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Dec 05, 2019 By Jaakko Eino Kalevi Photography by Jaakko Eino Kalevi Jaakko Eino Kalevi

For our recurring Self-Portrait feature we ask a musician to take a self-portrait photo (or paint/draw a self-portrait) and write a list of personal things about themselves, things that their fans might not already know about them. This Self-Portrait is by Jaakko Eino Kalevi.

The Finnish multi-instrumentalist released a new mini-album, Dissolution, last month via Domino imprint Weird World. The seven-song release is the follow-up to 2018’s full-length, Out of Touch, which was his fifth album and the follow-up to 2015’s self-titled album. Dissolution was recorded in Berlin and Helsinki. It was announced via a video for its first single, title track “Dissolution.” Kevin Luna directed the “Dissolution” video, which featured a man who can’t stop dancing. Berlin-based Taiwanese singer Yu-Ching Huang features on the song and she also sings on two other songs on the album.

In a cryptic press release statement about Dissolution, Kalevi had this to say: “Just as a drop of ink dissolves in a glass of water, it is said that life on Earth began in this way. It’s impossible to become that drop again. Life on Earth is a mystery—it’s a story of dissolution.”

Read on as Kalevi writes about the snack he’s avoided, his other career, his favorite season, and more. Kalevi took his self-portrait photos when visiting Cairo, Egypt.

1. I have never eaten any Pringles. I don’t know why but maybe it comes from the time when I was a vegetarian and trying to avoid all kinds of evil companies. I don’t do that so much anymore but I am very proud of this fact. I don’t think they are that good either.

2. I didn’t go to the army. I did civil service in the university library of Jyväskylä as a computer helpdesk. That was a great time in my life. Sometimes the printer would get stuck and I had to restart it and sometimes I just went there to stamp my timecard and went back home to sleep or to the studio to record. I also read all the Hulk comics ever released in Finland at that time.

3. I am an electrician. After I finished the basic school I studied to be an electrician because I wanted to be able to build and fix synthesizers and effects. In the end the school was not that much about those things but I got some skills from there. For example at a festival in Croatia my synth was not working in the soundcheck and I fixed with the promoters deodorant stick. Electricity is almost like magic. Scott Walker’s “The Electrician” is a great song.

4. Autumn is my favorite season. I feel like autumn is more like spring than spring. The air feels fresh and more new things are happening. Also you can just stay at home with a good conscience.

5. I am hooked on Lahmacun. They also call it the Turkish pizza and there is this great place near my studio in Wedding, Berlin where they make their own bread. It’s so good!

www.jaakkoeinokalevi.com

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