Softengine interview: You should be happy with what you have

Ahead of Eurovision 2014 Softengine’s lead vocalist Topi Latukka is rushing between rehearsals and the studio. But he recently sat down to answer some of our questions anyway. In the interview below Topi explains the band’s name, sizes up Aram Mp3’s chances of winning, and explains why the group had to miss Eurovision in Concert.

Hey Topi! I’m sure you are really busy at the moment, so it’s great that you found some time to answer our questions. What have you been up to since winning UMK?

We have been really busy! We have rehearsed a lot, been touring, made new songs, been in the studio, planned our Eurovision performance, had interviews and more.

A lot of our readers have asked how you came up with the name “Softengine”. Can you fill us in?

We wanted a name that describes us somehow. We’re all pretty thoughtful guys, so we made up a stick figure named Softengine, who has an engine as his head. This character represents us and how we sometimes think a little too much. The word “soft” in the name is little harder to explain. It means that although we think a lot, usually it doesn’t have any goal. We just like to speculate and philosophize on life for fun. Just some “soft thoughts”.

One journalist once said, that our music sounds soft and floating, but sometimes the engine is running in the full speed. That’s what we have been searching for and we wish that the name can be heard in our music too somehow.

We all know the story of “Something Better“. But what about the message relates to your own life?

There’s so much to tell in the song, that it’s hard to seal it all to one message. I think it’s that you should be happy with what you have, because it can already be something better that you can achieve or buy with money. You just may not be able to appreciate it, maybe because it is so ordinary and it’s always been there. At least I try to think like this myself, although it’s easier to be said than done.

Are you planning to promote your song and the band before the contest? Almost 30 artists performed at Eurovision in Concert, but not you. Why’s that?

We have been very busy with recording the album and touring, so we thought that it’s better to skip that now. But I’m sure we will do some promo before Eurovision!

Have you had time to listen any other entries from this year? Do you have any favourites and who do you think is your biggest competitor?
Yes, I have listened a few of them. Armenia and Greece sound really good, Greece is very entertaining but I think Armenia will be on the top.

Have you had any advice from any former Finnish representatives, like last year’s representative Krista Siegfrids?
Not really. Krista gave us some tips after we won UMK, but I can’t really remember them.

You rose to fame really quickly, so dealing with the media must be new to all of you. Have you been practicing how to handle the sharks?
We are progressing all the time, but we haven’t really been practising that, but we’ve got some tips from here and there.

Thanks for chatting with us. Do you have a message for your fans on wiwibloggs.com?
If you still haven’t heard our song, go and watch our music video from our website. There’s also links to our Facebook and Instagram pages, where you can read what we are up to at the moment. We would be really thankful if you would go to check them out. All the best!

Sami Luukela contributed this report from Finland. Follow him on Twitter @ssami_. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following wiwibloggs.com on Twitter and Facebook.