Paavo Siljamäki Dives Deep Into P.O.S Alias

Seeking an outlet for music and feelings that aren’t quite Above & Beyond, Paavo Siljamäki revives his P.O.S alias with renewed passion.

The pandemic changed us all, some in profound ways, some in smaller ways, but it changed us nonetheless. For Paavo Siljamäki, one-third of Above & Beyond, those years rekindled a smoldering feeling that he had more music to give to the world. He has not been shy about his struggles with mental fitness and has been seeking ways to connect with people and spark more conversations. For 2023, a focus of that desire will be through his solo alias P.O.S, the forthcoming debut album Deeper Tales, and the accompanying tour.

Fresh off shows in Los Angeles and Miami, we sat down with Paavo Siljamäki before he took the stage at Elsewhere in Brooklyn to learn more about the P.O.S project. I would be remiss if I didn’t share that Paavo is every bit as warm, smart, engaging, and funny in person as he appears in his stage persona with Above & Beyond. Talking to him was a blessing as he has so much to share ranging from depression and darkness to community and joy. Most importantly, he doesn’t shy away from any emotions and works hard to channel the extremes into art and growth. The Deeper Tales album art, consisting of flowers growing from a broken rock, perfectly captures his belief that everything can be reborn and grow beautifully if given the chance.

Paavo talked about how much fun he’s having on the Deeper Tales tour because he’s playing in smaller venues and closer to the fans. He’s constantly testing and teasing new material and using the intimate setting to guide his creative process. When he plays new music, he looks to the crowd for the validating smiles that indicate when he’s got it right. But, in the moments when the crowd doesn’t provide that validation, there’s much to learn, and it’s all part of the process. This is where a seasoned producer stands out from the crowd – in taking live performance feedback, good or bad, and using it to hone in on the best possible music to release.

Deeper Tales will be released on April 21, and you can pre-save or pre-order it now. Check out the live performance of the recently released “Let You Go” and read on for the complete interview!

Stream P.O.S – Let You Go on YouTube:

Welcome back to Brooklyn! How does it feel to be performing solo in a smaller club when Above & Beyond fills stadiums and even once performed for an audience of a million people?

Thank you for coming to see me! I feel like I was just here in Brooklyn. With Above & Beyond, we have a bunch of songs that people know really well. I remember, after COVID, it was so amazing to go back on the road and play the songs we know. There’s this collective thing that these songs create, and it was cathartic after COVID.

I don’t think it’s been any secret that I had serious burnout that I was working on at that time. I was in nature, allowing some healing and working on myself through yoga and ambient music, like Flow State. During this time, I was really doubting my abilities as a dance music producer. Then I started clubbing again and falling in love with club culture and music all over again. I began to get reinspired to make more dance music, but what was coming out was quite deep. I was wondering what to do with this music because it didn’t sound like anything we could play on the main stage at EDC as Above & Beyond.

I finally realized that it’s really good for me just to experiment and keep doing stuff without worrying about results or what it means. And that’s where bringing back the P.O.S alias comes into play. Above & Beyond has so many songs that people know and love – at A&B gigs, it’s lovely to play them. So it’s been amazing to have the possibility to play P.O.S gigs where I’ll be playing over 28 new tracks, and people haven’t heard more than 4-5 of them before.

And then you’re looking for the smiles…

Yes, I’m looking for those smiles! I realized that this allows me to see what’s working, what’s not, and why certain things do or don’t. When people don’t know a track but they are on the dance floor and in the moment with me experiencing these tracks, that’s when I learn the most.

I’ve been making different kinds of arrangements and trying different kinds of tracks. So, the first week of this tour was really eye-opening with some tracks that I’d done. I thought they were really light, and then I play them in a club, and they’re really heavy, and vice versa. It’s just been a fantastic process.

Because of the work with Jono and Tony that I’ve done over the years, I have the opportunity to play to audiences that are along for the ride. We’ve earned their trust, and now I can go and experiment with them. It’s been really, really exciting!

P.O.S @ Elsewhere, Brooklyn | Photo Credit: Luis Nieto Dickens

In 2019 I saw Above & Beyond at Ushuaia and then returned to NYC for the Wednesday morning yoga and sober dance party where you debuted Flow State. It was a Brooklyn hotel rooftop, and I couldn’t imagine a better setting for that music and activity! Is there a spiritual connection between Flow State and what the P.O.S alias represents today?

Flow State isn’t something that came out of a plan, and neither is P.O.S – these are just things that happen as I evolve as a person and as a musician. We’re actually working on new stuff with Elena (Brower), and I’m going to see her tomorrow in Santa Fe. So there’s more Flow State happening, there’s more Above & Beyond stuff happening, and there’s more P.O.S stuff happening. And they’re all connected through me.

