SOURCE – Congratulations with the new album The Garden, because it is really amazing! Can you tell something about those songs, please?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – We originally went to the D-Studio of Klaukkala, Finland to record fifteen songs. Having just parted with our previous drummer Sami, and our old drummer Antti just returning back to the fold, he had only a few weeks to learn all the songs. It was a tight schedule, but he pulled it off terribly well in the end. After a summer of recording, mixing and mastering we had to piece together an album from the fifteen songs, and The Garden is the end result you can hear. It is an album contemplating what is significant about our human existence after the modern world as we know it has reached its end, delving into the themes of dreams, rituals, belief systems and the social aspects of a more tribal humanity..
SOURCE – I have seen the video clips for The Garden and The Four Winds. Can you tell something about those songs and about the video clips you have made for them?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – Both of the videos were produced by me. The Garden is actually the first “band-playing-in-a-warehouse” -type music video we have ever done! Because there is no narrative, I tried to make it interesting using lights and candles, and concentrating on the emotive expressions and movements of my bandmates. The Four Winds, on the other hand, was kind of an improvised production. On one very pretty autumnal Sunday morning me and Riikka got in to our car with a minimal video setup to check some nature spots nearby. There was a strong wind and a beautiful setting sun, and we found a bay with a bird-watching tower and a big sea of reeds. There we set up our gear and took some footage, supplementing it later with some night shots at a bay and lighthouse near where we live.
SOURCE – As you make more and more albums, does it get more difficult to break new musical ground and do new things?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – I wouldn’t say so. We can always go to a dozen different directions if we get fed up with the kind of metal music we are doing now. Maybe an acoustic folk album next? Or an electronic endeavor? Time will tell.
SOURCE – How difficult of a process is it to pick which singles will be released to preview the album? Do you ever worry about the response between satisfying yourselves and your current following while hopefully gaining newer people into the fold?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – I think it’s usually been quite an easy task. We usually also consult the label to get an outside perspective on the album and strengths of the different songs. But usually we think that if there’s a song that wouldn’t be fit to represent the album as a single, then that song doesn’t belong on the album either. So I think it’s usually just a matter of preference and what aspects we wish to show.
SOURCE – When you think about the concept of success, what does that word mean to you as far as being a musician – and has that definition changed from your initial years getting into the business versus today?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – As financial success is not something that is very realistic with our music genre and the current state of the music industry, we don’t think about that too much. I think meaningful success to me is when someone finds our music meaningful, or finds themselves moved by it in some way. And of course when we ourselves are thrilled about what we have created. I think it has always been like that with us.
SOURCE – At this point in the band’s career, how do you balance out the fan expectations for what you create and deliver versus your own personal expectations? Do you find they work hand in hand?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – We really don’t think about fan expectations. This might be different if we somehow needed to secure our livelihood with our music. Of course, we are very grateful for all the people who support us and enable us to keep creating at this level, but in the end the most important thing for us is to satiate our own compulsion to create. If we want to do some electro-pop, schlager or traditional death metal, we will. So far our listeners have been very supportive of our more weird endeavors, such as the Against the Dying of the Light EP.
SOURCE – What are the biggest misconceptions that foreigners have about Finland?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – Oh, that’s a tough one! When I was a child, it used to be that we have polar bears roaming the streets, but that’s no longer the case, I think. Now I would say people often think that we have a lot of forests and a special relationship with nature, when in fact it’s just artificial, planted fields of lumber, mostly. Our nation’s relationship with nature is sadly very often quite utilitarian, not mystic or even very respectful.
SOURCE – What’s planned following the release of The Garden?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – We will now practice playing the songs for live shows, and start planning on how and what to release next! We have a ton of material, some even recorded and post-produced, so stay tuned!
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