Kari Rueslåtten interview

(C) Arild Juul

After a long tour in the company of "The Sirens", the siren of Trondheim, Kari Rueslåtten, is finally ready to release his new solo album entitled "To the North", out on October 23 for Despotz Records. (HERE our review)

Les Fleurs du Mal had the fantastic opportunity to interview the singer about the project, but not only.

Here's what we said.

LFdM: Hi Kari and thank you for giving a bit of your time to us. I imagine that a month after the album release there are many commitments and things to do. Am I right?

Kari: Thank you – yes, releasing music is wonderful but also hectic! :-)

LFdM: Just to get into the interview I would like to talk a little about "To the North", an album in my opinion very mature, felt, perhaps even more intimate than "Time to Tell”. It hides different colors sometimes dark and melancholic... many ingredients for nine dense and rich songs. What has changed between "Time to Tell" and "To the North"?

K: Time to Tell was an acoustic album, more quiet and earthy, but still folky and atmospheric. I wanted To The North to be a follow-up album, but also to go further, pushing the musical expression, the singing and the overall vibe more towards its limits. Together with producer Jostein Ansnes and the musicians we aimed for the musical expression to be darker and heavier than Time To Tell. To me, it felt as if that was what the songs and the lyrics craved for this time.

LFdM: Yours is a style that owes much to the Norwegian folk tradition and has a strong bond with the land you came from. How all this affects the final result of a disc and how much is important for you to bring out your being Norwegian?

K: I have always been inspired by Norwegian folk-music and Nature, the darkness and melancholy of the dark, deep woods, but also the beauty that surrounds it all – I find melancholy to be very beautiful. This has always been a part of my inspiration when writing songs, it is in the core of my song writing. For To The North it has been a major element.

LFdM: Talking about style: to listen to your songs sometimes is like to listen to poems put in music: all lyrics are evocative, able to recall powerful images, to make you travel to another world. Now, I have to ask: how do you do that? Not everyone can do this, but you are a true master ...

K: Thank you so much :-) First and foremost, I think of it as storytelling. I try to create words that unite itself with the melodies and become one wholehearted expression. I am also very fascinated and driven by what is on the inside of the human mind, how the human mind works. Why we make the choices that we make, how we think, the reflections that we make how we reason and behave.

LFdM: I know that maybe it should not be said, but I have a favorite song on this album and it's "Dance with the King”. In my opinion is a lyric that sums up very well the essence of your music. I'm curious to know if there is a song for you which you are more connected to and why, or if all the songs are special for those who composed them.

K: Thank you, Dance with the King is one of my favorites too! Hmm, to chose one - I would like to say all of them of course, because as you say - all of the songs are special for those who composed them. But, I think if I should choose one, then the title track, To The North, is a special song to me in many ways. Title tracks should tell something more overall of the theme of the album, and in this case I find that the title-song embraces the other songs in a good way.

LFdM: Even in terms of image and graphics, "To the North" seems to speak of strength, a certain part of the soul that is hidden where the sun does not seem to be able to set in. What are the issues you want to address in this album and how the visual aspect go within this process?

K: That is very nicely said, thank you. I like to see To The North as a soundtrack to the north, to the images and landscapes that I see as home.  But, my home in the north can also be a state of mind as you say, a safe haven, a place unknown but yet familiar.

LFdM: Your songs dig into the depths of a melancholy, atmospheric music. How did you come to master this? Was it a natural approach, perhaps because your voice is well suited for this kind, or was something more rational?

K: As a writer, and as person, I have always been drawn towards the dark and mysterious sides to things. I find melancholy to contain much beauty and tranquility, and that reflects itself in my composing. So I am not sure if it is rational, more that it comes natural.

LFdM: There has been a long break in your career. You took time for yourself and for your private life, but who’s born to make music does not seem to be able to stay away from her: how did you live this period of "silence" and what has influenced the singer Kari of today?

K: I was concentrating on other things in my life – spending time with my children and family, I took up studying psychology and then I started working within that field, and didn’t think that I would do music again. Then, when the silent years were over and I decided to go back to music, to sing and make songs again, it felt as if a piece of my life that had been missing had returned. I felt more complete as a person, more energetic and more at ease so I was almost angry with myself for being away for so long. The silence it seems has made my head filled with melodies, because there is a lot of music in there waiting to come out :-)

(C) Arild Juul

LFdM: How did music step into your life? When was taken the proverbial spark that made you realize you wanted to be a singer?

K: I think it was from when I was very young, I almost would say that I cannot remember when, that I have always wanted to be a singer. My Father was the one who introduced me to folk music and singing in a traditional way, he was always telling stories from the mountains and singing folk songs when I was growing up.

