SOURCE – Thank you for taking the time to talk today. You will be announcing Thalassic to the world in July, so how is everyone in the Ensiferum camp at the moment?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Hi! It’s my pleasure to chat with you guys. Yes, out new album “Thalassic” will be released on 10th of July. We are very excited about this even though we can’t go on the road to play the new songs yet but we are happy to finally get the album out for fans to listen to it.
At the moment everyone in the Ensiferum family are doing OK. Of course it sucks that there will be no festivals this summer but no point to waste energy on this anymore because it’s not in our hands. We have a stream gig coming up on the release day of the album and we are actually planning to to start working with the new material soon.
SOURCE – There’s such a palpable sense of anticipation for a new Ensiferum record, so how do you work knowing so many people are eager to hear what you have coming out?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Actually when you are composing and recording the album, you really don’t think about others. It is so intense work at that point but when you have the mixed album in your hands, it’s so rewarding feeling and then you might remember that “Oh, so there will be other people also listening to this album at some point!”.
SOURCE – Can you give us a run down of the stories and historical events that inspired the lyrics of Thalassic?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – As you might know, “Thalassic” is a theme album. All songs are related to sea or water. When I started to find the themes for the songs, I let go of all expectations and struck down all the walls that might limit the topics. I read about myths, legends and historical events around the world while searching the best story to fit each song. In the end I had way too many cool and interesting themes for songs and many of them didn’t make it to the album simply because there were not enough songs.
The stories variate from Finnish national epic Kalevala to Greek mythology to Royal Navy’s daily rum ration to a local folk tale from France to a scientific theory that Earth has and will be completely frozen…
SOURCE – Mythology and Viking history has always been the lyrical theme behind Thalassic. How deep do you research the history and mythology when writing lyrics? Do you have any key sources you’d recommend for others interested in researching these subjects?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Usually the source for the inspiration is something that I read or heard of and plenty of time googling about this topic. And of course as an artist you have certain freedom to add or remove elements because there is no point to ruin a good story with too many facts…
SOURCE – Obviously the music industry has changed quite significantly since you first started out. It was all record companies and direct money, not direct money, you always had to pay it back. But what are the good and bad aspects of being a professional musician?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Yes, the music business has changed a lot in the decades but the core element as a musician, the love for creating and playing music live, hasn’t. So the good side is that you can do what you love the most but naturally the hardest thing is getting enough money to pay your bills (unless you are playing in a stadium-size band) and difficulties with your social life when you are on the road a lot. But when you get on stage and share an unforgetbale evening with your fans, you remember that it is worth of all the hard times.
SOURCE – Have you been doing any live-streamed concerts during COVID-19 or do you plan to? A lot of artists have been doing them, do you think it’s a challenge to make them original and interesting?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – We are doing one on the release day of the new album. I know that I’ll be missing the interaction with the crowd but thanks to technology we will take couple of breaks in between the set and answer to questions that fans have sent us earlier and after the set is played we will open cool drinks and chat with the fans. I’m sure this will be nice and warm experience to everyone involved. But I really hope that the vaccine for COVID-19 will be developed fast and we can get back on the road as soon as possible.
SOURCE – What financial impact has COVID-19 had on you and your band?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – To be totally honest, it destroyed our touring plans which means that practically there is no income at all. As a fulltime musician this is very hard situation because besides our personal bills (rent, electricity, food…) we also have expences from the band (rehearsal room, accountant…).
I just took a dayjob but I told my boss that I will quit as soon as the touring starts again. I’m very happy that my boss understood this.
When the lockdown started I used the time to finalize my first solo release (it should be out in June), which I never had find time to do. So something good also came out of these weird times.
I know that there are so many people around the world, not just in music business, suffering from this situation and I hope people will find their way to get through this hard phase.
SOURCE – Now that a lot of the Finland folk metal bands have gotten older, what do you think their legacy will be?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Heh, that’s terrible how times just rushes forward! I know that we are old geezers but I really don’t feel like one. I hope we all stay healthy and we can keep writing and performing music till the day we die and may that day be looooooong in the future.
Only time will tell what will be the legacy of folk metal in the big picture but already we have seen like a positive rise on people intrest in their own heritage, culture and history. And once you start to learn more about that then you realize how we are all connected to our neighbours and everyone around the world. Understanding your own roots helps you to understand and respect others’ roots too.
And on the lighter side, there will be lots of good drinking songs left behind for the future generations!
SOURCE – Once again, thank you so much for your time today. Finally, do you have any parting messages for Source’s readers?
Sami Hinkka (Bass) – Thank you, the pleasure was all mine! Hang in there people, stay safe and enjoy good music, I know there is one exceptionally good album coming out on 10th of June!
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