Samu Haber

Last year in June I flew to Berlin to see a show of a Finnish band Cyan Kicks. It felt so good being there after a long time and meeting all the people and smelling the streets of the city I love so much. Their show and the crowd were so good that I decided to rent a car and to drive to Hamburg the next day for another show at the “Knust” club. We played there with Sunrise Avenue a million years ago and it felt like a nice throwback returning to where one amazing journey once started. 

I will never forget walking to the backstage of “Knust” that day. Something happened inside me and it felt like coming home. And as I went to the back of the club right before they started the show, I knew what would happen next in my life. That smell of electricity and that crowd and that feeling of being on an adventure somewhere far away from home. I felt a bit jealous that they were on stage and I wasn’t. It still makes my heart grow and my arms feel warm going back to that moment. Like falling in love. I drove back to my Berlin hotel very late that night and I didn’t sleep too many hours. I felt so damn happy. 

After one Taekwondo training session some weeks after the Hamburg-Berlin experience, I went to a public sauna in Helsinki. There was a guy in the other corner of the hot room sitting quiet. Then he spoke. “Sorry to disturb your moment, but I’m a music producer and you might not know me, but I always wanted to work with you. Do you think you’d give me a chance and we could see how working together feels.” This is when I met my newest producer friend Ilkka. Some days later we and another Finnish writer Axel wrote “Gimme Your Hand.” If I had any doubts about my new adventure plans, after this session they were all gone and everything seemed clear.  

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Or maybe it was but I tried to deny it all the time. I have been writing songs in English since I was 10 years old. Some melodies just work better that way. After saying goodbye to Sunrise Avenue, I never actually stopped writing in English. Partly because I love to do so, but also because that is a great way of spending time with friends abroad and to travel. I have made so many amazing friendships around the world through songwriting and not going back to them and to do what we all love to do together would be just wrong. I’ve done this for a while now. And I have received so much, more than one person probably should. But I’m so happy to feel this fire in my heart burning so loud again for what I’m about to do. 
My first solo song in English will be out this Friday. And many more this year before the album in October. Some beautiful day in the future I’ll climb on stage somewhere with the new tunes.

These two weeks I’ll be speeding from an interview to another. I realize how damn lucky I am sitting in the back of this car driving me from town to town talking to everybody about my small mission. Meeting radio and media people I know from the past but I haven’t seen in years. I fully understand there are many artists who’d give their left leg to do what I’m doing right now with a support of a big record label. Thank you life for letting me be the one in these shoes and for once again giving me a chance to explore this little universe. How lucky can one man be. 

I don’t even know what I’m reaching for here. Somehow writing these songs and spending time with them already feel like the best thing ever. If a 100 people listen to my new songs or come to the show, great. If more, even better. Every soul is welcome. After many things changed in my life quite dramatically, I have learnt so much about myself and also about you people. The fact that so many of you gave me so much love and support even though some of my moves must have been hard to digest, I can never ever thank you enough. Thank you all for blowing air into my flames. Boy are they burning hot <3

Dream Like A Child and Follow Your Heart. Yes sir! The feeling this Wednesday morning is similar to the moment before a Taekwondo black belt examination. I kind of know what I’m doing. And if not, I’ll figure it out on the way. Breathe in, close your eyes and jump. No matter what comes now and no matter where I land, I’m loving it all already. 

Love you all very much right now. See you all soon <3

Samu