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Suomi-USA | No1 2017

Finlandia students in front of the university’s main sign on campus. The university typically has a student population of around 500 students. Tourists love the four seasons of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula WHILE the Keweenaw is often lauded for the uniqueness of its Finnish American heritage and its wonderful educational opportunities, another large draw is simply the region itself. The Keweenaw Peninsula jets out into the middle of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. The big lake offers incredible opportunities for adventurers including breathtaking waterfalls, maritime voyages that could last a day, week or even month and some of the best freshwater fishing in the world. One common trip is visiting Isle Royale, a 535-square kilometer island that has zero permanent residents and can only be navigated by boat, flight or hiking. The area is often referred to as the Copper Country because of its incredible abundance of copper. It’s thought to be one of the most copper rich areas of the world, and for centuries that has been a magnet to attract people to the area. In fact, there is evidence that as long ago as 3000 B.C. Native American societies were mining copper in the region. Today there is no active mining operations, but there is a slew of unique mining ruins that are easily accessible to visitors of all ages. Many of these mines offer memorable tours including trips down the mine shafts, guided tours into the historic gathering places and one of the most unique spots is a smelter site that’s still largely intact on the lake front. While most of those activities are popular in the summer, the Keweenaw is also a wildly popular winter destination for people as it averages more than 250 inches (635 centimeters) of snow each year. That snow lends itself to hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails, many Nordic ski trails, and downhill skiing and snowboarding opportunities. Mount Bohemia is a new ski resort about 40 minutes north of Finlandia University that offers some of the most extreme skiing and snowboarding in the eastern United States. The Keweenaw is also home to an avid hockey community, including the oldest indoor ice arena in the world and being known as the birthplace of professional hockey.  Learn more about Finlandia University at finlandia.edu. ! 11 because they know what it can potentially accomplish. But with all things, there needs to be a healthy balance. You still need to create work. There are extremes of both obviously. I know people who can’t create anything, but are brilliant at networking and I know people who I think are basically Picasso, but also social Neanderthals. How do you stay ahead of the curve? How do you keep your creative juices flowing? How do you create something new everyday? L.A. is insanely competitive, but I’ve grown to be comfortable in this type of atmosphere. It makes me work harder. A feeling of communal atmosphere is extremely important. You can sometimes feel the energy of the city resonate all around you. You can feel a collective consciousness that’s moving in a certain direction. L.A. is the epicenter of many forms of art and it’s no wonder that people from out of town or from different countries are asking people here about what the newest trends are. Part of my job is to try and be at the forefront of that movement. I do this in multiple different ways. 1) I keep a tight community of friends who I think are innovators around me. 2) I browse the deep ends of the interned for new music from recommendations that are sometimes extremely “out there” and that only people “in the know” catch on early. 3) I listen to the work of my fellow producers and writers that I respect, to gain insight into their “Jar of Tricks” so to speak. 4) I surround myself with people who are better than me. This one is a big one and I could talk about it forever. Then there’s the concept of branding When I set out to become a producer, one of the most crucial ideas I struggled with was branding. I’ve seen many producers go from zero to hero in a matter of months and most of the time they all share one thing in common: they branded themselves in one genre or style. It’s a smart way to get into any field quickly, but it can have its potential downsides. The main one being that you can easily have your 15 minutes of fame, but then get pigeonholed into being “that guy who does that one thing”. You will get branded whether you like it or not, so choose carefully. For some people, or in other fields like medicine, it’s all about specializing and that makes total sense. But that wasn’t my path. And that was a hard choice for me to make. Early in my move to L.A., I decided to trust my gut. I’ve never been the kind of musician, writer or producer who enjoyed just one style. When people ask me: “Who’s your favorite artist?” I always reply: “Of which genre?” I wanted to be known as an “All-Around, Jack-of-all-Trades” type. Why would I choose to take such an obviously difficult path? Why wouldn’t I focus on one thing, get my foot in the door and then expand? For me it’s never been about being the best at one specific genre or getting paid the most. If I wanted to be a billionaire, I would have moved to Silicon Valley or Wall Street maybe. I really just cared about my own mental health with regards to the love that I had for music. I was afraid that if I got branded a certain way, I would never be able to re-brand myself or worse; it would potentially dismantle my passion for my first true and real love: music. Los Angeles is a city that harbors creativity but if you let it get to you, it can suck the life out of you. I was consciously aware of this and I fought it off in the way that made sense to me. Now I think of L.A. as a my 3rd home. It’s comfortable and easily manageable. I’ve had some experiences in this industry – many fairly recently – where the thing that I planned out and never thought could work because it seemed too cliché or absurd, actually ended up working perfectly. We all know that we can’t be afraid to make mistakes. We should revel in our mistakes and blunders because those are the moments we learn. I get a faint sense of almost an idiotic degree of outlandishness when I think about some of my actions, but I also think it reflects on my willingness to follow what I believe to be my path. Even if that’s the road less travelled. Nico Stadi (Nico Hartikainen) is Finnish American music producer living in Los Angeles. He has worked professionally in the music business for 10 years. He has been a producer, mixer, sound engineer and song writer on three different albums, out of which 1 is #1 iTunes album. He also received EMI Gold Certification (2011) for producing/co-writing/engineering full length album. Some of the artists he has produced to: Justin Bieber, A-Trak, Maejor, Isac Elliot, Lindsey Stirling, Goldroom, All Time Low, Sidibe and Flo Rida. L.A. is insanely competitive, but I’ve grown to be comfortable in this type of atmosphere. Los Angeles is a city that harbors creativity but if you let it get to you, it can suck the life out of you. SUOMI – USA 25


Suomi-USA | No1 2017
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