LFdM: Your career began with "The 3rd and the Mortal". The band anticipated a tendency of making music through the female voice that still has an impact on the style of many other bands. You have been the pioneers, isn’t it?

K: Yes, so it seems, but we didn’t think about that as much, we just did our thing. It is very nice to think about though, that what we did back then made an impact.

LFdM: Can you tell us something about your early days with the band?

K: I remember that we were all really good friends enjoying music, playing together and hanging out together. We started out rehearsing in an old, really shabby, closed down factory and there were many bands rehearsing there, and there was always a party going on.

LFdM: How much the experience with "The 3rd and the Mortal" is still with you in your solo album and what, instead, you left behind?

K: The main difference is of course that it is not metal, but I would say that the atmosphere of the music, the folky, floating melodic, dark emotions and some prog-elements are with me on To The North.

LFdM: Tuomas Holopainen said that thanks to you and to the music of "The 3rd and the Mortal" he decided to create Nightwish... somehow you're the fairy godmother of the band. How does it feel to know to be an inspiration to others?

K: It feels fantastic, and it is a very special feeling to know that what you have done means something to other people and inspire others.

LFdM: Tuomas have also recorded "Why so Lonely" present in your previous album "Time to Tell". It was as if two musical paths had finally crossed, or not? How was it to work with him?

K: Yes, it was a very good moment. Tuomas was great to work with, generous and warm, musically he really lifted the song, both in an overall manner, but also in the fine melodic details. He was really an inspiration for me to return to the music scene. When we first met three years ago, I was on my long break, and I wasn’t even thinking about doing music again.

LFdM: You and Nightwish have also shared the stage of your city during the long tour you have undertaken with Liv and Anneke, the wonderful trio of "The Sirens". It almost seems that the ranks of your destiny are inextricably intertwined...

K: He he, yes :-)

LFdM: As I just mentioned, you're not just a singer of fame and talent, but you’re also part of a trio of voices that everyone envies. When and how did you projected of "The Sirens"?

K: Thank you :-) The Sirens began with Anneke and Liv wanting to do a project together. At the same time, Anneke and I spoke along the same lines, and we decided we should do something together all three of us, our common platform being that we were all forerunners with our former bands, The 3^rd and the Mortal, The Gathering and Theatre of Tragedy.

LFdM: I have had the pleasure to hear live at Summer Breeze this year and I must say I was enchanted by your skill. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a performance within the context of a summer festival than a concert classic? If there are, of course!

K: Thank you, great that you were there! Well, it gives a different perspective in terms of intimacy – playing those big scenes at festivals is awesome and a lot of fun, but also then you miss being closer to the audience, creating a more intimate atmosphere. But, for me now I will do small clubs on my solo-tour this autumn and I consider myself to be very lucky to be able to do both.

LFdM: Now that "To the North" is ready to be heard by the public how your life will be in the near future?

K: I have planned a tour this autumn and also I am planning some concerts also next year. Right now we are in the rehearsing phase of the new set. I am very much looking forward to playing To The North material live for the first time.

LFdM: For an album always follows the promotional tour. What is your relationship with your fans?

K: It is amazing I would say :-) The warm welcome I received when I returned to the music scene was overwhelming, I am so lucky to have such warm-hearted people liking my music! It is the people who like what I do that gives me the energy to do what I do. I create music for myself, it is like a place where I give my thoughts and stories a place to come out, but when the songs are finished, they need to find other ears, other minds than mine to live and linger in.

LFdM: I have seen that you are also very active in the fields of social media: how much is important today to be always connected with fans from all over the world?

K: Social media offers an unique chance to talk to people all over the world at the same time, and being closer to each other than what was possible before, when I started out in the nineties. Now, you can create communities and families across boarders – to me this is vital as a musician and artist, and very inspirational.

LFdM: A question that interests me personally, but also involves all your Italian fans: will you come on tour in Italy? And, if so, when?

K: I would very much love to come to beautiful Italy, it would be wonderful to see you guys there! Hopefully we could make it happen some day!

LFdM: And now I leave the word to you, after the flood of questions that I have made! Have you something to say to those who follow our webzine and generally to your Italian fans?

K: Thank you so much for excellent questions Dora, I really enjoyed the interview! Thank you so much to all who read this – hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you will like my new songs and hopefully see you soon on tour!

LFdM: I thank you again very much for your kindness. We wait for you to visit us soon in our beautiful country!

Thank you so much and all the best from me!

Good luck for "To the North"!

Interview by Dora

Editing by Alessandra