EAPOCALYPTICA
„We have for example one or two really good songs on the album *laughs*, but everything sounds different. ”
Interview mit Eicaa und Perttu
August 2010
Apocalyptica laden zum Promo-Interview in Zürich - im Juli 2010 hatte ich die Gelegenheit, mich mit Eicca Toppinen und Perttu Kivilaakso zu treffen, um mehr über das am 20. August 2010 erscheinende Album „7th Symphony“ zu erfahren.
Hey guys, how are you today?
Eicca: We are great – we are always great.
Perttu:…young, vital and fresh.
How many times have you been in Switzerland until now?
Perttu: I think we played between 10 and 15 concerts, even more.
Eicca: Every year at least once – I would say - club-shows and then festivals.
Did you find the time to visit other places in Switzerland than concert-venues and hotels?
Perttu: We both have also been on holidays here in Switzerland seeing something, it’s actually a rare place – we have some other visual feelings.
Eicca: We played so many shows in Switzerland, it’s not only about Zurich, we played Berne, Montreux, Geneva, Lucerne. We played in so many cities here and of course the festivals are on the countryside so then you see many things. One month ago I was on Interrail, I spent two nights in Interlaken, came by train from Firenze through the mountains to Lucerne, then to Interlaken and Jungfraujoch. I think all of us spent holidays here in Switzerland. Paavo comes to ski, once a year. Here or in Austria – just before he got kids he spent two months in the Alps just to ski.
Your new Album "7th Symphony" will be released on the 20 August 2010 in Europe . What can the listener expect of this album?
Eicca: It’s hard to say, what can listeners expect from music?
Perttu: If they would react at least a bit like we do, then we would be satisfied and we would share the same kind of feeling and passion for music. I think this is the coolest thing probably, if you do music and then realise that the audience likes it as much as we do. I think the way of thinking and everything connects.
Eicca: I think for people who know the old repertoire we have kind of feeling that it’s a combination of the “Worlds Collide” and “Cult”-Albums. The song structure is more than on the Album “Cult” it’s freer from structures especially the instrumental stuff is very different than on couple of the previous records. It’s more progressive, more symphonical. I think there are a bigger variety of styles on the record. Like one journalist, a UK punk guy was doing an interview with us. He was asking himself if he was still listening to the same album or not. There are so many different styles - I think everyone will find something very special for him-/herself on the record. There are some tracks that are not so charming. The reason is that we listen to all types of music and that affects the way we write music and our music is always influenced by all types of music styles. That is why the album has a big variety of styles – we think too many albums nowadays are made on the bases that there are two really good songs and the rest sounds like same part, but not so good. Every song can’t be as good if you use the same formula
Perttu: We have for example one or two really good songs on the album *laughs*, but everything sounds different. I’m not too much thinking about the entire album before beginning of the recordings. It’s more like a journey to see where we end up, but one thing is for sure: we try not to make a boring album. Therefore I think we are so opened for different kind of ideas and influences.
Eicca: With instrumental music the instruments are limited, because we work only with cellos and drums, there is always the problem that the soundworld becomes boring after six songs you feel like: “Ok, I heard it!” But this time we have the feeling that every song brings something new in. When the last song starts it’s something like: “Ah, I didn’t hear this until now!” And every song has its own reason to be on the records and brings always a new angle to the whole thing. We really wanted a full album. It’s not just a couple of songs and then fill it up. Every song stands on its own. The song “Beautiful” is maybe the most classical song we ever recorded, than we have the song with the singer of Gojira “Bring them to Live” which is the most hardcore, fast and metal-track and has a strong classical flavour. It’s a very tragically song. There are so many different styles, elements and parts. Some songs are very simple, some are really progressive. That is what we like on the record and we hope that the people find it also exciting. Our fan base is mixed of all types of people: Metal people, Classical people, and a lot of people who just want to be active when listening to music, for them music means more than just background-noise. I’m pretty sure and I really hope that Apocalyptica-Fans will find it exciting, because that really gives you the price. You had only the stream, but the whole sound world that we created with Joe Barresi (Anmerkung der Redaktion: Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, Coheed & Cambria) who produced the album is something totally new and it has so many different layers. I think the record works best when you have your headphones on or very good speakers and you need to listen many times. You find all the time new details and new things that is something we like in music. It gets better the more you listen to it and its not other way around that it hits you once.
