We heard from Helsinki based Indie band Fan Theories as they tell us about their new single Love What is Left, plans for 2021 and share some recommendations on what they have been checking out recently.
Where are you from and what are your favourite places to experience there?
Ari: We all live in Helsinki. There are of course plenty of nice places in Helsinki, but I could mention a few of my favourites. Hakaniemi market square is definitely amongst them as you can buy really good food from there. Also Teurastamo area which is an old slaughterhouse area has a nice set of bars and restaurants. I prefer Töölönlahti bay when I go out for a run. Töölö’s football stadiums are important places for me. I’ve seen some memorable football matches there.
Finn: I really like the city’s archipelago and the islands. There you can relax and calm down from the buzz. There’s also a special vibe with all the old fortresses and constructions left behind by the former rulers.
How would you best describe your sound?
Finn: I’ve always been into the indie music scene and I guess it can be heard, but I also think there’s a fresh mix of new influences and ideas of today’s music in the Fan Theories sound. Personally I’m a sucker for melodies and feel like a conductor once we start making music. I could do it all day everyday. It’s something I really enjoy doing. Inventing songs, sounds and melodies.
Ari: I’d say our sound is a combination of danceable beats combined with often melancholic tunes. I think we are on the pop side of indie rock and you can hear that in our melodies and especially in the choruses. I’d like to think of our songs as tiny episodes of life and therefore I try to find the right moods and the sounds to go hand in hand together with the lyrics.

What have you got planned for the year?
Finn: Many new songs and hopefully the gigs will also start soon!
When can we expect to see you start to play some online or live music?
Ari: We have something planned for the next fall so if the pandemic allows it then we are ready to play our first gigs.
What can we do to help support your music and where do we need to go to do that?
Finn: Listening and commenting on our songs would be great.
Ari: Right now you can listen to us on various streaming platforms. I hope that in the future we can also make some physical records. A beautiful vinyl single would be a nice start.
Finally, what was the last thing you read, watched, and listened to?
Finn: Netflix Better Call Saul (all seasons). I also read an interesting and inspiring book of a Finnish rock artist Samu Haber who’s had a huge career in Germany.
Ari: I read Jonathan Safran Foer’s We Are the Weather. The last thing I watched was the French Lupin series on Netflix. I read Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief stories when I was a kid. The last thing I was listening to was a playlist made by my musician friend, a Finnish electronic music artist. It consisted of 47 songs which were mainly rather eclectic songs. That was his friendly suggestion that we too could be a bit more eclectic with our music. No offence taken with that suggestion.
Interview by Alex Minnis
If you want to be featured and supported like Fan Theories then send us an email via the website and then check out our Buy Me A Coffee Page to help support us back.
Don’t forget to check out our our New Nordic Playlist on Spotify to listen to all the artists we have covered.