We interviewed our Music Content Producer, Markus, to find out how he combines his musician life with his work at Musopia.

How long have you worked at Musopia?

I started in the Spring of 2023, so one and a half years now.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?

I write and produce in-house songs to support the learning purposes of our apps. I’m also involved in the video side, lesson and exercise design, and music used in marketing—so basically, all things content.

What do you like best about working at Musopia?

The relaxed, friendly, and fun atmosphere. I was also able to set up a flexible working schedule so I could live my musician life on the side. 

What is your musical background?

I started playing drums when I was 10, and I picked up the saxophone and flute when I was 15. I’ve always played a little piano and composed many songs on the side. In the army band, my friends convinced me to apply to Sibelius Academy, where I graduated with a master’s in music technology in 2013. I’ve played hundreds of gigs in probably hundreds of line-ups, but nowadays, I lead my own jazz-rock/prog band called Utopianisti and am a member of Von Hertzen Brothers, Frank Zappa Memorial Pancake Breakfast and Njet Njet 9.

“Music is a higher form of communication and an outlet for emotions so powerful that it makes most other things in life seem pretty much redundant.”

Are there any other instruments you play?

I play saxophones, flutes, clarinets, drums, percussion, keyboards, and ukulele. I also took some lessons on the violin and in conducting. 

What kind of music do you listen to?

Anything from zeuhlcore to zydeco or cha cha cha to Cha Cha Cha. I love all kinds of music, but for favorites I like to dig deeper than the most commercial selection. Some of my favorite composers are Frank Zappa and Pekka Pohjola, whose influences can be heard in my Utopianisti project. 

How do you feel music makes the world a better place? 

It’s a higher form of communication and an outlet for emotions so powerful that it makes most other things in life seem pretty much redundant. 

“I love all kinds of music, but for favorites I like to dig deeper than the most commercial selection.”

What is the meaning of music in your life? 

See the previous answer. Also, I might play drums with a death metal band and the next day play sax in an opera singer’s Christmas concert, where the different audiences wouldn’t even call the other performance music. That’s awesome.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?

Radio Helsinki has a program called Kotibileet, which hits all my guilty pleasures and creates some new ones. I love it!

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?

Dark roast with oat milk. Coffee brands change, but only Elovena or Oddlygood oat milk qualify! 

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to get to play with many of my favorite bands, like Kingston Wall, Saimaa, WÖYH, Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha, Black Motor, of course, the Von Hertzen Brothers and Njet Njet 9, and I also get to play Zappa music with the excellent cover band Frank Zappa Memorial Pancake Breakfast. But to name a few, a flute battle with Ian Anderson, a drum battle with Tatsuya Yoshida or a free-form jam with French guitarist Marc Ducret would be something to dream about.

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Read the previous Music in My Life article.

The post Music in My Life: Meet Markus Pajakkala first appeared on Musopia Blog.

We sat down with Mirella, a graphic and mobile UI designer, and discovered what is most fascinating about designing mobile apps.

How long have you worked at Musopia?

I joined in June 2023, so it’s been about a year.

Why did you want to work for Musopia?

Musopia checked so many boxes for me that I just knew it would be a good fit. UI design at the intersection of music, education, and gamified apps? In an international, flat-hierarchy company that’s neither too small nor too big? Yes, please!

What is your prior work experience? 

I’ve worked as an illustrator for an e-learning startup, as a jack-of-all-trades Visual Designer for a climate foundation, and as a freelance animator and web designer before my current role. I also have some background in writing and journalism.

I’m still regularly staggered by how many talented, smart, and fun people Musopia has brought together.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?

I’m a UI designer on the live apps team. Lately, I’ve been working primarily with the Kala ukulele app, but I like to take on other tasks every now and then as a palette cleanser.

How have you been able to develop your skills as a mobile app designer in your current position?

The continuous iteration of the live apps and collaboration with talented team members have taught me a lot, especially since I’m relatively new to mobile app UI design. Pushing my professional boundaries has been both interesting and rewarding.

What is your most surprising learning outcome during the mobile app design process? 

It’s been fascinating to observe how users might interact with your prototype or design differently than you imagined they would. It’s always better to test than to assume. 

What is the starting point in your design process?

The starting point in my design process typically revolves around understanding the problem or goal that the design aims to address. Once I have a clear understanding of the context and purpose of the project, I move on to brainstorming and ideation, exploring different concepts and solutions. From there, I proceed to sketching, wireframing, and prototyping to visualize ideas and iterate on them. Ultimately, it’s about setting a solid foundation based on insights and objectives, which serves as the North Star to follow during the design journey.

Music is my companion in highs and lows, a booster when I need energy and a wind-down when I need to relax, and a time machine that brings me back to memories I would otherwise never remember so vividly.

