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Forest Clans Are Marching
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Club Relax doesn’t look like a perfect place for an interview. Yet before it gets crowded with people coming to see the Finnish shamans live in Moscow for the first time, there are some punks doing their soundcheck so loud that we can barely hear ourselves. Add to it that English is not a native language for Korpiklaani members, and you can imagine what kind of an adventure this interview was. Nevertheless, this Finnish folk metal band caught our attention so much with its brilliant albums “Spirit Of The Forest” (2003) and “Voice Of Wilderness” (2005) that we wanted to make the conversation happen at all costs… and it did. Vocalist/guitarist Jonne Jarvela (with a great help of his bandmates) is here to tell you what he thinks about the career of the band, the outburst of Finnish folk metal, music business and, of course, alcohol.
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The music of Korpiklaani is most often classified as ‘folk metal’. But in the beginning, when you were a kid, what came into your life first – folk or metal?
It is indeed a combination of both elements, and metal is as strong as folk is. But in the beginning it was only folk.
Your father and uncle sang on one of the songs from your latest album “Voice Of Wilderness”. What do they think about Korpiklaani and your musical activity in general?
They are proud of us. They’re actually gonna be on the next album as well.
In Finland there are many metal bands who are inspired by traditional folk music or use its elements in their songs. How does it happen that so many musicians are so familiar with folk music? Do they teach you folk music and native culture in schools in Finland?
There is some folk music you learn at school when you are a kid. But folk music is always in our blood. The reason why there are so many bands inspired by folk music now is that now we have enough balls to do that. Metal musicians don’t have to be as much metal as possible anymore, you can be what you want to be, you can combine things. This was not possible in the 1980s, because everything was so strictly divided into metal and everything else.
It’s an interesting thing – your music has a distinctive Finnish sound, but you are signed to a label based in Austria. What is the reason? Aren’t there any interested labels in Finland?
I think there were a few, but they weren’t as good as Napalm.
You are signed to Napalm Records for four albums. Don’t you think it’s too much? Such a long-term contract may slow down the development of the band – Napalm, after all, is not a very big label, and you will have to turn down offers from bigger labels…
I think it’s good to be at a label of this size, because here you have possibilities for getting good promotion and things like that. We are one of the bigger names at Napalm Records, and if we were with a multinational company like Sony, we would have been one of the smallest ones, and they wouldn’t be interested in us at all. And Napalm Records are interested in us, they work for us, they do promotion.
Let’s now talk about your latest album “Voice Of Wilderness”. Can you say that the final result is 100 percent what you expected? Did you manage to realize all the ideas that you have, or do you now think, “We should have added this and that to one song, and removed this and that from another one”?
Of course, shortly after each record it comes to our mind that some things could be better. But it will be the same after every album – once you get away from it and then hear it again after a few months, you start to think to yourself, “Why the hell did we do it?” But in general we are satisfied. It is a victory of the band at one point, and then it goes on, we have to make another one. Still every album we have done means a lot to us.
What is the song “Cottages And Saunas” about? From whom do you want to defend your cottages and saunas?
“Cottages And Saunas” is based on a Finnish historic war movie called "Tuntematon sotilas". I took some lines directly from the movie and then just translated those lines into English. Like the line "Attack forward you nordic boy" or "Fire to the balls". Also the line "We eat iron and we shit the chain" is from that movie. Those lines were good and provided inspiration for me to make lyrics and music of this song.
Speaking about lyrics to your songs, especially songs like “God Of Wind” or “You Looked Into My Eyes” – do you come up with all these stories yourself, or do you use stories from Finnish folklore, old tales, legends or something?
Exactly. Sometimes it goes like “blah blah blah” (laughs) and you realize, “What the fuck?” Sometimes it’s like, “Can I write something?” The stories that you mentioned wrote themselves. Once you get started, they just come to you, and you only have to put them down.
The song “Beer Beer” was quite surprising for me, because usually Finnish musicians are more fascinated with vodka. When you hear a song about beer, the performer is from Germany, not from Finland, in most of the cases. Is beer your favorite type of alcohol?
Our favorite type of alcohol is free alcohol. (everybody laughs) Actually my wife said I shouldn’t drink much vodka, because I get too angry from it. And the choir wouldn’t work with vodka. (laughs)
And have you had a chance to try Russian beer?
(in a very satisfied voice) Yeah! (everybody laughs)
Originally this song appeared under the title of “Vuola Lavilla” on the album “Shamaniac” (2001), when the band was still called Shaman. What were the original lyrics about?
It was about the same thing – beer.
And why did you choose this particular Shaman song to remake with Korpiklaani?
It’s because nowadays we have Hittavainen playing violin, and we wanted to do this song with the real power of violin.
For you personally, are Shaman and Korpiklaani two different bands, or is the new band a continuation of what you have always done, just under a different name?
