Now you’re talking! Orange band nights are an important meeting point for many young people who like subcultures

The youth NGO Orange has been spreading the message of alternative culture for 35 years. Even on a European scale, the organisation is a rare player.

In the grey concrete Valvomo building in Suvilahti, Helsinki, the smell of a spicy lentil stew is wafting through the air. Volunteers from the Orange Association’s band night have arrived well in advance and will be served free food and drink.

Volunteering is an integral part of the band nights and other activities of the Oranssi.

Tonight, the music at the Orange is heavy and metal-oriented: JWS, The Last Prophecy and Conjur represent metal genres, i.e. death, thrash and crossover.

The callers are young men in their twenties and are normally unlimited from the gigs.

Anarchism and house invasions as a starting point

Founded in 1990, the Orange Association has been flagged from the beginning for alternative cultures and DIY-ori-yourself. The association has taken over and modified the decommissioned facilities and converted apartments and cultural facilities.

For example, the Valvoga building, completed in 1939, decayed for more than a decade, until Orange took over and renovated the action center and a gig. Work was done for several years.

Of many other similar actors, Orange separated the pursuit of professionalism.

– In principle, they wanted to work with the city, Vuorio continues.

The orange of the 1990s was an anarchist organization. Houses are no longer conquered, and the organization is an example of how anarchist civic disobedience can develop into a long -term organization.

As a curiosity, at the turn of the 21st century, Orange headed to the east and organized the encounter between youth cultures between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. Rasmus and Apocalyptica performed at the concerts in St. Petersburg. At that time, the activities were called \”weed -level cultural exchange\”.

– Perhaps that history is reflected in the fact that compared to many other youth organizations, our activities are quite informal. At the beginning of the atmosphere and the influence of young people, we still wanted to keep as much as possible, Emma Vuorio ponders.

You can try everything

– We do not terribly limit the content of the events, as long as they do not involve anything offensive or excluding some groups of people. All kinds of things can be tried – what the facilities now allow.

According to Santalahti, there are very few economically accessible farms such as orange.

– In many places, it can be difficult to get to perform and you may have previous experience or evidence of your own criteria. We do not demand anything like this, and I feel that it creates and offers opportunities.

Emma Vuorio estimates that young people currently visiting and performing at Orange are the same as in the 1990s.

– Most of all we see experimenting, working together and encountering. We sometimes tried some kind of networking, but it didn’t take the wind. The main point is still that young people want to come here and meet each other.

The longevity and continuation of the orange activities must have been a surprise to its founders.

– We have had quite a few foreign visitors. They have communicated that we are a rather rare player on the entire European scale. However, our operations have been quite diverse, Emma Vuorio continues.

Drunk people don’t belong in Orange

Orange is a whole intoxicated space, so there is no stronger caffeine at the gigs. The reason is obvious.

– Substance abuse has been a clear and strict alignment right from the start. We are a youth organization for young people, and the intoxicants are not part of youth activities, says Emma Vuorio.

According to Vuori, the principle has nothing to do with any particular ideology or, for example, absolutism.

– This is more related to the fact that we want to be a place to reach and safe for everyone. Drugs do not belong to such a space.

For many young people interested in alternative and subcultures, orange has become an important meeting place to hang out for several years.

– It’s always nice to go here and the gigs are good. If you go somewhere in a basic little bar, you can come very quickly with the police decibel meter.