What do you like best about your work?

Designing UI for our music apps is a perfect mix of problem-solving, creative freedom, and pixel-perfect attention to detail. It’s like getting to solve a puzzle that, when assembled correctly, rewards you with a better user experience and performance of the product. 

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?

The vision, the company culture, and the people. I’m still regularly staggered by how many talented, smart, and fun people Musopia has brought together. 

What is your musical background?

I’ve always loved listening to music, dancing, and singing, but I’ve never had any formal training. I picked up an acoustic guitar some time ago, though, and during my time in the company, I’ve found the joy of playing and singing with others instead of only in the shower.

What instruments do you play?

I have an electro-acoustic company guitar and random instruments like my kantele or my ocarina that I fiddle with for fun, but I mostly sing.  

What kind of music do you listen to?

Looking at my playlists, I hear a lot of indie electropop, alternative rock, and synthwave. Sprinkle in some folk metal, drum and bass, video game soundtracks, and ambient soundscapes, and the picture is somewhat accurate.

How do you feel music makes the world a better place?

Music resonates with people in a way that transcends language and amplifies emotions, making it feel almost magical. There’s something profoundly beautiful about how music connects people in ways that many other things can’t. 

What is the meaning of music in your life? 

It’s a soundtrack to my life, adding a dimension that’s difficult to imagine being without. Music is my companion in highs and lows, a booster when I need energy and a wind-down when I need to relax, and a time machine that brings me back to memories I would otherwise never remember so vividly.

Music resonates with people in a way that transcends language and amplifies emotions, making it feel almost magical. There’s something profoundly beautiful about how music connects people in ways that many other things can’t.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?

I refuse to feel guilty about any music I enjoy – embrace the cringe! That being said, something I probably wouldn’t play on a speaker first thing at a party with new people is ‘Life’ by E-Type. I definitely have a nostalgic soft spot for 90s Europop.

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?

I start my day with the office machine’s ‘special’ option, with oat milk. The most important part is that there’s a lot of it. None of us has figured out how ‘special’ coffee differs from regular coffee since they’re ground from the same extra dark beans, but I like it for the name, if nothing else.

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?

Jamming with Imogen Heap would be especially cool. She has motion-capturing wearable music tech gloves that work as a looper and control effects with hand gestures, and I want to try them!

Read the previous part of this series

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The post Music in My Life: Meet Mirella Baas first appeared on Musopia Blog.

We sat down with Lassi, Musopia’s talented Unity Developer in the New Apps Team, to find out why Musopia is such a great place to work from a developer’s perspective.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?
New Apps development. I do whatever our current app prototyping process needs, from building early prototypes to refining them for release, from testing apps on my own to running in-house testing sessions and documenting the results.

What is it like to work in a new apps team, and how is it different from the JustinGuitar and Kala Ukulele teams?
I’ve worked almost exclusively in the new apps team, so comparing it to the Justin and Kala teams is hard. Still, the main difference is that the Justin and Kala teams keep refining the same products to get better and better. In contrast, we make a lot more bold moves and need to be used to significant changes in direction and even give up on projects if it looks like there is something more important to work on instead.

What is most fun about your job?
Having to get up from the computer to get an instrument to test the latest thing I’ve been working on. 

How have you been able to develop your skills as a unity developer in your current position?
I came to Musopia from the game development world, and the way music apps are made is somewhat different, so getting back up to speed with the latest software development thinking has been very useful for me. Also, the company’s staggering amount of musical expertise has taught me a lot about making and playing music.

The company’s staggering amount of musical expertise has taught me a lot about making and playing music.

How does it feel like to sometimes “kill your babies”?
Over my studies and career, it has gone from painful to fun, which sounds horrible. But what I mean is that after making a few dozen games and apps, I’ve started to see that the best thing I can do for a project is to cut out everything I can, leaving just the very core of the experience. Then, I can start building on that. This applies to the type of prototyping work we are doing. If the core of the experience is not strong enough, it’s better to move on and find something more important to do. Of course, sometimes it would be nice to keep working on something fun. Still, if continuing can’t be supported with data or any other reasoning, it will probably end in heartbreak anyway, so it’s better to end it early.

What is your most surprising learning outcome during the new app development process? 
Like in any development and design work, it’s when users do something completely different from what you expect;  that you realize some of your assumptions weren’t based on anything real. To me, the most surprising and a bit frustrating are the ones where you think, “Okay, let’s just try the most obvious thing, but people will see right through it, and it probably won’t work”. And then it works incredibly well. And then, at other times, the obvious thing that everyone else is doing doesn’t work at all. So, the most surprising thing is repeatedly learning that you never know until you test something.

