Architecture In Helsinki

Formed from the ashes of the late 90’s teen-grunge funk band The Pixel Mittens, the three core members of the garage band -Cameron Bird, Jamie Mildren and Sam Perry decided that Led Zeppelin and Primus just weren’t doing it for them anymore, and neither was rural Australia. So it was off to Melbourne, Fitzroy being their city of choice. After a crash course in guitar from a room mate Bird’s new musical direction would see him start to delve into the art of pop.

It was now that the first remnants of Architecture In Helsinki were stirring. After a few half-hearted shows here and there with his cohorts around the Melbourne scene, it was time to go into creative hibernation and time to find some similar minded musicians. AIH solidified in 2000 (when Bird bought his first electric guitar) and met future AIH drummer James Cecil in a late night video editing suite in art school. Before long Kellie Sutherland was recruited as clarinet player after a chance meeting at a party thus forming the main crew of Architecture In Helsinki.

As Cecil’s DIY studio 'Supermelodyworld' was nearing completion in a massive church hall in the south east side of Melbourne, the bands debut album ‘Fingers Crossed’ was being meticulously sculpted, yet due to a holiday in US on Bird’s part the new aesthetic that would be 2.5 minute pop songs was favoured, rather than the 8 minute epics that the band were intending to put out, it was songs such as "Like a Call," "To and Fro" and "Where You've Been Hiding," that were saved from the cut, yet the rest of their first attempt would never see the light of day. It was these little emotive, shimmery and sharp little ditties that the band was all about now. It was the recruitment of The Rhinestone Horns - Tara Shackell, Isobel Knowles and Gus Franklin that would complete the bands pop assault all of which would go on to play on both AIH albums. Now with their weapons of choice being instruments as diverse as analog synths and samplers, glockenspiel, tuba, clarinet, and recorder not to mention the god ol’ drums bass and guitar Architecture In Helsinki cement themselves as a pop force to be reckoned with.

Discography
In Case We Die – 2005 (MOSHIMOSHI)
Fingers Crossed – 2002 (Barnone)