{"id":29276,"date":"2022-02-02T22:09:02","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T22:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/?p=29276"},"modified":"2022-03-11T03:09:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T03:09:18","slug":"eeppi-ursin-interview-in-draft-formatting-issues-just-like-with-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/eeppi-ursin-interview-in-draft-formatting-issues-just-like-with-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Eeppi Ursin – A Finnish Musician in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to\u00a0<\/b>this specific career path?<\/b><\/p>\n

As long as I can remember I\u2019ve been involved with music. It\u2019s always been my career path, never seriously\u00a0even thought of doing anything else for living. I\u2019ve been working professionally as a vocalist, pianist,\u00a0songwriter, composer and arranger for about 25 years.<\/p>\n

At the moment I reside in New York City. I visited the city for the first time almost 20 years ago, and I\u2019ll\u00a0probably never forget the feeling as I climbed up from the subway to the streets of Manhattan. The vibe of\u00a0the city just totally got me, instantly! Since then my big dream has been to be able to live and work here at\u00a0least part-time, and now I\u2019m finally living out that dream. I made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point and\u00a0 I\u2019m happy I did!<\/p>\n

My story in short<\/b><\/p>\n

I come from a music-loving family. As a child I played piano and oboe, sang in the school choir and vocal\u00a0ensembles and started doing performances fairly young. I\u2019ve always been intrigued by rich harmonies and\u00a0when my music teacher taught me how to play some more advanced chords on the piano, I was forever\u00a0hooked. I would listen to all kinds of popular music and learn to play the harmonies on my own. Singing\u00a0always felt like the thing that best reflects my identity as a musician though, so I learned to accompany my\u00a0singing with piano.<\/p>\n

I started writing songs as a teenager with my cousins. It was pretty ambitious work for me already then\u00a0and I really wanted to get better at it and yearned to get more and more experience all the time. In high\u00a0school I got seriously into jazz music and studied it for many years. In 2001 I won the \u201cLady Summertime\u201d\u00a0– International Jazz Singer Contest and for a long time I wanted to be acknowledged specifically as a jazz\u00a0singer. Nowadays I think of myself more as a singer-songwriter with influences from pop, jazz and soul.<\/p>\n

My career path has taken me working a lot with theatre as a composer and arranger as well as acting on\u00a0stage – always having to do with music somehow. I\u2019m forever grateful for getting in touch with theatre, it\u00a0saved my life! There\u2019s so much more depth and understanding of life that I got from doing theatre. It has\u00a0helped with everything in music – being a better interpreter of songs, writing more meaningful songs,\u00a0gaining overall comprehension of balance in everything.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been fortunate having had such a versatile career path. I have released three solo albums which\u00a0consist of my original songs, lyrics and music, and that path has naturally always been the dearest to me.\u00a0And now I\u2019m super excited for the release of my fourth solo album \u201cSpeechless\u201d which is out in February 2022.<\/p>\n

Alongside my solo career I\u2019ve been featuring as a vocal soloist with numerous ensembles and groups, both\u00a0live and on record. I\u2019ve toured the world with various groups and performed at huge concert halls as well\u00a0as tiny clubs. For many years I was part of Club For Five, which is one of the most successful vocal\u00a0ensembles in Finland. With Club For Five I\u2019ve been to China many times and got to walk and sing on the\u00a0Great Wall of China and perform at Miss China Pageant for 100 million TV-viewers. Great memories!<\/p>\n

Are you working on any exciting new projects now?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes! I\u2019m always working on something exciting.\u00a0Right now my big thing is the new album \u201cSpeechless\u201d which is released February 4th. Two singles – \u201cDown\u201d and \u201cWhen It\u2019s All Over\u201d have already been released with music videos as well. I have record release concerts scheduled in Helsinki on February 12th at Koko Jazz Club, and in New York City at Rockwood Music Hall on March 2nd.<\/p>\n

I wrote many of the songs during the deepest lockdown of the pandemic in wintery New York in 2020. The album is going to be a bonafide singer-songwriter-album – I myself like to describe the music as \u201cCarole King\u201d of the 2000\u2019s. Well, actually I think it just sounds like me!<\/p>\n

Also I\u2019m super-excited about being chosen as \u201cPerformer of the Year by Finlandia Foundation National which will send me out on a tour in the United States in 2022.<\/p>\n

