Nightfall 2004 rok

czarnycharakter

It's early 2004. Nightwish fans are going nuts waiting for the album to come out! Well, first it has to be completed! I got to speak for a while with Tuomas Holopainen (keys) about the future of Nightwish as well as everything else! How do I even begin to write a blurb about interviewing Tuomas Holopainen? It's Nightwish, for God's sake! Enough said. Thanks to Heather at Century Media for arranging the interview, thanks to Tuomas for his time.
By the way, the interview is fairly choppy, since we shared a remarkably poor phone line. Anyhow, hopefully it will still flow, somewhat.

How are you doing?

I'm doing really, really fine - we just finished the vocal recordings for the next album today, so it's like an off-day tomorrow. So I'm just watching tv and having some beer.

How far along are you in the recording?

We have done pretty much all the recordings; there are some keyboards to be recorded, some orchestras and the mixing process. So the album should be done in about a month.

And what can you tell us about the musical style of the album?

Well, actually today was the first time that we listened through to all the fourteen songs that we'd recorded. I thought it over, and I don't know. I just felt kind of confused about the whole thing. Not much to say, I mean you can recognize that it's still a Nightwish style, still the same elements like the big choirs and the orchestras, lots of keyboards and guitar riffs, but there's something very new happening on the upcoming album. I just don't quite know yet what it is. I can tell you that I think it's going to be a shock, at least for some of the older fans. There are going to be some new elements in the songs.

Like what sort of things?

Well, I think it's the orchestra. We're working with the London Orchestra consisting of 52 people. They also played for, for example, 'Lord of the Rings' soundtrack. As you can imagine it's a very good orchestra and sometimes it even dominates the album. I guess it will be the most soundtrack-type of album that we've ever done.

I have a question from a huge Nightwish fan in Florida, asking 'It seemed that on 'Century Child' there were more male vocals than on any other album. Is this the case on the upcoming album?'

I think so, because for the last album we had a new bass player and he has an astonishing voice, so I want to use his voice, too. So I think he's going to be singing on the upcoming album as well. Of course, Tarja, she will be the lead singer but I think that it's just like a spice to have some male voice.

I heard that someone leaked the title of the new album - how did it happen?

I have no idea, because I just thought there was about 7 people to know the album name... - the band and the manager. Somehow it just slipped through and now everybody knows. So it's no use hiding it anymore. These things happen, I guess.

Yeah, I guess. So now that we all know the title of the new album, what is the meaning of 'Once'?

Well, you're just going to have to listen to the album and find out yourself!

Alright!

That's something that I never want to talk about, the album titles or the song titles or the meanings of the songs. I can tell you that the whole album starts with the word 'once'.

So what's your writing process like?

It's usually that I do all the songs by myself at home with keyboards, guitars, drum machine and then when I think I have the song done I take it to the rehearsal room, introduce it to the rest of the band and then we just go over it for a few months and try and make it the best possible. And after the final arrangements have been made, I write the lyrics. But at first I always have to have the idea of what the song is about. That's the most important thing for me; the music and lyrics go hand in hand.

So you hold lyrics and music of equal importance?

Yeah, pretty much so.

Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics?

This is very easy - it's all about my life. I consider every song of mine as a part of my diary. I write about my own feelings, opinions, about what I dream of, what I'm afraid of and then just put it all into the music. I guess you could say that I'm really selfish about my lyrics. They're all about me, my interests. I never want to make any statements nor anything like that in my texts. I don't care about that kind of stuff.

Well, your lyrics are brilliant - they could really stand alone as poetry...

(Laughs) Thanks. I guess, I don't really know much about poetry, I don't read it often. I just write my own thoughts and that's it.

So it's all based on your own life. But there are some themes that recur, like the extremes of innocence and ugliness, love and bitterness and death - those are all part of your life as well, or is there some imagination in those lyrics?