When creating new app concepts and ideas, what sparks or ignites those initial ideas? 
We have many creative people with varied musical interests and ideas, so we have built up quite a catalogue of ideas over the years. They come from every department, and we try to pick the best ones to develop further and test. Then, when we see user reactions in testing, we learn and come up with even more ideas to test. Most often, the spark is as simple as “I wish a musical app like this would exist” or “I have tested all the learn-to-XXX apps, and none of them worked for me.”

How do you evaluate the new app ideas? 
It depends on how far the prototypes get, but we do internal UX testing, use user testing platforms, release test builds into the world, and collect all sorts of data. We have some criteria per idea that we want to hit. Sometimes, it might be how the users feel during the experience, sometimes it’s how long users stick with the app, sometimes it’s how the data compares to other apps we have, and sometimes it’s just feeling like there’s some more we could still learn from the project.

What do you like best about working in Musopia?
I’ve always loved experimentation and music, and that’s the majority of my work, so there’s a lot to like. It’s also great to have a shared interest in music throughout the company and the facilities to make music. I’ve even given a bunch of drum lessons at the company studio, and that’s a joy that couldn’t happen in almost any other workplace.

I’ve always loved experimentation and music, and that’s the majority of my work, so there’s a lot to like. 

What is the meaning of music in your life? 
Music has always been a big part of my life. My parents have worked with music their whole lives. I’ve played in different bands for over 15 years, and even while writing this reply, I can count about half a dozen instruments around the apartment. Even in my sports and games activities, I always gravitate towards musical ones, so currently, I have multiple dance classes going on, and it’s pretty likely to spot me playing Beat Saber at the office after work. 

Do you play an instrument yourself?
Yeah, I’ve been playing drums since I was 11, and a few years back, I picked up bass. I even got to play it on stage at Musopia’s Peace & Love Music Festival. My current project in terms of music is learning to sing, but that is still relatively early.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?
The more I’ve learned about music, the less I’ve felt guilty about listening to any of it. So, I’d pick Spice Girls- Stop to choose something that would’ve embarrassed me ten years back. I learned to love the song while figuring out the saxophone and trumpet parts with our old party band. That song also opened my ears to many wonderful pop songs I would have disregarded before.

Read the previous part of this series

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The post Music In My Life: Meet Lassi Vapaakallio first appeared on Musopia Blog.

Topi Löppönen, CEO of Musopia, hits the gong and opens the Musopia Peace & Love Festival with an impressive sound. The first band is about to take the stage: Los Musopatos! 

“Musopian Rhapsody”,  one of the hit songs composed by Markus Pajakkala, Musopia´s in-house music composer, sounds phenomenal.

This year – well, 2023, to be precise – we at Musopia decided to reinvent the concept of a traditional company Christmas party and do something completely different yet true to our style. This aim resulted in us renting the legendary Semifinal rock venue in the heart of Helsinki and throwing a full-blown festival with seven bands consisting of the amazingly talented Musopia team members, who are working as mobile developers, UX and UI designers and data analysts as they day job.

We asked Paula Lehto, CMO and co-founder of Musopia, what the initial idea behind the Peace & Love Festival was and what inspired her to come up with the concept. “Musopians are great music lovers, and many of them are, in fact,  professional or hobbyist musicians. We wanted to celebrate that talent with our team, friends, and long-time partners. Also, I have wanted to organize a festival in the Semifinal Rock Bar for a long time, since pre-covid times”, she explains.

And indeed, finding performers in-house wasn’t a challenge.  “Most of the bands, “Los Musopatos”, “Musallica”, “Paris Lunchbox”, and “Divas”, are in-house bands, combinations of Musopians. Then we had “Kopra” and “Bon Anjovis” as guest stars; their members are also part of the extended Musopia family.”

“All the bands were fantastic; I´m super proud of all of them. It was great to see new sides of your colleagues and how they turned into talented musicians! One heartwarming thing was seeing how we supported one another in making it all happen”, Paula says with great enthusiasm.

“Musopians are great music lovers, and many of them are professional or hobbyist musicians as well. We wanted to celebrate that talent with our team, friends, and long-time partners.”

Support was truly there at every stage and at every step of the way, from organizing to performing. Paula gives special thanks to Tuomas Valtonen, a fellow Musopian, for his input. “I was fortunate to have someone like Tuomas as a stage manager, who can handle all the stage and tech-related parts of the project.” 

Tuomas also agrees that cooperation was vital in organizing the event and managing the stage. He shares the view that the evening was a highly enjoyable experience. “The best part is when all the planning is finally done, the stage is set, and the first band kicks in. You can take a breather, soak in the vibe, and watch people having a blast. That moment when all the hard work pays off – that’s the real highlight. I mean, who doesn’t love live music? Being a part of that is still the coolest thing ever.”