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One very important project is also my Livestream Concert Series called \u201cLove Boat\u201d. Since the pandemic\u00a0started, I\u2019ve had some 40 concerts on my social media platforms. It has been an absolute life-saver! When\u00a0\u00a0it was totally impossible to do live gigs, this concert series kept me going. People send me requests and I\u00a0carry them out as unique versions. I\u2019ve had different theme concerts like \u201cPower Songs\u201d, \u201cSummer Show\u201d, \u201cTribute to The Beatles\u201d, \u201cGospel\u201d and so on. The live scene is opening up, but I\u2019m still continuing the\u00a0series as many of us are still not able to attend live shows for different reasons. \u201cLove Boat\u201d has been a\u00a0win-win-concept for the pandemic time: it keeps me in working condition and brings live music to people!<\/p>\n

Can you share a story about the funniest\/saddest\/ most embarrassing mistake you made <\/b>when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?<\/b><\/p>\n

I honestly don\u2019t remember one catastrophic mistake that would stand out, but I can tell you that mistakes\u00a0happen all the time. Things don\u2019t go as you\u2019ve planned or something totally unexpected happens –\u00a0technically or emotionally. It\u2019s how you handle the mistake, that matters. You just got to keep going. I\u00a0always say – keeping the \u201cpoker face\u201d is one of the most important tools for a professional performer!<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t let the mistakes take the best of you, and also you can\u2019t start dreading them. Because they are always\u00a0there. During the pandemic doing my livestream series, I\u2019ve had to learn a lot of new things technical-wise\u00a0as I have to be the sound engineer at the same time. There have been many hilarious moments like\u00a0forgetting to plug a certain tiny cable that enables the whole sound system to be used etc…<\/p>\n

If I look back at when I was starting, I would say I was maybe a bit too serious about everything, being so\u00a0devoted of course. But I\u2019ve learned to ease up!!<\/p>\n

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began working as\u00a0<\/b>a creative person\/musician?<\/b><\/p>\n

There are so many interesting and exciting things that have happened during my career so far. Many of\u00a0them have to do with traveling and touring like performing at St.Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London, The Raffles\u00a0Hotel in Singapore, The Hong Kong A Cappella Festival, Rockwood Music Hall in New York… Or it could\u00a0have been when I was invited to perform at the Finnish Independence Day Reception in the Presidential\u00a0Palace. On the other hand performing at private events, parties, weddings and funerals have a special\u00a0deep meaning to me. Also I\u2019ve had a number of interesting sessions at the studio doing vocals for various\u00a0intriguing projects and recordings.<\/p>\n

I still expect to have lots and lots of enthrilling experiences on my path!<\/p>\n

What do you think makes you\/your music stand out? Can you share a story?<\/b><\/p>\n

I would say my music stands out because of my vocals and because my songs are very approachable with\u00a0gently philosophical lyrics and recognizable, yet unique musical style. Telling a story and communicating an emotion or meaning is the most important thing to me.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to other musicians to help their career to thrive?<\/b><\/p>\n

My advice is always work hard, work hard!<\/p>\n

That might include learning to master your instrument whether it\u2019s songwriting, producing, singing, or playing. And learning to master it in your unique style and take that to the max. It\u2019s not something you\u00a0can learn from the books necessarily. Get to know the right people, network, and be open to new\u00a0collaborations but be true to yourself of course. Live life to the full and use it in your work.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to other female musicians about the best way to manage their\u00a0<\/b>career?<\/b><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get stuck with genders. Be a human being. If you know what you\u2019re doing and you master your field,\u00a0it really shouldn\u2019t matter. If someone makes \u201cthe eyes\u201d as your being a female – go somewhere else!<\/p>\n

Can you please give us your favorite \u201cLife Lesson Quote\u201d? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?<\/b><\/p>\n

Love yourself first, then you can love others.<\/p>\n

Be kind – you never know what the other person is going through.<\/p>\n

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private\u00a0<\/b>breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them \ud83d\ude42<\/b><\/p>\n

I would love to meet Alicia Keys. She\u2019s a New York-inspiration to me. Such a beautiful songwriter and\u00a0person.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Eeppi Ursin Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/linktr.ee\/eeppiursin<\/a><\/p>\n

www.eeppiursin.com<\/a><\/p>\n

www.facebook.com\/eeppiursinofficial<\/a><\/p>\n

www.instagram.com\/eeppiursinofficial<\/a><\/p>\n

DOWN music video
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RbKeRhBOjxw<\/a><\/p>\n

WHEN IT’S ALL OVER – music video<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eqHCERbCPh0<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n