Well, all of them are - I don’t know the word - really honestly based on what I feel. Then I just want to put everything into music, but of course there is artistic freedom in what I write. But my songs are not always that personal; for example, 'The Kinslayer' from the 'Wishmaster' album is about the Columbine High School massacre. So it was just a thing that really interested me, you know. I really felt strongly about this, so this is what I mean by having personal lyrics.

You seem to write a lot from a woman's point of view, which is interesting. Is that the way you naturally write, or because Tarja is a woman and she's your mouthpiece?

That's a weird thing, that she has never had any trouble singing my lyrics and the thing is also that we have never ever gone through the lyrics together with her. Never sat down at the table with her and gone over the lyrics, 'What I mean by this song is this and that, and you should sing it like that'. I just give her the song, the vocal melody and the lyrics and just to say to her, 'Sing it the way you like it'. She's always done a wonderful job, so I guess we have this special connection, the two of us.

That's great. In a way it wouldn't make sense for her to sing it from your perspective; obviously you wrote it but she has to put herself into it as well.

Exactly.

I had another fan question, here: 'Why has Hans Zimmer been such an influence on you; what is it about him?'

Well, first of all, I'm a huge fan of film music altogether, it's not just Hans Zimmer. But the fact is, there's just something special about his sound, his scores. They're very simple and yet so beautiful, bombastic. And also pretty naive; his music is full of simple emotions. He's not trying to be too artistic, he's just creating huge, massive scores which even happen to be corny but they always sound brilliant. I don't want to flatter myself but I guess we're same kind of composers - we write music with the same attitude. That's why I can personally relate to Zimmer's work the best.

I don't think it's flattering yourself to say that. You're indeed similar composers. But what else besides movie soundtracks influence you?

Would you believe me saying that I'm pretty limited with what comes to my music taste. It's either film music or metal. That's pretty much it, in that order. I listen to all kinds of metal and follow the scene pretty carefully. And I don't know - all kind of metal will do, whether it's Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Metallica, Pantera or Theater of Tragedy, The Gathering and stuff like this, so I'm a true metal head, no question about it. But this film music has still had the biggest influence on me for the past five years or so. But it's not so much about the style, it's more about the song. If Britney Spears does a good song, I don't mind listening to it. It's just a good song, so it doesn't matter who's performing.

Yeah, I completely agree. I really liked that For My Pain album, so congratulations on that too.

Oh, thank you.

Is that an actual band or is it more of a project?

It's definitely a project. I mean, it's just a band that never does any shows. It's just a bunch of guys who are playing together and they're doing it for fun. That's pretty much it.

Did you compose stuff for that as well?

I didn't compose nor write anything. I just did the keyboard arrangements for the songs.

Why do you think there's such a large metal population coming out of Finland?

Well, that's a good question. First of all, we are being taught music from a very first years of our education. There's really a lot of young, talented musicians in Finland. And then there's something about the Finnish national mentality which somehow relates to metal music. The winters in Finland are really long, dark and cold and they make Finns very melancholic and quiet people. I just guess that Finnish atmosphere is most conducive to compose heavy, melancholic melodies and write dark poetry which all together gives different kinds of metal. I hope you can understand anything I'm trying to explain, here...

Yeah, for sure.

I think that's the only reason - something about the national character.

Well that's a good answer. So what's your response when people call you a genius?

(Laughs) I don't know... Of course, I'm flattered, but I really honestly don't think of myself as that. I'm still a redneck, actually. I've been living in the countryside all my life, learned to play the piano and just compose music for my own pleasure. And that's it. But of course it's very flattering, but it's very confusing, too.

Did you just call yourself a redneck?

Yeah...

Oh. (Both laugh) I've never thought of Finns as being rednecks, but there you go.

Really, well I mean that I've been all my life, all my 27 years in a very small town in the middle of the forest. I hate the city, so I guess that makes me a redneck! (Both Laugh).

Alright. So what was the story about you having written 'Sleeping Sun' for a solar eclipse?

That was actually the German record company's idea. There was this total eclipse of the sun in Germany and they just wanted us to make sort of a theme song for that event, just for the German market. And they ordered a song for us, which would be a ballad about the eclipse of the sun, in one way or another. And we just went to the studio and came up with the song 'Sleeping Sun'. That's pretty much the story.