Every song was quite a surprise, as I was listening to the record, each song sounds in another way totally different and surprising new.
Eicca: With the way we worked, he wanted every sound recorded to be exiting and special. Every little thing we recorded had to have a special flavour, and I think what is fun in the album- sound at least for us, the whole album sounds much more organic than the previous records that is more breathing, has more dynamics and still we are using much more effects, amps and pedals than in all previous albums together. It’s funny that there are so processed cellos that sound much more natural.
Who did the album artwork/photography?
Eicca: Dirk. There is a combination of Dirk and the photographer.
Perrtu: but we have used the same art designer as already with a couple of albums before (not the previous one) but like “Apocalyptica” and “Reflections” I think and “Amplified”.
Eicca: We wanted to continue this – having the cello in some kind of form in the album cover.
Perttu: …and also when it begun to feel that the artwork is actually well connected to the music itself it gives a strong feeling of the product and we also wanted to bring this world to our videos, basically this creator of the album covers is a guiding character of all three videos as a trilogy.
Eicca: We have a Finnish photographer who made the photos based on the idea of the graphic designer and then the graphic designer put the elements together. We feel that especially nowadays it’s very important when people buy the physical copy of the album they first impression is the cover and when you open it, it is an introduction to the music. It really matters. It needs to feature the music. It needs to give you the right direction, right kind of impression what is going to be when you put the record in the player and push “play”.
Perttu: This dark angel women comes from the first song, there is a connection….
Eicca: ..that the picture has the same elements that is in the music, that there is this kind of certain quality, lived romantic, even erotic feeling, but dark, something mystic but still kind of stylish in a way. Those where the main elements we wanted to have in the artwork actually this time we put a lot of effort on artwork and other stuff, that everything talks to each other.
The video clip to the first single "End of Me" feat. Gavin Rossdale was released on the beginning of July – Where has this clip been shot?
Eicca: In L.A. in a place called “Mortuary” in the middle of dead bodies.
Perttu: Where people go to rest after a while.
Eicca: They found this crazy place and it’s a cool location. It’s kind of like a church but it’s not really a church, it’s just a mortuary, there are full bodies on the wall. It’s really big and the building has so many different cool spots there with different colourings and stuff.
Perttu: We wanted to do all three videos with the same director, this woman (Anmerkung der Redaktion: Lisa Mann) who already shot our “I don’t Care”-Video, and we were highly satisfied actually and felt that she can see something similar in ourselves that we feel about the music, exactly this romantic, dark, sexy and she is really careful and interested in pictures and strong visual elements.
Eicca: She comes from the fashion side actually than traditional rock music. She has done a lot of music videos, but she is not overusing her style and she is very picky which kind of videos she is doing. She’s doing more commercials, and she is also doing decoration for houses and interieurs, she is a very visual person.
Perttu: One or two weeks ago we made the other two videos in L.A. partly in the same location.
Eicca: At least what we have seen from the screen was absolutely amazing.
Perttu: It only gets better and...
Eicca: ...we have a really strong feeling that the two other videos are getting even better than the first.
Perttu: I think it is a very interesting idea, too and I already think it comes from... when we were listening to the more or less final track. Listing it felt like a kind of symphonic journey and therefore we gave this name to the album, because even if the song separated are completely different to each other, but still they are talking about the same kind of journey.
Eicca: It’s funny because every time in the past we had several different directors that we were asking for scripts based on the song and then picked what we liked. This time it was obvious we didn’t ask everybody else. We wanted to do it with her. And then she sent us the script and it sounded amazing, let’s do this!
Perttu: It was logical to have a symphonic album so that it would be no separated music videos but rather combined videos.
