Kesy began almost by accident. The band rehearsed for the first time on a Wednesday, and by Friday it was already playing a gig. The year was 2016, and the event was called Rakkauslaulujen iltamat — an evening of love songs. A house band had been put together for the occasion, originally meant to get through just one performance.
– Some of us then stayed on and kept playing together, says singer-guitarist Kina Unplugged, also known as Johanna Metelinen.
Because the band had been born on a Wednesday, the event organiser named it Keskiviikkona syntyneet ("Born on a Wednesday"). The name soon began to feel too long, and somehow not quite right. When Kina started thinking about what the band could be called instead, the solution came straight from the original name. Keskiviikkona syntyneet became Kesy.
The name also suited the band because it is nicely contradictory. In music, the Finnish word kesy — tame — can easily sound like criticism. The band decided to take ownership of the word.
Now, almost ten years later, Kesy is releasing its first album, Äärirajan maisemissa. The album brings together the band’s journey so far and will be released digitally as well as in a limited vinyl edition.
A music video for the song Kallio ’91 will also be released alongside the album.
Too light, too provocative?
Kesy is not easy to place neatly into one musical category. The band has described its music as rock’n’pop’n’punk. According to Kina, Kesy is too light for hardcore punk, but at times too provocative to be pop.
The band members’ musical influences range from punk to opera, and from Dead Kennedys to Tapio Rautavaara. One important influence behind Kesy’s music is late-1970s punk. For Kina, what matters most in that tradition is the idea of freedom. You are allowed to play and make music creatively.
Kesy’s music does not aim to be polished or factory-made. The way the band works is rawer and more alive. In guitarist Henri Keinänen’s playing, for example, Kina says she especially likes the earthiness and growl that come from the roots of rock’n’roll.
– Tenderness, Juha Metelinen comments beside her.
Years of songs in one package
Most of Kesy’s songs have begun in Kina’s hands. She brings the band a melody or a musical phrase, and the song is then arranged together. The lyrics, too, are mostly written by her. They can be playful, but the subjects are not always light. Alongside pure joy, Kesy’s songs also move around themes such as alcoholism, death and the limits of life.
Äärirajan maisemissa brings together songs written over the years. Some have been released before, some have only been heard live, and some have not been heard at all. All the tracks have been remastered, and many of them were recorded anew this year. Recording and mixing were handled by Antti Elias Huuskonen, and mastering by Jarno Alho.
The album is a kind of clearing of the table. Certain songs were ready, and they had to be wrapped up so that the band could move forward. The release was influenced by the band’s approaching tenth anniversary, but also by the fact that recent years have brought deaths and losses close to the band members. There came a feeling that if you want to do something in life, you have to do it now.
The same idea can be heard in the album title. Äärirajan maisemissa refers to moments when the limits of life come close and many things fall into a new perspective. Still, Kesy does not want to dwell in gloom.
– We want to bring something into the world that makes people think, but just as much something that brings cheer and a good mood, Kina sums up.
– And since songs have to have some words in them, they may as well make sense, Juha Metelinen says.
Vinyl makes the album real
Äärirajan maisemissa will also be released on vinyl, and for Kesy the format is no side issue. Kina Unplugged says the band members probably belong to the generation for whom an album truly exists only once you can hold it in your hands.
– It’s almost like a sacred act when you put the record on and turn it over. You don’t consume it, you listen to it.
Vinyl suits a band whose way of working has a sense of craftsmanship in it anyway. There are no limousines or big machinery behind the band on gig trips. The musicians carry their own gear, wait around for soundchecks and spend time together.
Kesy is a band, but Kina prefers to speak of it as a creative unit rather than a strictly defined line-up. Over the years, there have been different musicians, guests and smaller versions around it. There has also been a more acoustic line-up called Kesytön. The current line-up features Kina Unplugged (vocals, guitar), Juha Metelinen (bass), Henri Keinänen (guitar), Matti Jortikka (vocals), Ville Haikonen (drums) and Jorge Ufonio (baritone horn and keyboards).
Kina Unplugged is Johanna Metelinen’s alter ego. The name began as a joke about both unplugged playing and the fact that she is the band’s only female member, the “quota woman”. According to her, the alter ego gives permission to bring out a certain side of herself — almost like permission to create. Even signing autographs is easier as Kina Unplugged.
Bands are born without being founded
In recent years, Kesy has played live roughly once a month. The band has also done small tours, performing in Jyväskylä, Tampere, Helsinki, Riihimäki, Oulu and Rovaniemi, among other places.
The members of Kesy do not make their living from music. Playing and performing is a hobby, but it is a hobby taken seriously. According to Kina, the best thing about being in the band is creating music. Juha Metelinen says the best thing is when the playing flows.
– And quite often these days, it does flow, Metelinen adds. Live experience has brought confidence.
A band is a demanding way of being together. You have to get along with different kinds of people, agree on things and also put up with bad jokes.
– And waiting around, Henri Keinänen adds.
Kina Unplugged thinks bands are not really founded. They happen, if they are going to happen.
Kesy was born on a Wednesday and stayed alive. Now it has its first album in hand.
Kesy’s Äärirajan maisemissa will be released tomorrow, 1 July 2026.