ARTS & LIFE | F E AT URE
For Love Not Money For Some Its Not All About Fame, but Doing What You Love for Those Who Love It By Mike Fox
W
hile record companies discuss algorithms rather than aptitude in 2022, one guitarist in Beijing continues to fly the flag for what it means to be a true artist. Finland’s Jukka Ahonen came to China in 2011 on a university exchange program. After learning Mandarin in Nanjing and then spending some time back home, the now 38-year-old returned to the Chinese capital in 2016 and has been getting by on his own sounds ever since. Now, he is a member of one of China’s most popular cover bands, Peking Floyd. And alongside his own personal ventures (which those in the industry know to be a complex form of non-mainstream guitar riffs with non-standard timeframes and mystical sounds), the Finn is composing music for hit Chinese feature-length films. On the way to Ahonen’s apartment, he sends us a message which reads; “If you haven’t gone down the hutong yet, could you pick me up a sandwich from the 7-11?” A small price to pay for the insightfulness to come. His small and cozy abode is a minimalist’s paradise. A tiny kitchen by the door is proceeded by a flight of stairs where a small hatch, resembling a child’s treehouse, leads to the rest of his space which is mainly filled with
18 |AUGUST 2022
All images via Jukka Ahonen
guitars, some in better condition than others. Those who know the long curlyhaired Ahonen understand he is as talented as he is egoless. The man is a laowai cult hero in Beijing’s music scene and although he’s not as financially stable as some of his hotel-performing cotemporaries, money can’t buy the feeling of watching an audience enjoy his creations. “I don’t care if people find my music alienating. There’s always somebody in the audience who loves it. If there are 100 people and five care, then that’s cool with me” he tells That’s. “I’ve turned down a lot of commercial gigs that just do cover sets. Some bands play at embassies and sometimes it’s just about which musicians are available. They practice once for a couple of hours and
end up butchering the songs. I want to play my own stuff. I tried playing in a house band for a week, but if you play every weekend in a hotel, you can never play your own music.” Ahonen has played every genre from punk to prog. These days he concentrates more on the latter. A unique, complex and layered brand of music, to the ear it sounds smooth, but the process is anything but. This ’purity over payment’ attitude has served Ahonen well so far and he certainly doesn’t believe that earning a living in more commercial and sophisticated environments is anything to be looked down upon. A regular appearance at a hotel or a bar can earn up to RMB20,000 per month, and that's not including the free food and drink.
