giovedì 9 ottobre 2014

To/Die/For' s Jape Perätalo talks about his creature


"Without music, life would be a mistake" (F. Nietzsche)

I don't want to bore you explaining the history of this band... Just read, listen and...try to understand..

LFdM: Well Jape, it’s always hard to find interesting questions for a band known since such long time, composed of people who make music for a life time, so, please forgive me if  I’ll bore you in any way. 
The first album All Eternity you were personally involved in the recording because you knew every single member, 5 guys, 5 childhood friends together to give voice to their pain, dreams, what you want, it's still soon has anything changed since then?
Jape: It was a little bit different in the beginning compared today. I was playing a few years with Tommi Lillman before TDF, so we had some kind of spirit we shared. I was on a same class with Joonas Koto, who was our guitarist on All Eternity, Epilogue, Jaded, and also on Wounds Wide Open albums... We did songs very fast, but we just had “that” Spirit and feeling ,and it is something you cannot put in words.
Today we still have good feelings to do music, and sometimes we have lost that Important thing “THE FEELING”... but now it seems like we`ve found it again!

LFdM: Do you think that the constant line-up changes, although involved guys who hung out the "clan", could somehow disrupt the balance of TDF? As they say, sometimes just one look to understand each other... a love-like dynamic…
Jape: It can surely disrupt the balance in the band. I am sure that some “short-time” member(s) joined to our band because of a wrong reason. Sometimes we were too hasty to wait that right person to band... Shit happens but  now, we need to be more careful with that.
Now when Esa Viren took guitar, (played bass before in TDF) we started to feel more like “We all want that same thing” kinda feeling. Juåpe Sutela and Esa Viren are very good combination to create TDF guitars.
Personally I am more than tired to all these line up changes, but there is always been wild persons in the band, that you never know what happens ,but that is only rock and roll, and natural “living wild life” stuff! So what can I do? If i would stop doing this, because of other people´s problems, opinions or what ever...I would not stop doing this because of myself... then I would do it because of someone elses life! And that is not wise at all.
This is my life, and I do what ever I want to! And I need and I love making music under the name of To/Die/For.

LFdM: From All Etermity to Samsara your style has remained unchanged even though in first albums the songs seemed much more elaborate. I mean, especially Samsara is missing the song, the one that makes you turn abruptly and be amazed. When I think about songs like "Live in you" or "Too Much Is not Enough", I feel like you had had the urge to break a sort of silence. You’re free to insult me, if you want... 
Jape: Yes, like I said, sometimes we lost that feeling! I can still feel very strongly our first albums, All Eternity and Epilogue especially...In My opinion SAMSARA is not the same that our previous albums. It was something else, even I do not know what it is.
But, we had a break before recording Samsara album, and we were just so exited to record what ever, even it was not “Pure TDF Style”.
Samsara' album was not a mistake, but it is something we are not gonna do again with TDF. We need more dark and deep feelings for now!


LFdM:  "Dear Delirium", on the other hand, surprised me. There are plenty of new ideas, from a pure ly visual point of view it is a very strong video. Rather than tell about the pleasure and the pain of the soul it seems to focus on something more material...the pleasures of success or the excess? What are its meanings?
Jape: Dear Delirium lyrics comes from the dream I saw once, I admit I was smoked a bit Cannabis so, it felt very strong thing...but in the end it is like a lovesong to the feeling of Freedom, canda 100% clean lovesong to all good people out there. Delirium and things that I see, hear or feel while having some kind of Delirium, is not only an illusion for me you see. It is real! Because...if I feel it, isn´t real then?
About the video I have nothing important to say. We did it very cheap ways so... we ust had fun in that cellar for a few hours, and we were busy for dong that video, because we had to head to airport after videoshootings. (Next day we played in Madrid)

