to Gösta’s music. Still, it seems a little sad that the three of us are not informed when the music is used.
– The lack of information is certainly influenced by the fact that Gösta practically took care of the entire publicity side at the time. In this light, I believe thoughtlessness is the main reason why little information has come to us.
The Leavings orchestra plays Leevi and the Leavings’ old songs. THE SAME HEDGEHOG
Paananen says that Sundqvist, who died of a heart attack twenty years ago, is still on his mind every day.
– I still miss him, it hasn’t gone away. We have also thought about what we would be if he hadn’t passed away.
– I also have a hoodie that says: Gösta in Memoriam, I like it very much, Gösta goes along with it.
He says he fondly remembers many moments together.
– Some of those moments were when we left the studio with Gösta riding me, because he didn’t have a driver’s license. We talked about all kinds of things then. Those moments were really rewarding.
The other members of Leavings also have memories. Juha Karastie remembers fondly Hannes-the re-use of the mandolin he received as an inheritance.
– I had told Gösta about the instrument, and he was very enthusiastic. So I decided to bring it Tail between thighs – during the recording sessions of the album in the studio.
It was decided to test the suitability of the mandolin to the work being done Rin Tin Tin to the paragraph. Gösta liked it immediately, and after minor theme corrections, the command “recording” came. The end result was that the mandolin fit the song naturally. The mandolin also plays in other songs.
– Gösta dug the “maniska” sound to such an extent that it is also included in the album’s songs Teuvo, king of roads mixed Badger.
Niklas Nylund says he has a lot of memories related to Gösta in his mind.
– The moments when we sat during the breaks of the studio sessions in the studio’s cafe, throwing the flap between us were memorable.
– We had a lot of fun, and sometimes some things could end up in Gösta’s scheming texts. The breaks at the studio were the best moments, I still miss them.
Paananen says that Sundqvist was a man who did not want to put himself on a pedestal.
– He wanted the work to speak for itself, no memorials needed. He also stopped giving interviews because he felt there was nothing new to tell. He didn’t want to be on display just for the sake of being on display.
Starting out as a soloist, Timo Rautiainen is especially known as the frontman of the Trio Niskalaukaus. He has also published other music such as, among others Ville Ojanen a folk music album made with A song by Leevi and the Leavings has ended up as a solo production Under the northern sky. Rautiainen says a new washing machine is a matter of honor.
– When I received the request to become a soloist, I felt it was an honor. I also enjoy the opportunity to do something completely new and different. I go along with an enthusiastically humble attitude.
– When I recently performed at Gösta’s memorial concert, the delicacy of Leevi and the Leavings’ songs opened up in a whole new way. The songs have many dimensions, which is a very good thing.
Rautiainen never met Gösta Sundqvist.
– Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. In addition to music, I remember with particular warmth the Koe-elienpuisto program he made for the radio. When it arrived, I applied eagerly to the receiver.
Rautiainen does not take pressure from Trio Niskalaukai’s fans’ attitude to the new wash.
– Some definitely understand, some don’t, it’s up to everyone. The main thing for me is to do what feels good.
– As for Trio Neck Shot, there is now a break. I also have new songs in my mind for a record that will come out sometime in the future.