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Aktor - Professori (Season Two) LP
Aktor - Professori (Season Two) LP
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Aktor is one of the many side projects of the one and only Chris “The Professor” Black. He formed the band in 2013 along with Tomi Leppänen (drums) and Jussi Lehtisalo (guitars) from Finland. Aktor’s debut album »Paranoia« was issued on High Roller Records in 2015, followed by »Placebo« (2020). »Professori (Season Two)« is the name of the band’s brand-new record.
“Weird music for weird people,” is how Chris Black once described Aktor. So is the band a vehicle to test the boundaries of how open-minded
metalheads are? Do Aktor have a “fanbase” outside the metal scene at all? “It would be wrong to say that with Aktor we are aiming inside or outside of any boundaries,” is the answer. “But it is correct that Aktor is not for everyone. If you like it, I’m happy, and if you don’t, sure, that’s ok. Generally, the conservatives know who they are, and they won’t even bother.”
“I was quite surprised actually how people experienced those albums,” continues The Professor looking back on the first two Aktor releases. “I don’t remember exactly but there were some comparisons that I did not understand at all. But you always have to accept those, because it’s just a natural thing that happens and it shows that people are paying attention. But Aktor is so far outside my usual listening intake that I can’t make any comparisons or associations myself. For me it’s very isolated.”
»Professori (Season Two)« may sound like a weird title for the third album of a band, but there is a story behind the name: “Yes, it is very conceptual. »Professori« is a TV show in the ‘Nordic noir’ genre, like a gritty detective show with all of the usual cliches. So, each song on the album is an episode of the show. I realized while writing that the story was actually the second season of the overall three-season arc. It starts with a twist – the lead character has disappeared! – and this was interesting to me, partly because his partner is elevated to the lead role.”
“All three albums are very different, but I am reluctant to say there is any kind of agenda or intention with that,” comments Chris Black regarding the musical direction of the new album »Professori (Season Two)« in comparison to its two predecessors. “We don’t discuss very much in the theoretical or conceptual plane. Simply, when it’s time to work, we work, and we trust in the process. It was an adjustment for me in the beginning, because my method is often motivated by a very clear concept, toward a specific end product. But for Jussi and I think also Tomi, the process – the journey, if you want to say that – is what defines the destination, rather than the reverse. They are more free. That all being said yes, we did have a few goal points this time, mainly to get a harder sound in the final mix, less classic rock and more kicking ass.”
On their new record Aktor once again present a very eclectic mixture of different styles. »Professori (Season Two)« combines eighties new wave (from B 52’s to Talking Heads and Wall Of Voodoo) with a heavy seventies prog/psychedelic vibe. “For sure,” says Chris Black. “Jussi is the main composer of our music, and he would answer differently, but for me personally, Aktor has no genre. There could be a lot of other music out there which sounds like Aktor, or has some common characteristics, but it’s not the kind of music I listen to. In my process with Aktor I am focused on the song itself, trying to add to the dynamics and atmosphere created by the guitars and synths. Those always come first, and then I add the vocals.”
“Weird music for weird people,” is how Chris Black once described Aktor. So is the band a vehicle to test the boundaries of how open-minded
metalheads are? Do Aktor have a “fanbase” outside the metal scene at all? “It would be wrong to say that with Aktor we are aiming inside or outside of any boundaries,” is the answer. “But it is correct that Aktor is not for everyone. If you like it, I’m happy, and if you don’t, sure, that’s ok. Generally, the conservatives know who they are, and they won’t even bother.”
“I was quite surprised actually how people experienced those albums,” continues The Professor looking back on the first two Aktor releases. “I don’t remember exactly but there were some comparisons that I did not understand at all. But you always have to accept those, because it’s just a natural thing that happens and it shows that people are paying attention. But Aktor is so far outside my usual listening intake that I can’t make any comparisons or associations myself. For me it’s very isolated.”
»Professori (Season Two)« may sound like a weird title for the third album of a band, but there is a story behind the name: “Yes, it is very conceptual. »Professori« is a TV show in the ‘Nordic noir’ genre, like a gritty detective show with all of the usual cliches. So, each song on the album is an episode of the show. I realized while writing that the story was actually the second season of the overall three-season arc. It starts with a twist – the lead character has disappeared! – and this was interesting to me, partly because his partner is elevated to the lead role.”
“All three albums are very different, but I am reluctant to say there is any kind of agenda or intention with that,” comments Chris Black regarding the musical direction of the new album »Professori (Season Two)« in comparison to its two predecessors. “We don’t discuss very much in the theoretical or conceptual plane. Simply, when it’s time to work, we work, and we trust in the process. It was an adjustment for me in the beginning, because my method is often motivated by a very clear concept, toward a specific end product. But for Jussi and I think also Tomi, the process – the journey, if you want to say that – is what defines the destination, rather than the reverse. They are more free. That all being said yes, we did have a few goal points this time, mainly to get a harder sound in the final mix, less classic rock and more kicking ass.”
On their new record Aktor once again present a very eclectic mixture of different styles. »Professori (Season Two)« combines eighties new wave (from B 52’s to Talking Heads and Wall Of Voodoo) with a heavy seventies prog/psychedelic vibe. “For sure,” says Chris Black. “Jussi is the main composer of our music, and he would answer differently, but for me personally, Aktor has no genre. There could be a lot of other music out there which sounds like Aktor, or has some common characteristics, but it’s not the kind of music I listen to. In my process with Aktor I am focused on the song itself, trying to add to the dynamics and atmosphere created by the guitars and synths. Those always come first, and then I add the vocals.”
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