The latest P.O.S releases have beautiful atmospheres and luscious synths while also including tribal sounds and chants. Can you talk a little about these sounds and how this leads up to Deeper Tales as an LP?

Along with Johana, I’ve been traveling a lot over the last two years, feeling like we’re nomads and going all over the place. I’ve been trying to listen to as many different kinds of music along the way. Recently I started focusing on dance music which we tend to think of only as electronic dance music. But dance music goes back to the beginning of human existence. For millions of years, people have always danced, and there has always been dance music, and often it’s very percussive. A lot of tribal music is very percussive. I’ve felt that this works so well with electronic music, so I’ve just been bringing Inspiration from all of this.

I do a lot of sailing as well, and I was in Guadalupe in the French Caribbean around the time of Carnival. I was listening to the local Caribbean music relating to Carnival, and it’s clearly proper party music with drum lines and a tempo that is similar to electronic music. It has such energy!

It feels natural for me to go back to the boat and then make a track and try to bring in that same sort of vibe. I’m gonna play a track that I did in the Caribbean tonight. I just love channeling whatever is around and trying to put it into dance music.

Your music has, in various forms, inspired the community and helped fans cope with challenging mental fitness to use your term. Do you acknowledge and appreciate that you have impacted your fans like this by speaking openly and giving them emotional music and community as a lifeline?

Of course, yes, I do. Maybe some of the things I’ve done could help someone else, but I’ve always felt like everybody does their own work in the end. I’ve heard so many incredible stories from people, from our fans, but I feel like they are thanking us too much for this because they are actually there doing the work and going through these difficult things in life.

I’ve realized when I’ve been having my own struggles, people have come to help me, you know? So it’s almost as if we’ve helped people and now they are helping us too. So it goes both ways, and I think that it’s been really humbling and nice to see how nice people have been understanding when it hasn’t been easy.

We certainly enjoyed your Twitch piano sets and sharing as you worked through some of those moments.

And that’s just it; working through it together can be so helpful!

P.O.S @ Elsewhere, Brooklyn | Photo Credit: Luis Nieto Dickens

Late last year, I was a lifeline to someone I met virtually as they struggled with depression and suicide. I recently met them IRL in a chance meetup at a club. They said, “Because of you, I’m at this club for the first time, and because you are here tonight, I feel safe!” I can’t even describe how good that felt! You’ve encouraged more conversations – any suggestions to keep those conversations going? So we can all have more stories like this?

Every person is going through things, and I feel like clubbing has always been the place to fit in and be accepted. I certainly felt like this when I was growing up. I didn’t really fit in and felt as though I was a bit weird or different. But when I got to the club, I felt like everything was going to be alright. As long as I’m nice to people and approach everything with respect, everything will be fine. I think we should all be grateful that this kind of proper clubbing spirit is still alive out there. And especially for people going through things. You know, difficult changes and stuff. It’s a great place to be and a great place to start conversations.

There’s also the mental fitness of you and your collaborators. You once mentioned the pressure you were feeling around a new album and then an O2 Arena show. While you saw the tension you and your bandmates were feeling, you also had the sense to say, “We’ve got to work this out ’cause we’ve got a good thing going here!” How do you remain grounded enough to have that realization?

We started in 1999, and I’ve been through so much together with Jono and Tony. Each of us has gone through, you know, life! [Laughs] Whenever it’s been difficult, we’ve always come out of it thinking there’s so much good we can do that brings people together. Even if it’s difficult, and that’s just the thing. I think we’re just in a pretty lucky situation. After these P.O.S shows we’ll be flying off to play Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan as well. I feel like we’re just so lucky to have all of this!

Aside from getting proper sleep, what’s your favorite thing to do while on a multi-city tour to keep you grounded and sane?

When we’re touring, so much of it is about making music. I travel with my own studio now. I also enjoy great meals and meeting a lot of friends. But also, when I’m not on tour, we’ve been doing a lot of sailing, and for me, that’s been really important. Getting out in nature and going beyond the 4G network range every now and then. I find that nature is just the perfect way to balance things out for me.

P.O.S may be your initials, but why leave off the last period?

It just looks better! [Laughs] But really, I’ve had so much fun with P.O.S because it can mean so many things. It can mean piece of shit, point of sale, power of soul, or whatever. When I really thought about piece of shit, it really kind of feels accurate. This whole project is a rebirth for me, so shit is a creative fertilizer. Being in the shit allows me to experiment freely and try all these things out to see what fits. And it’s helping to build my own confidence in my abilities. Shit is so important, you know? Flowers need it. Mushrooms grow out of it. All good things ultimately come from shit.

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