It is actually the same band. The difference is that Korpiklaani has a stable line-up, and previously there were just friends, and it wasn’t so important to have permanent members. Nowadays it’s a bit different, we have a real band, and this change was the key that opened us the road forward. And the name change was positive anyway. The “Spirit Of The Forest” album was already recorded when we changed our name. It probably wouldn’t have happened, but ex-members of the band Angra from Brazil founded another band called Shaman and thus forced us to find a different name anyway. Still it wasn’t only the name - the music also changed if we compare Shaman with Korpiklaani, and the language of the lyrics changed.
Do you still play any Shaman material at Korpiklaani concerts? And in general, what do you now think about the music you created in the Shaman times?
We play some of the songs, and the music still feels good. Though it’s different, the band is much more metal at this point. What happened is that I moved from Lapland in the north of Finland, where I lived for many years, to a different place, and this meant a big change in my life.
Both Shaman and Korpiklaani have gone through many line-up changes. What is the reason for so many people coming and going, and what influence do these changes have on the band – positive or negative?
Every change is positive to the band. We are a tiny little band, and we can’t give people so much money that they could maintain their families. That is why our musicians have to do something else – get a job or anything like that. And sometimes their job gets more important than playing with the band. They have to leave Korpiklaani, because they need to pay the rent. I can understand that, because we are getting older, some of us are even over 20, people have families and children that they need to support. The band takes a lot of time, but doesn’t give you that much money, so there are other things that become more important.
With Shaman you did a great video for the song “Idja”. Where is the footage of the wolf in this video coming from? Did you film this wolf yourself?
Our film crew knew somebody who knew somebody who knew the people who could do that. The footage was made especially for the video.
Another Shaman video that I have seen also features wolves. Do you think you personally or the music of Shaman have any connection with this animal? Why are you using this image so often?
First of all, I often dreamed about a wolf, and the wolf would come to my dreams here and there every time. It was very important at that time.
And now?
Now I don’t see wolves anymore. (everybody laughs)
Another image that you always use in CD booklets and in videos is the old symbol of shamans and sorcerers. As far as I understand, this symbol can be often seen on stones in both Finland and northern Russia. But why did you decide to use it for your bands?
This has a symbolic meaning and looks cool. The first time I saw it on a piece of jewelry, something like a necklace, and I thought I have to buy it because it was so cool. The necklace was made somewhere in Lapland by a silversmith, and I decided that it looks too cool to be missed.
How did you get interested in the yoik singing? And how did you learn to sing this way – did you have any teachers, or do they teach you this type of singing in some colleges?
No, you can’t learn it in colleges. This goes back to the beginning of my life. I used to live in Lapland with the Suomi people who always produced this type of singing when they drank, and as they drank all the time, they yoiked all the time. I always wanted to play, and there was an acoustic guitar, so I started to play with them, and then it was getting forward. I founded a duo, called Shamaani-Duo, with Maaren Aikio. Then there was a ski resort that needed some music to attract tourists, so we booked a few gigs there, then played there every day, and it wasn’t until after a few years that we decided to do something like that on our own. Not just traditional yoiking, but something more. First it developed into Shaman, and then into Korpiklaani. Nothing of that was planned, it was a natural progression, one thing leads to another.
You have already mentioned your early project Shamaani-Duo. Is the album of this band still available anywhere? Are there any shops that still sell it?
Actually you can’t get it anywhere, it’s not available anymore. It was released on a tiny shitty record label.
It’s an interesting thing – Shamaani-Duo broke up when it reached the highest point in its career, and the same was the case with Shaman. Do you feel that Korpiklaani is the final incarnation of your band, or is there a chance that after a couple of albums you will stop it and create another different project?
No, I think we will continue under this name. People around me can change, but I will continue to do this for the rest of my life. I am going to fire Ali (percussion) in two hours. (laughs)
In an interview with our webzine Andre Matos from the Brazilian band Shaman said he would like to have you as a guest musician on one of his albums, if you are interested. What do you think about such an idea?
Cool idea! Of course I’m interested in making things like that. Tell Andre to just come in contact with me. (laughs)
You played on the second Finntroll album (“Jaktens Tid”, 2001) and did a tour with them. What are your current relations with Finntroll?
I meet with them from time to time if we are in the same place.
How much is playing with Finntroll different from playing with Korpiklaani?
Of course, it’s very different. With Finntroll I only played on a few songs, and it wasn’t my band anyway. Korpiklaani is something personal for me.
And how much are the audiences different?
Actually they are the same. We are friends, and the fans of two bands are also friends, at least in Finland. In Germany it’s pretty much the same, I think.
In September last year Korpiklaani played in Russia for the first time, but it was in a very strange location in Petrozavodsk, which is a place where very few foreign bands play. How did it happen that you went there, and how did you like the show?
They asked us, and we said yes. There was a folk music festival, and if you want this band to go anywhere, just ask. The audience was great there, but some of us were a bit too drunk. We’re not going to do that anymore. (everybody laughs)
Special thanks to Mendor (Amber’s Music) and Max (R.M. Agency) for arranging this interview
Interview by Ksenia “Wolfin” Khorina
Questions also composed by Roman Patrashov, Sergei “Anklav” Ivanov
Photos by Sergei “Anklav” Ivanov
September 16, 2005
13 îêò 2005
ïðîñìîòðîâ: 9562
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