The Rasmus have always been a band merging their signature blend of dark atmospheres and anthemic melodies with lyrically relevant songs about the world around them and the misfits they proudly identify with. Today the Finnish 6x Platinum and 8x Gold-certified, record-breaking rockers have shared ‘Banksy’, the latest single and video from their 11th studio album ‘Weirdo’ via Better Noise Music. The hard-charging song tips its hat to Banksy, the controversial British street artist and political activist whose stencil graffiti work is found in public spaces. The video was directed by the band’s bassist Eero Heinonen and filmed at a recent tour stop in Helsinki, Finland at the legendary venue, Tavastia.
Banksy is one of The Rasmus biggest inspirations, especially his most recent work which has commented on the war in Ukraine as well as environmental issues. “Banksy has been a big favorite of ours for a long time”, says band frontman Lauri Ylönen. “We’ve gone on tour spotting Banksy’s graffiti around the U.K., and I have my own background in graffiti painting. The fans have reacted really well to this song at our shows—it’s a lift-up song in our set. It’s fast and full of energy, which fits the live set extremely well. With seeing the fans’ energy every evening, it gave us the idea that this song deserves a music video. Specifically, a video that shows the audience, the uplifting energy and feel of our live show. This song has became a fan-favorite.”
“I wanted to direct a video for us, with an insanely fast visual tempo, so that too much is happening on the screen all the time”, explains Eero Heinonen. “I believe we achieved that. It’s really cool that it includes street graffiti we’ve seen all over Europe, throughout the ‘Weirdo’ tour.”