Although Tuomas already had several years of experience setting up music events, the experience was the first for Paula. “I have never organized a music event before at this scale. We have had jams in the office, but not in an outside venue. This was a super interesting  learning experience for me.”

Mirella Baas, UI Designer and the singer of Paris Lunchbox, agrees with Paula. “It was so much fun! It was my first time on a stage, and to be honest, I was very nervous at first. The good atmosphere, coworkers’ support, and the great gigs before ours helped me relax, though.” 

“Singing and playing in a band has been a long-time dream of mine, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to challenge myself. I’m glad I did”, she continues.

Ending up in a workplace that allows you to combine your software development profession with your passion, music, isn’t given in the business world. This is why Musopia’s way of enabling its team members to enjoy music on both levels is noteworthy. 

Indeed, the in-house bands are usually formed at work. “Ours was born during a coffee break, and I suppose it’s similar for most of the other bands. When someone needs a specific instrument for their group, they ask around in Slack or at the office, and the right people bundle together organically. It’s impressive how many multi-talented colleagues I have”, Mirella explains.

“Ending up in a workplace that allows you to combine your profession with your passion isn’t given in the business world.”

Needless to say, she enjoyed the evening as well. “There’s a very primal level of enjoyment in creating music together, and that’s what it ultimately boils down to. It would be fun to continue playing together with our band in the future.”

When we asked Paula if she would like to organize a similar event again, it proved not to be tough to answer. “We love to organize different kinds of events for the team!  For example, it´s great to do something fun after an intensive strategy planning day. I guess it is a mode of “work hard, play hard” for us Musopians.”

“I loved to see how the event affected the atmosphere at work and the whole team,” she continues. “There were many happy and relieved people at the office after the Peace & Love Festival. Happy because everyone had such a blast, and relieved as it also required much attention and energy to pull it all together.  Personally, I was flying 15 cm above the ground just for being so impressed by the Peace & Love vibe!”

Read more about the happenings at Musopia:
Exploring the Harmony: Inside Musopia’s Music Room Setup
Building an Inspirational (Sound Proof) Space Inside a Thriving Office

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The post Musopia Peace and Love Music Festival – Work Hard and Play Hard first appeared on Musopia Blog.

We sat down with Levent, mobile developer and Team Lead of the Kala Ukulele App and found out why Musopia is a great place to work from a developer’s point of view.

How long have you worked at Musopia?
I joined in October 2021, so it’s been two years already.

Why did you want to work for Musopia?
I had long wanted to work for an international company, and Musopia caught my eye. And especially after seeing the music tech connection, I knew I just had to get the job.

Where have you worked before Musopia?
My first job in software was at Sanlab, a Turkish company manufacturing Training Simulators and Motion Platforms. Then, I worked at RestPlay making mobile casino games for about two years.

What do you like best about working at Musopia?
Oh, there are many great things: the hybrid working system, work-life balance, and flat hierarchy, to name a few. The office music studio is also a major plus; we can, at any time, just go in and jam!

Making music is one of the biggest drivers for me. It’s one of the few things in life that offers such long-term gratification.

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?
It’s got to be the people. We have grown a lot in recent years since I joined and acquired the best talent around.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?
I am the Team Lead of our Kala Ukulele App. I get to plan and develop our roadmap, and I am responsible for implementing and releasing new features and enhancements. My core specialization is building UI elements and other user-facing features that feel responsive and satisfying.

How have you been able to develop your skills at Musopia?
I came from a game development background, and there were a lot of differences to the work here at Musopia, especially when it comes to live-ops. We do a lot of remote content management, which has been very interesting to learn about.

How would you describe the atmosphere and interactions among developers?
It’s pretty chill. There isn’t a strong top-down hierarchy, and everyone is free to speak their mind and contribute to anything. This was pretty cool for me, especially since I come from a country with more strict social roles, so it was really easing my mind to be able to just hang out on a first-name basis with anyone in the company, including our CEO. Overall, it’s a very respectful atmosphere where everyone’s ideas are valued.

Do you work independently or interact a lot with other developers?
I would say that it’s a bit of both. There can be a lot of interaction when working on a project together or when you need to ask for help from someone who knows it better, and there are also smaller things that you just develop by yourself. The practical coding itself is usually individual work, but it tends to happen after discussions to find solutions. If I get stuck somewhere or don’t know which is the best way to proceed, I’ll for sure ask someone who knows better than I do. And if it’s a task I’m very familiar with, I’ll go the route of legendary F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen: “Leave me alone; I know what I’m doing”.