LFdM: Yeah, great show, I was there! 
Returning to be serious.. Telling of sadness, melancholy and pain.. Can you become slave of all this?
Jape: It is bad, if you´re slave for anything! I see it like this:
Everything we think we are, comes from our memories, it can be a lot of shit in it, or good things too...there are two rooms, and in other room is all of our memories, in the next room is Today...
it is not a good thing to close the door between these two things! The doors must be open, but we need to learn to handle memories, which is actually Karma! We need to learn to handle our bad memories, which brings pain, the way that we can go to this room, and handle these feelings, and when we think it is enough, we have to learn to go to the other room,where is TODAY, and where from we can see to the future! It is not easy, but learning to do it,we feel much better!
I am not very dark person all the time, but I can travel to the place, where is all of my bad memories, and very bad experiences, Usually I wear these things to songs...after that i need to escape from it all! And believe, I have learned how to do it. 
We came from the light, to the place where things can go wrong, but we always go back to the light. Everyone of us!

LFdM: For the next album, will you focus more on harmonies based main on guitar and vocals, or will improve the usage of other elements, such as keyboards, not so much as an accompaniment but as a tool of interpretation and union between the dark atmosphere of goth and those more powerful and aggressive of metal. 
Jape: All I can say about seventh album is that it is gonna be more dark and more like our old style. We changed our guitars back to B tune, as we had on first album etc. And doing more goth I could say and keyboards... of course!

LFdM: I can imagine how much work there is behind the making of the album, but what happens after its release? There is a moment of relaxation or adrenaline runs wild?
Jape: Personally I feel empty for a while, and cannot create any new stuff.

LFdM: All today claim to teach something through their own songs/ music /art. But what music taught to Jape until today?
Jape: I always been thinking that there is no Jape at all without music. I would be different person totally…Music taught me Freedom! From all this society shit! Also music taught me, that we need to tolerate every kind of people, every kind of music. Music is not MINE or YOURS only, It is for everyone! Something you do not like, someone else loves...same with the food .
Music is our soul´s food!

LFdM: Can you please tell me something about songwriting? I imagine who ever writes lyrics as one who needs to get rid of the things in his head, to make room for another or something. Like a closet cleaning.
Jape: For me it is been like a closet cleaning with some songs yes. Like what I wrote about religion shit on IV album … same with songs I wrote to my brother who died in 2010... it makkes me more clean again.

LFdM: What’s the secret for a perfect melody?
Jape: I always been thinking that if you do melodies with all of your heart and soul, and do not think “what other people says about this?”... then it must fit even with one other person somewhere in the world. No matter if it is a bit of slimy, if you feel it very strong, then you must do it!

LFdM: What comes before, words or music?
Jape: Melodies comes first!

LFdM: I think it’s amazing the interaction you guys have with your fans. Very often you place yourselves on the same level. Surely the fact that you are not (please pass me the expression) “mainstreamed rock stars” helps this involvement. Do you believe the fame is an excuse to not establish this kind of contactor it’s a simple lack of will?
Jape: We are on a same level! Everyone should be! I do not know anything about the real fame, and IF real fame comes to you, remember it is only a tool then. If it is something more, It is not good at all!

LFdM: Today there are two tags very popular in the music industry:"alternative" and "experimental". Are you one who always keep up to date on new musical idea seven from the technological point of view or for you it’s a matter of feeling?
Jape: Matter of Feeling! We do not see any reason to change TDF´s music style anymore...If we would like to create different kind of music,then let´s do a new band.

LFdM: Have you ever considered making an entire album in Finnish?
Jape: Never the whole album, but sometimes I have been thinking that would be interesting to do one song in Finnish; Let´s see if it never happens but...

LFdM: The last question: pick a POP (strictly) album to take with you on a desert island.
Jape: aaaaaahhhh...Difficult. Only one album, and listening it a few years, same song all the time (laugh) ??? Would be painful ahaha.. I would not take any albums with me... I would choose my acoustic guitar with me!

LFdM: Ok fucking question: How do you see "Moonlight Shadow"  (by Mike Oldfield) as a cover song? I love this song
Jape: Hmmm….it is ok, hihihi, but... Let´s see if we finally do some cover from Duran Duran ;)

LFdM: God bless TDF!

(Interview by Michela)

Link: facebook - youtube
 Hail of Bullets video



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