So what's the meaning of the name Nightwish?

There's no big story behind that name. It's just the name of the first song that I ever wrote for an unnamed project. That's why we called the first demo the 'Nightwish Demo' because of the song title. And then it just accidentally ended up being the band name (laughs). That's basically all. Smooth, simple enough, I like it.

It seems fitting with the music, somehow. So you've probably been asked this a million times, but what's your definition of 'Oceansoul', could you try to explain it?

Ocenasoul? Oh my God... (Both Laugh) I am - I have this, what’s the word? I’m obsessed with the Ocean, water. I've had it all my life. Like, whenever I sit at the lake or the sea, I just feel this 'energy' or whatever you'd like to call it. There's something really weird going on between me and water. It has always been so and I just find myself being an Oceansoul - it's just a term that I feel fits me. Love for the Oceans, that’s it!

So you're finally coming to Toronto.

I think it's going to be the first show of the American tour, at least.

That's great, I'll finally get to see you guys play here. But would you consider Nightwish as more of a live- or a studio band?

Well, definitely both. At first, we never thought this is the kind of music you can perform live, but then we gave it a shot and we found that being live on the stage is actually a great fun. After being like six months in the studio as we have been now, and it's kind of nice that we can get on the tour again. But then again, when you have been on tour for a long time, you’re very eager to go back to the studio... It’s always going like this.

So how has the recording of the album been going?

It's been relatively well, it's like... it seems like a neverending project, actually, because we have been in the studio since the beginning of the October, and are not going to finish before the end of March... I'm already counting the nights for it to end. But still the atmosphere in the studio has been really relaxed, very hopeful and everybody's feeling really confident about it.

Is there something that you want listeners to get out of your music?

Music is all about feeling, so when people listen to our music I just want them to feel something; that’s the most important task of music, to make the listener feel. Comfort or sorrow or happiness or whatever, just make a strong feeling like it does for me.

Lullacry is the band that's opening for you, how did you end up deciding to tour with them?

It was actually the booking agencies, or our manager's idea. I know the guys and we get along well, they're a great band. There are some similarities between Nightwish and them, but altogether we are very different bands, so I think that we make a very good package for the fans. And two Finnish bands - it's always double fun in the tour, so (both Laugh).

I have another question from a fan: 'How the Hell can you headband like crazy and still play so well at the same time?'

(Laughs) I don't know - it takes years of training, I guess. The first shows are always hell because your neck is so sore after the first... But then you just get used to it. And than again... I don't know how I do this, it's just something I love to do (laughs).

And another question, 'Do you have any advice for bands that are just starting out?'

I can only give you the most clichéd but still - honestly - the best advice. Just do your own thing, that's the most important thing. Just trust in what you do, no matter how ridiculous or stupid it might sound. But when you feel in your heart that this it the kind of music that you want to do, so just go with that. Honesty is always rewarded in the end; at least that's how it worked out for us (both laugh). I know that was corny, sorry!

That’s okay, (both laugh). And what are your views on downloading?

Well, I don't understand anything - totally nothing about computers and all this Internet downloading shit. I just heard that it has a very commercial value in a way; on the other hand it's very bad for the band and the labels or something like this. But I'm just really not into this computer business, so, I don't know.

And what else are you up to? Do you have any other projects besides Nightwish that are going on?

Not really anymore because Nightwish is taking all my time at the moment, I don't have time do anything else, I believe for a couple of years now.

So how would you describe the sound or style of Nightwish?

I don't know why everything has to be categorized.

No, I mean if you were trying to explain how you sound to someone not knowing a thing about your music. Just in your own words.

Right, right, okay. I would say that we're playing Melodic Heavy Metal with a female voice. That's the most simple thing that I can image. We are a metal band, wemre playing melodic metal, we have a female voice, so that's pretty much it. I don't know, there have been some pretty interesting terms like 'movie metal', that's what I've heard. Also 'Donald Duck Metal', 'Elf Metal', 'Fantasy Metal'. I don't know, whatever — German people are really good at inventing terms (both laugh).