How do you come up with the workflow?
It’s very collaborative. Usually, we’ll talk about the task and discuss the goals, requirements, UI/UX design and the specific tech we’re building as we’re starting it. If everything is clear, a developer can start working on it without needing too much further communication. We work on a scrum-like basis, and at the start of each sprint, we’ll divide the tasks based on priorities and the individual developer’s experience and interest. Some tasks, especially those that require cross-team collaboration, will involve more frequent interaction. Our company policy is to work on hybrid working mode, on average two days from the office, so sometimes communication happens face-to-face, and if not, we stick to our digital communication channels. 

If it’s a task I’m very familiar with, I’ll go the route of legendary F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen: “Leave me alone; I know what I’m doing”.

What is your musical background?
I started playing the classical guitar when I was twelve and moved on to electric guitar a few years later. I played with some friends in a high school band, playing songs we liked for fun, and eventually composed a few songs ourselves. I also got into electronic music production and made some game music. I’ve started writing music again after moving to Finland, and recently, I’ve bought a lyre harp, so I’m currently learning that and incorporating it into my compositions.

Do you play any other instruments?
The guitar is still my ‘main’ instrument, although I’ve also picked up the bass and drums over the years.

What kind of music do you listen to?
These days, I mostly listen to various subgenres of metal, mainly Folk Metal, Power Metal, and a bit of Black Metal.

How do you feel music makes the world a better place?
It’s impossible to say since I cannot compare it to a world without music.

It’s a very respectful atmosphere where everyone’s ideas are valued.

What is the meaning of music in your life?
Making music is one of the biggest drivers for me. It’s one of the few things in life that offers such long-term gratification.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?
I don’t get guilty pleasure in music – if I like it, I like it. I haven’t felt the need to keep any songs I love secret.

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?
Any kind that I can get my hands on. I’m not a picky person when it comes to coffee. And sometimes, I’ll enjoy a cup of tea instead.

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?
I’ll go with Thanasis Lightbridge, the musician behind projects Dol Ammad, Dol Theeta, and Dol Kruug. I adore everything he has made, so to jam with him would be great. Oh, and here’s another perk of working at Musopia: At last year’s Musopia Slush party, I played with Justin Sandercoe! One famous name down, and many more to go

Read the previous part of this series

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The post Music in My Life: Meet Levent Parmaksızoğlu first appeared on Musopia Blog.

How long have you worked at Musopia?
Since September 2022, so I’m still a newcomer.

Why did you want to work for Musopia?
In the summer of 2022, I was forced to look for a job after layoffs at my previous company. With my ex-coworkers, we cooperated to search and recommend suitable positions to each other, and Musopia was one of the recommendations for me. Plus, I was fed up working for hyper casual mobile games and wanted to try something different yet related to the Unity game engine. Musopia was, therefore, a perfect fit for me!

Where have you worked before Musopia?
I worked at Seriously Entertainment on the game Best Fiends, and before that, at a
Belarusian game studio called Belka games, testing three of their mobile games.

What do you like best about working at Musopia?
Mainly it’s the company vision; the idea of making the world more musically inclined in an
entertaining, gamifying way really speaks to me. And, of course, the company culture. I
enjoy working with like-minded people, experiencing transparency and encouragement in every discussion, and I value a goal-oriented approach. Good riddance of red tape! No surprise that for the first time in my life, I am glad it’s Monday and time to go to work!

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?
The strengths are similar to what I like best about working here — a perfect combination of a great product and a startup mindset. The company is stable and keeps growing steadily, constantly exploring new ideas but keeping its mission within the scope.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?
I am responsible for the quality of our apps in production, development, and website. Anything our users interact with has to be tested by me first, and my focus is on finding flaws before anyone else does. Be it new features for learning how to play an instrument, music content or LiveOps-related stuff like in-app messaging and purchasing.

I don’t know anything more universal in the world than music. Almost everyone likes to
listen to it and wants to encounter new things.

How have you been able to develop your skills at Musopia?
As I am relatively new to the company, I am learning a lot about its flagship products, trying
to follow the same path our users have to walk to learn an instrument. I believe it’s the best
way to come across errors and get improvement ideas. It inspired me to look back and brush
up on my language skills related to music theory, particularly in English, as I am used to a different terminology. At the same time, I am developing testing documentation, embedding software testing lifecycle into the development cycle and doing many other challenging yet exciting things.

What is your musical background?
I come from a musical family. My grandmother was a huge opera fan and befriended the great singer Nadezhda Obukhova. Both my aunts were piano teachers, and my mother plays the piano very well, as do all my cousins. As you can see, I had no choice but to continue the tradition. I started my formal training at 6 when I was accepted to the local music school and continued my studies till high school. I managed to write a few songs of my own, but poetry and other forms of creative writing attracted me more, so later on, I focused on writing lyrics.