Eicca: The songs which are gonna be released as a single they are just one style from the album and these are the most straight forward rock songs and even popish rock songs, but the visual image is more about the whole album itself. That is not a typical music video for a typical kind of rock song single. It tells more about the record with the video than just the song itself. The video leads more into the world of the whole album.
The Song “Not Strong Enough” is sung by Brent Smith from “Shinedown” – How was it for you recording a song with him?
Eicca: He was singing in the studio in L.A. and we were recording cellos in Helsinki, but he is an amazing guy, actually Mikko is there. But he is so a nice guy and he is a great singer. We had this great track and we needed someone who sings right away and it’s technically not so easy, so you need to be not just a great voice, you need to be able to sing well. We played some festivals together with Shinedown, two years ago in the States and it was a really easy choice for us.
You’ll be playing tomorrow at “The Blueballs Festival” in Lucerne – are you excited?
Eicca: We already played at “Blueballs Festival” very long time ago, but we never think too much, it’s more about the day before or the same day: “Ok, where are we?” We’ve been spoiled in that sense that we’ve been able to play all the great festivals in Europe with great line-ups. This week-end we go to Sonisphere in UK, they have a amazing metal line-up there, it’s just amazing: Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden - they have everything there. In Quebec we played with Rammstein in front of 150’000 people two weeks ago. It’s always great to go to festivals. The Swiss festivals are always so well organised, the atmosphere and the mood among the people is very great and there are lots of positive vibes. We played once a show in Thun in “Café Mokka” in Thun in 1997 or 1998 in the garden for example.
Do you have some special playing-highlights on this tour and are you still nervous before going on stage?
Eicca: No, every show needs to be special, it’s better not to put too many expectations to one special show, because you would get disappointed. The fact is that sometimes you think that one concert is more important than another, but every concert is important for the listeners that come there. Of course there are some spots where there is lots of media like New York, L.A. and London etc. But we try to make no difference, because then you get nervous and begin to focus on wrong things.
Perttu: It’s horrible to realise when being in the middle of a hellish fast solo: “Oh, I forgot to brush my teeth” – it conquers the mind. *laughs*
Eicca: Or thinking all the time: “I smell so bad, don’t come close to me, I smell horrible!” *laughs*
If you had three wishes – which ones would that be?
Perttu: For the band I would love to see this thing continue after a very long while and that is probably the biggest challenge and the only wish I have. It’s better not to have too specific goals like: I want to still sell this and this, or grow bigger, that’s secondary. A main thing is a long career for example – I think there is a place for our kind of band in the world and it has been very pleasant that many people feel similar as we do. So, now I need to wish something for myself – I am really happy, what I do I need…I would ask an extra-wish to save keep in my pocket for a miserable day as a cheating ace. But otherwise I’d like to stay healthy and sane to do all this stuff I’d like to.
What was the very first record that you ever bought?
Perttu: I think it was the debut album of Skid Row. That was the band that led me to Rock Music, I was about 11 years old…could have been about 1986. We all grown up in a classical music scene. I play cello since I’ve been 5 years old, even the first rock things I’ve ever heard happened much later, but then Skid Row, Iron Maiden, Guns ‘n Roses towards Metallica and Slayer.
So, no we are at the end of the interview – you have the last word…
Perttu: I hope that people and those who have been our fans for a very long time feel the same kind of excitement we have this year, this recording of this album was very important for the band and somehow we were able to renew ourselves as musicians and also as friends. Those kind of personal relations are so difficult to maintain when being in the situation being 300 days in a year with the same people naturally. I think Apocalyptica 2010 is stronger than ever!
Thank you very much for your time!
Perttu: Thank you very much!
Aktuelle Tourdaten:
18.10.2010 – CH – Zürich – Schützenhaus Albisgüetli
19.10.2010 – A – Wien – Gasometer
21.10.2010 – D – Dresden – Schlachthof
23.10.2010 – D – Hamburg – Sporthalle
24.10.2010 – D – Berlin – C-Halle
28.10.2010 – D – Köln – E-Werk
Interview: Nathalie Kubli
