Timo Juuti is not really a new kid on the block. In fact, he has been known to be part of the groups, Syna and Deck Jagger before he started to work on his own in late 2008. As a solo producer, Timo's crafts broke boundaries in both the house and trance scenes. Moreover, his works, including a chart-topper from one of the industry's well-renown labels, Anjunabeats, are also appreciated by millions of listeners and several big names in the scene: Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, and Tiesto. Currently making miracles on Wicked Recordings and Captured Music, Timo Juuti has dedicated his life to bringing to the fans only the best house music from his original tunes, as well as from Wicked Recordings Podcast, which is aired every fortnight.
Hello! How are you?
Hi Miguel! The year has been quite a rollercoaster for me in many ways, but things seem to settle down and I’m just enjoying the flow right now… so it’s all good!
Timo, how were you able to come up with such a definitive sound of yours?
I have a compulsory need to pump out ideas, flow of inspiration or whatever you want to call it, whenever they emerge. The raw and even primitive mold then shapes into something that reflects myself at that moment as melodies and rhythms. When working alone, you know how it is suppose to turn out so you get more self-critical but the result is more personal, where as in a group the end result is always a sum of many and easier to conclude. Either one has their benefits; right now I’m glad to be able to do both. It’s quite abstract, but I try not to think too much when doing actual composing. When remixing, I might get purposely more influenced of what I’ve heard lately.
How did Wicked Recordings come to be?
Wicked Recordings was found by my good friend Sami Saari when he was working for Captured music in Sweden and after he came back to Finland I tagged along. For the reasons behind it all, you should ask Sami but it’s pretty much like with many artists starting their own labels, to get rid of the unnecessary intermediary. Also many labels today release tracks after another with less focus on the artist. We want to do the opposite, which in a way makes us a bit old fashioned… that’s a bit sad really.
As an artist and an A&R manager of Wicked Recordings, what are your biggest achievements so far?
I’d like to measure my ‘achievements’, as how they felt at the time being. As an artist, it was a big thing for us when our second single with Syna in 2007 called ‘Do You Feel’ stayed on Finnish Single top 20 for 5 weeks. My solo stuff took off better than I expected as well, being able to do a remix for anjunabeats and gaining awesome support from the first release forward. Wicked has been able to get such a great foothold in the house scene within a short period, that I have to be a bit proud of it too. We got a great thing going on.
What do you think is the most difficult thing you’ve experienced as a label director?
The workload has been more than I expected, so keeping up with the schedule has been challenging, and sometimes you have to do stuff that aren’t really your cup of tee, for e.g. due to some very unforeseen circumstances I had to learn how to code flash a bit!
How is Timo Juuti like when not in the studios or dealing with label matters?
I used to play World of Warcraft quite a lot, and still do a bit! :D I also spend time at different gigs, to see what goes on in the music business outside of EDM scene. In addition, I read quite a lot and try to keep myself in shape, to keep up with the people on the dance floor. ;-)
Please name us your top three tracks at the moment.
Timo Juuti – Hypoactive (Cid Inc Remix)
Tim Berg – Bromance (Avicii Remix)
Ellrich & Plaice - Fucking Society (Olav Basoski Remix)
How do you take advantage of the internet as a marketing tool for your music?
Internet covers most of the marketing for myself and Wicked. We are very active on social media such as myspace and twitter and we also have a wicked fanpage on facebook where our in-house artists hang around and communicate with the fans. That’s what internet marketing mostly is for us, a really cool chance to stay in touch with the fanbase. Furthermore, we got our Wicked Podcast which is aired every fortnight, that plays a big part in the whole marketing scenario too.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Obviously the chicken was a bit Hypoactive ;-)
What can we expect from Timo Juuti and, of course, Wicked Recordings?
A lot, and we’ll promise to do our best to fulfill those expectations. I got four remixes underway, as well as new originals and few tracks with Sami that are taking Wicked to a slightly more melodic big room direction by the end of Summer. In addition, Syna is releasing a new single called “Last Wish” soon. Oh, and of course many many more Wicked Podcast episodes!
I, Miguel Libre, would like to personally thank you for your time and patience in accomplishing this interview! Wish you all the best in your career and your label! Keep in touch!
Thanks to you Miguel, and to all your readers for the support. Keep on keeping on!
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