Do you play an instrument?
The piano used to be my main instrument, and the second was my voice as I sang in the choir during my school years. As mentioned above, I quit playing long ago because I didn’t find it rewarding enough; besides, I was never free to choose my repertoire. Nowadays, things are very different, and I can learn anything I want at my own pace without grades and public concerts.

What kind of music do you listen to?
I am versatile, and my collection of 1700 songs includes almost every genre and
style to match my current mood or, on the contrary, to change it entirely by mentally
sending me to another dimension. But according to my Spotify wrap, in 2022, I mostly
listened to heavy metal, atmospheric black metal, indie and Latin rock, world music and hard
blues. Anything with a hard bass or general badass sound makes me jump right in! I also always remember classical music, which I listened to and played throughout my
childhood. Every time I visit my hometown, I must attend a symphony concert at
one of our numerous festivals.

How do you feel music makes the world a better place?
I don’t know anything more universal in the world than music. Almost everyone likes to
listen to it and wants to encounter new things. Music, for me, is the best way to learn one’s culture and express my emotions and thoughts. When nothing else helps, when all hope is gone, and a misunderstanding between you and someone is overwhelming, talk to them in the language of music. Their heart will answer even if their mind is silent.

What is the meaning of music in your life?
The idea of communicating through music with people I have met (thanks to the internet) worldwide led me to create a playlist with songs from over 100 countries, in different languages, belonging to various genres from different eras. Each piece is someone’s story—Sung in their native language, creating a unique atmosphere and feelings. I spent many hours exploring the songs’ history, lyrics, and social background. That’s just one example of how much music means to me.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?
I don’t really feel guilty about listening to anything I like, but perhaps it could be a
chanson that is rooted in prison life and criminal culture, as it is the last thing you think I would listen to, like the song Kolschik by Michail Krug.

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?
If I don’t have time to brew coffee, I prefer Japanese drip coffee brands like UCC and AGF. But when I have enough time for filtered coffee rituals, I choose something from my Vietnamese collection: Mocca by Trung Nguyen or Phuong Vy. Thanks to my Vietnamese friends and ex-colleagues, I can try local brands not for sale anywhere else, like a signature coffee by Himiko Nguyen from her Visual Cafe – the first alternative art space in Hồ Chí Minh.

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?
Those who inspired my artistic side and became my inspiration and reference point: Chris
Corner – for electronic experiments and confessional lyricism, bringing up mental health topics and the music industry vices. I also want to mention Edmund Shklyarskiy – a musician and an artist who manages to create masterpieces even after 40 years on stage and knows how to sing about love without using that word.

Read the previous part where we got to know George Ingledew, Musopia’s Customer Success & Marketing Executive.

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The post Music in My Life: Meet Anna Morozova first appeared on Musopia Blog.

How long have you worked at Musopia?

I started working for Musopia in April 2022 so I’m still very much a new face in the company!

Why did you want to work for Musopia?

I’ve always been very passionate about music and from an early age I knew that I wanted to pursue music as a career. When I saw the job advert for Musopia posted, I had no hesitation in applying. After learning more about the company and its goals I was smitten and knew this was a dream opportunity! 

What do you like best about working at Musopia?

The People! Everybody at Musopia is incredibly welcoming, knowledgeable and a pleasure to be around. I also love that I get to travel a few times throughout the year to Finland. I had never been to Finland before joining Musopia and it now holds a special place in my heart – even if it is a bit colder than London! 

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?

The different characters in the team, the overall company vision and the desire to get everyone playing music! 

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?

My role at Musopia is a hybrid role, where I have two key responsibilities. The first is that I am responsible for all things customer success for our live apps- That means helping customers with queries, understanding what our customers want to see in our apps and reporting on potential bugs. The second responsibility is influencer marketing which includes targeting influencers, negotiating deals with them and managing the deals once they are in place.

Music can make a bad day turn into a good day, it is incredibly powerful in influencing emotions and getting together for live music is one of the best things in life! 

How have you been able to develop your skills at Musopia?

Prior to joining Musopia, I would have said that I was tech-savvy but since joining Musopia I have developed many new tech skills and I feel I now have a real understanding of how apps are developed and managed which translates to all other apps too. My main skill development has been in influencer marketing though. I had never delved into influencer marketing before joining Musopia and after ten months in the role I have learnt a vast amount of information about the wonderful influencer world, social media platforms and how key they are to marketing in the present age. 

What is your musical background?

