#yle x3m

Host: So, I was approached by a record label that represents Joker Out here in Finland. On, like, a Thursday. "Hi, do you want to meet Joker Out at the end of the week?" I was like, "I'm not in the city". I already had plans, I knew I wouldn't be in the city at the end of that week. "Is there any chance I can meet them on Sunday when I'm back in the city again?"

And then it happened, I came back from Lappträsk at the end of the week. I rented a car and quickly returned it. Rushed to my apartment to feed my cats and then quickly headed into the city centre. And I walked past Club Tavastia where Joker Out were going to be playing. And I notice a line of people twisting around the entire Tavastia building. And I realise that, wow, they're truly popular.

And I meet the whole band, all of them, all the members of the Slovenian band Joker Out. And they've been in the headlines a lot in Finland because they have become best friends with our very own Jere, also Käärijä. And such lovely people they were, extremely pleasant people they were.

We're going to be hearing an interview with all of Joker Out in a little bit. I'm noticing the fans are awake here, both in the arena chat and on the WhatsApp, that's nice. Tervetuloa, like I said, welcome to all the Finnish-speaking Joker Out fans. And also a warm welcome to everyone that speaks English that are fans of Joker Out. We have an interview coming up in a couple of minutes.

I would like to ask you all a question, I would like to talk a bit about the fandom. Because the band we'll be talking to in a bit, Joker Out, have created a huge movement. They've been a huge band home in Slovenia already, they're probably one of the biggest bands there right now. They had their 10-year anniversary concert in Ljubljana a few weeks ago where there were 10,000 people in the audience. Käärijä was also there, of course, because Käärijä and Joker Out became good friends during Eurovision a few years ago, they competed together. And they became great friends, such good friends that they visit each other's homes. We're going to hear a bit of the story from Joker Out in a little bit.

But there's apparently a group that, in several countries, including Finland, have created a huge fan movement. Besides opening for Käärijä in his massive arena show in Helsinki Arena, they had their own sold out Tavastia show in Helsinki. I walked past Tavastia, and there was a queue stretching hundreds of metres full of fans. And they have a good fan community. Their fans have reached out to me on both Instagram and WhatsApp today and I think it's very nice, fun with new people, and nice that you're supporting your favourite band.

Today I have an interview with Joker Out. The whole band. I sat with them in a hotel lobby and you'll get to hear that whole discussion in just a moment.

I had a wonderful Sunday afternoon with the Slovenian band Joker Out. The whole band met me in a hotel lobby in Helsinki. We had Bojan, Nace, Kris, Jure and Jan. And yeah, we had a good time.

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This is a nice company to spend a Sunday with. With some guys from Slovenia. How are you guys?

Kris: Very well, thank you. Thanks for coming. And likewise, I am hoping it's a good interview.

Yes. Let's see. Of course, I can't talk with you without, of course, mentioning the fellow whose name is on your shirt. Käärijä, of course. It's been, like, recognised a lot in Finnish media also. Your bond, your brotherhood, Jere and you guys. That, I guess, started in Eurovision. And, like, what kind of... what was, like, the connection? How did you find each other?

Bojan: Well, we were at the pre-party in Madrid. And during lunchtime, Jere was completely alone. And he kind of seemed a little, like, lost or intimidated. And we were a group of five, so it was much easier for us to, you know, find our place because we can always be with each other and it's already a group. So we kind of invited Jere to come eat with us and he was very happy to join. And from then on, it just, like, started clicking very naturally.

I was like, since, of course, there was a lot of focus because it was this, like, gigantic show, the Eurovision, the songs and the entertainment and everything. But after that, like, you stayed in touch? After that you, like, you have hung out also after that, I guess?

Bojan: Yeah, we hung out a bunch. I came back to Finland, like, I think, maybe four weeks max after Eurovision, so we already hung out here. And then it just started. Like, whenever we had time, we visited each other or we would see each other maybe somewhere else. So yeah, Jere has been to Slovenia. We've been to Finland now a couple of times. He even went on tour with us.

Kris: I was just going to say that was a big moment, I think, in the development of all of our friendships. The first time we actually came to tour Finland, we had two Tavastia shows, one in Turku and one in Tampere. And we asked Jere if he wanted to come play with us in Tavastia, and he was like, you know what, I'm just going to join for the whole tour. I'm blowing off everything else that I had. And so he got with us and he rode with the bus with us through the whole of Finland.

Okay.

Kris: Yeah.

Tell me about last night.

Bojan: It was a really, really spectacular show. It was fantastic to see Jere finally kind of wrap around—unwrap, actually—the gift that he has been making himself for the past, like, 14 years since he started doing music. But since Eurovision, of course, everything blew up. And I think that he has had so much work to do in Finland, in Europe, doing new music, doing new concerts, thinking about a tour, thinking about how to do a show. And then after all of that time, coming back to a full arena with a spectacular show. I think he didn't realise what was going on around him, for sure, as we saw in the end. But the whole team and Jere did an amazing job, and I hope they will be able to do that show or replicate that show in as many arenas as possible in the future.