Yeah, metal is metal, I guess.

Pick your favorite, I don’t know!

And do you have any sort of personal life philosophy or anything you'd like to share?

Not really, I don't know. One thing I've always had in everything that I do is that faith takes you there, which is something that I'll always believe in. You can create anything if you just have enough faith. No matter how impossible it seems; faith creates something even out of nothing. For example, I believe that if you strongly want to go to Heaven, you can go to Heaven. So, you kind of create your own fate.

Wow, that's exactly what I've been saying to people. I mean, I'm not religious, but to my friends that are, I'll say 'Okay, you'll go to Heaven'. But I just won’t; does that make sense?

Yeah. I'm not religious either.

Sorry, I've just never heard anyone else say that, and using that example.

Really? Well that's what I think. I just think that if you don't believe in something, then it's all over. But if you believe that you can go there - no matter how stupid it sounds.

That's a very positive thing to say, and I think that probably a lot of people think that Nightwish is dark, which could just be the Finnish thing, I suppose. Would you consider Nightwish to be dark or is it just honest?

Dark? Well I guess, in a way, we are. I mean, first all, we're playing metal music and some of the themes that we're doing are pretty dark, but I don't think it makes us a dark band. We are not Satanists or something like that. But just, we have songs about death and fears and these dark things - it helps you cope with life itself, so. It's pretty much the reason that I'm doing those songs. So I kind of understand if people say we're a dark band, I have no problem with that. But there's definitely a positive side to the band as well. Just listen to the songs and – we'll just have to laugh at all the songs.

So how do you feel Nightwish has changed over the years? I mean, quite a lot, but in your mind?

Yeah, of course we have grown up to be more mature in everything that we do, and learned how to do the songs in a more mature way. But also, a negative thing is that we have lost a lot of that innocence that we had during the first couple of albums. I mean, when you listen to the songs of those albums, you really feel a very strong effort of honesty and innocence and all this enthusiasm... And now, during the last couple of years, we've really become cynical, grown-up, a little bit too much about the whole music business thing. And so, you know, to be honest we're not enjoying that thrill so much anymore. Like, when we first put the band together it was just fun being together and playing, it was just innocent fun. But now there is the record company bullshit and everything - a lot of things to think about. So it's not so much fun anymore, like the first thrill is gone. But I guess it's only natural...

Do you feel like you're under pressure when you're writing music, or does it come naturally?

I'm always under a lot of pressure, but again, I think that's the way it should be, too.

Why is that?

Well, it keeps you going. I mean, it keeps you focused and makes you try your best.

But the music must come naturally to a certain point, I mean it can't all be that contrived. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's almost impossible to keep the music that neutral, just do your own thing. You're just constantly thinking about what the other band members will think about this, what the fans will think about this and so on. So that's what I also meant by the innocence, that the first innocence is gone when you have to think about these things though you shouldn't... There's always a lot of pressure on me when I'm making the songs, I wonder if the guys in the band are gonna like this, is Tarja going to like this, are the fans going to like this. Even though I shouldn't think about that.

Are you still happy doing music?

Absolutely. I don't want to do anything else at the moment, there's no chance. I love it! I really do.

What would you be doing if you weren't doing music?

If it wasn't for Nightwish? I'd be a biologist.That was my dream since I was like five years old. I always wanted to be - especially a marine biologist. Go down with the whales and sharks and study them, stuff like that. Awesome (both laugh). Maybe I someday will be a biologist, who knows. Nothing lasts forever.

Is there anything else you'd like to say, maybe to the fans or whatever before I let you go?

Just - see you in August, everybody come to Toronto! I think it's the 15th of August or something like that.

Ok, great. I guess I'll let you go and get off this crappy phone line. Thanks for the interview and see you in August.

Hope to see you!

Mistel

łoho ale żeś się napracowała C.Ch. brawo !!!!!