I’ve always had music in my life from a young age and I couldn’t live without it! Growing up I’d listen to my dad playing Led Zeppelin, Rush and Black Sabbath records relentlessly and this made me want to become a rockstar. When I was eight years old I began to learn how to play bass guitar. I had a few face-to-face lessons before teaching myself through Youtube videos watching the greats. When I was about twelve I moved on to electric guitar but I’ve always said that I am a bass player at heart. I’ve been in multiple bands over the years but my most successful band was called Safe to Swim when I was at university studying music production. 

What kind of music do you listen to?

The hardest question for any musician but I’ll give it a go! My friends would know me as the guy that mainly listens to UK indie music but I’m a big fan of many different styles of music ranging from metal, blues, and pop. At the moment I’m listening to lots of soul music like Sly & The Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield and Amy Winehouse because of the funky basslines!

How do you feel music makes the world a better place?

Music is essential to humans, I am yet to meet someone that does not listen to music or enjoy any kind of form of music. Music can make a bad day turn into a good day, it is incredibly powerful in influencing emotions and getting together for live music is one of the best things in life! 

What is the meaning of music in your life?

Music is everything to me! I would not be the person I am today without music because it means so much to me and has influenced most of my life decisions since such a young age. I’ve always got a song in my head and I’m the annoying person that can never sit still or stop tapping because of it – apologies to everyone who has ever met me and apologies in advance if you are yet to meet me! 

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?

I have two guilty pleasure songs and I think my fellow Musopians already know the answers following my karaoke performances at our recent Christmas party.

1. Britney Spears – Toxic
2. Shakira – Waka Waka
   

Both banging tunes that will survive the test of time! 

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?

Coffee is almost as essential as music for me in the morning and at the moment I am really enjoying South Indian coffee that I brew in a French press at home!  

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if it were possible?

Again a very tricky question for a musician, so I’ll make my dream band to jam with! I may end up on tambourine with these legends though!

Drums: Travis Barker – Blink 182

Bass Guitar: Larry Graham – Sly & The Family Stone

Rhythm Guitar: John Frusciante – Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Lead Guitar: Jimmy Page – Led Zeppelin 

Vocals: Britney Howard – Alabama Shakes

Read the previous parts of Music in My Life:

Tuomas Valtonen

Antti Rajala

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How long have you worked at Musopia?

I started consulting Musopia as a freelancer back in 2012. In June 2021 I became a steady member of the team.

Why did you want to work for Musopia?

I was drawn to the company’s mission and values early on. I think Musopia is still on the very same journey as back then – providing people with fun and easy ways to play and engage with music.

Where have you worked before Musopia?

I started as a freelance musician, guitar teacher, arranger, and composer back in 2001. I could say, my guitars have seen an awful lot of string bending to this date.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?

I’m responsible for curating and producing all the music and playing instructions that get into our apps. I also contribute to the development of our new apps.

What do you like best about working at Musopia?

I like the company culture, open discussions, and the curious mindset we ‘‘Musopaths’ have.

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?

It’s the people working here, all the Musopaths. It continues to amaze me, how people with various backgrounds come together to build these amazing apps. 

I think music can provide us with a better world if we measure it by people connecting and sharing common interests.

How have you been able to develop your skills at Musopia?

Working for Musopia has challenged me to develop a handful of new tech skills. I have, for example, picked up a couple of scripting languages for automating the more mundane bits of daily work.

What is your musical background?

My grandad donated his old organ when I was 5 years old. That was the instrument I first learned to play, with stickers attached to the keys, which helped me find the right notes. A few years later, I applied to the local music school and started to learn classical guitar. I was pretty serious about classical guitar studies for a long time, but then other musical passions came along as well. Somehow I always knew I wanted a career in music one way or the other –  even if it didn’t mean being an actual musician. So, I ended up doing my Master’s Degree in Musicology at the University of Helsinki. 

Do you play an instrument yourself?

I play various plucked string instruments: steel string, nylon string, and electric guitar, as well as ukulele and bass. I’m also quite comfortable playing the piano or any other keyboard instrument you throw at me. 

What kind of music do you listen to?

It depends on the mood and situation I guess. Lately, I’ve been listening to contemporary singer-songwriter stuff. Among the classical composers, Bach has been my go-to composer for a long time now. Also, all rock and pop music composed before the 2000’s holds a special place in my heart.

How do you feel music makes the world a better place?

That’s a big question. Music has the power to form so-called neo-tribes. People around the world might share a common interest in some artist or music genre and develop a deep common knowledge and cultural activity around it. We, humans, are social beings to the bone and want to belong to and be accepted in the community. Our physical and mental well-being depends on it. So, all things considered, I think music can provide us with a better world if we measure it by people connecting and sharing common interests.

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?

Let’s say that I do raise the volume when I hear “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston on the radio, but I don’t feel any guilt when doing so.

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?

My work day morning starts with a quick caffè latte at home, before I take my kids to daycare. 

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?