It was absolutely a joy to be part of it. We had the opportunity to open the show for him, and the crowd was incredible. It was beautiful to see and hear people actually knowing our songs as well. So, yeah, it was just like a very, very special night that we're definitely never going to forget. And I know that I'll forever have in mind Jere singing 'Niin Hyvää Puutaa' in the end. It's like a core memory, because we've been to a couple of travels together, and wherever we go, we go to karaoke. And I have a lot of videos of him singing 'Niin Hyvää Puutaa' in karaoke bars, and then him singing it in his own arena is quite special.

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Host: I will of course be playing their Eurovision song in a bit, but there have been many song requests. I won't be able to play them all, I apologise, but there is one song that has been requested over and over, and thanks to my colleague Joey who conjured it in about zero seconds, I will be playing a song that I will mispronounce. I apologise. This is Joker Out and it's pronounced something like "Odsevi sonca"... Reflections of the Sun.

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Host: Yes, he said "Odsevi sonca", "Reflections of the Sun". I had the whole band Joker Out from Slovenia—Bojan, Nace, Kris, Jure and Jan—here and we talked a lot about their relationship with Finland because it seems like a very special relationship, and they're gonna get to tell us more about it now.

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Kris: I think we're still asking ourselves what exactly is that special connection that we have with the Finns, because every time we come, it seems like we've known each other for years, like they've been with us for the whole 10 years of our existence. And, like, it even seems like they speak our language at the shows because they sing our lyrics perfectly. Sometimes you can even forget that you're in a different country than your own. I don't really know, like... I definitely think the Finns are the most relaxed of all the Nordic nations, like they're...

I would agree.

Kris: And I think that's kind of where we gel, because in Southern Europe, or, like, where we come from, it's a lot more... In the Balkans it's a lot more familial, let's say. Everybody is open to meeting each other, and I think that's kind of where the magic happens. But in regards to, like, gifts, there is something special that the Finns always give us, or give me and Jure especially. It's the TV Mix candy.

Oh?

Kris: You know, in the blue bag.

And they know we like it so much that now I come to Finland and I get it myself from the store.

Right!

Kris: And I'm probably getting a couple of bags when we get to Tavastia later.

What's it like, is there something, since you've been here now a couple of times, you became familiar with the place and some people. And you have fans here, you become familiar with the country. Is there something, have you already developed like your own Finland traditions? Is there something that you want to eat or drink, or a place where you want to go to when you come here, for instance? Do you have your own Finland favourites already? Let's hear!

Jan: Well, both a place and a drink. The place is like the most obvious one, it's sauna. Like, when we come to Finland, like the first place we go to is probably a sauna.

You like sauna?

Jan: We love sauna! Especially, like, in some venues when you come off stage, in the backstage they have a sauna.

Bojan: But I would just like to add the salmon soup as well.

The salmon soup?

Bojan: Yes, but usually, for some reason, we only get to eat it in the airport, when we go back home.

Oh?

Bojan: Yeah!

Kris: So it's super expensive.

Bojan: Yeah.

But you said you had the sauna and a drink, so what was the drink?

Jan: Oh yeah, the drink is Ananas Lonkero.

Ananas Lonkero?

Jan: Yeah!

Jure: Well, when you're drunk there's a great kebab pizza with ananas.

Kris: I think the only other place I would mention, that I remember very fondly, is Jere's parents' house. They invited us over for dinner one time when we were here, and it was a lovely dinner, they're lovely people. And the thing that was most interesting was that, like five minutes after we got into their house, we met everybody, we were already naked in their sauna. And it was... a weird experience, but very nice.

I mean, the Finns are the most naked people in the world. Which is weird because we also live in one of the coldest countries in the world, but, like, nobody is as comfortable with being naked as the Finns.

Bojan: I noticed that yesterday, to be honest, because when we were, like, at the beginning of the afterparty, like still downstairs, but in a different room, we, with Jere's band, we went to the sauna. And, like, there were still a couple of guys in the main room, who were, like, from the team and everything else. But, like, the band, everyone, was just getting naked, like no problem whatsoever. It was like, okay, it was easy to fall into the vibe.

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Host: There's a message in the chat here: "So funny, this is pre-recorded when Bojan actually is in Helsinki right now."

That's right, the singer Bojan, who we heard quite a lot there, I'm checking his Instagram and he is indeed in Finland right now. He has been in a studio with the previously mentioned Käärijä, and posted photos of the nightless night and such. Would you look at that, thanks for the tip, and thanks to the Joker Out fans who have been very active today on WhatsApp and in the chat, and on my own Instagram where some people have reached out. Thank you very much!

I had personal contact with the band, I was emailing members of the band, I kind of coordinated this whole thing on my own. It was a Finnish record label that got us in touch and after that it was mostly me and the band communicating, and we talked after the interview about how I would invite them here again, possibly live in the studio.

So I have to check when they are in Finland, because they seem to be here regularly. But yeah, Finland and Joker Out have a close relationship. They have fans all over the world, and of course they are huge back home, probably biggest there, but Finland and Joker Out have their own close relationship. And they said so themselves that out of all the Nordic countries, they think the Finns are the most relaxed.