If I had to pick only one, then Stevie Wonder. He’s a legend and his versatility as a musician is just mind-blowing. You could jam with him for hours and hours, change instruments, and have a session of a lifetime.

Read the first part of this series and get to know Tuomas Valtonen.

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The post Music in My Life: Meet Antti Rajala first appeared on Musopia Blog.

How long have you worked at Musopia?

Since 2017 so little over 5 years now.

Why did you want to work for Musopia?

I was a bit burned out by my freelance work and Musopia seemed like a dream come true compilation of my interests. So I kinda jumped the gun immediately after seeing a position available that suited my talents. 

Where have you worked before Musopia?

I was doing mostly freelance audio engineering and session and live replacement musician stuff. Here and there I had shorter jobs at various establishments. Like at the Finnish broadcast networks tech department handling production unit inventory.

What is your area of responsibility at Musopia?

Right now I’m a bit split by two things: I’m the guy who is responsible that the app is getting all the music data it needs once our productions are finished. Secondly, I do growth initiates which means handling tech requirements and practical implementation of anything related to in-app messaging and purchasing.

What do you like best about working at Musopia?

The list is way too long for me to mention everything in this interview, but picking just one ain’t easy either! I’d say for me it has to be the company culture. I never imagined feeling so at home at any office, but I love the friendly banter with like-minded people with whom I share not just the passion for music but also many other aspects considering the app, games, and music in general, to name a few.

What do you think are Musopia’s strengths?

We’ve maintained things pretty grounded. Startup and software companies tend to have this buzz going on that sometimes overshadows the actual doing. We’ve acquired the best people and grown as a company in recent years and somehow kept the can-do attitude without falling into the hype train or deviating from our core competence.

For me, music is the language of emotions. With the help of music, I can store memories, release stress, and induce any feeling I want.

How have you been able to develop your skills at Musopia?

Well, I was thrown straight to the deep end at the start of my career at Musopia when one of the senior programmers left to pursue other options. So, I had to learn a few new languages and jump from a trial period to maintain our two flagship products overnight. I love the challenge and my recent assignment has allowed me to also learn backend development which was kinda the last thing I thought I’d do but here I am enjoying the new challenges.

What is your musical background?

I started classical singing at the age of 8 when I joined the Cantores Minores music school and continued my training throughout the years. I’ve been singing in some of the most prestigious choirs in Finland over the years and have been performing with various pop, rock, and metal ensembles as well. At High school, I took interest in the technical side of music, and in recent years I’ve slowly transitioned from a performing musician to operating the mixing console.

Do you play an instrument?

My voice is my main instrument for sure, but I can play most of the band instruments on a level good enough that I can write for them and arrange their pieces, but you would never see me on the stage playing the piano in front of a bunch of people, for example.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Basically anything except SoundCloud rappers that I consider as mumble rap, but I have a sweet spot for 80’s metal. In recent years Ghost has grown to have a remarkable influence on me. They sound old and yet modern at the same time. I’ve also dipped into electronic music but my taste is still a bit picky on those tunes since I tend to love more organic music played with real analog gear and not to a click track. Maybe that’s why Ozric Tentacles and older Kraftwerk warm my heart since they are combining the electric components in a way that sounds natural to my taste. I also really enjoy some Deadmau5 with his full room of analog synths. I need to mention classical music as well. I grew up with Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Bach, but on a more modern note, all choir geeks need to mention Eric Whitacre, don’t they? But when it’s about tonal music and beautiful lush chords and I’m game!

How do you feel music makes the world a better place? 

For me, music is the language of emotions. With the help of music, I can store memories, release stress, and induce any feeling I want. It is a healing force that everybody should be able to enjoy and also make if they so desire.

What is the meaning of music in your life? 

I live through it. Music is my best friend and my lover. 

What is your guilty pleasure song, the song that you secretly love?

I have to say Heath Hunter’s Revolution in Paradise. It was my second CD ever, I think. I bought it during a trip to our cottage back in -96 and had only that in my brand new Walkman and it just stuck with me ever since.

What kind of coffee do you start your working day with?

If I brew it myself, my favorite is a large cup of some washed bean light roast. If I however get my morning coffee from a coffee shop, I opt for a Triple Latte to go. However, if you see me walking with a cup of coffee from a coffee shop you know that I’m most likely running late from somewhere since I had to get my coffee from a coffee shop instead of brewing it myself.

Which famous musician would you like to jam with, if possible?

Right now Victor Wooten… but all in all I’d say, Stevie Wonder. He is just so inspiring and positive and I simply love his music.

Get to know our Head of Content & Learning, Antti Rajala.

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The post Music in My Life: Meet Tuomas Valtonen first appeared on Musopia Blog.