Finland has always been a very generous kind of land for many reasons, especially in the music field and this band with a very evocative name is another proof of that. Let's find out what Tuomas Seppälä (backing vocals, guitars and keyboards) has to say about his Amberian Dawn, a combo of very talented musicians I'm already sure many of you will appreciate a lot.
Interview by Margherita (MEG)
LFdM: Hi Tuomas, welcome to Les Fleurs Du Mal Webzine. Thanx a lot for spending your time with us. Would you please introduce your new album, Innuendo?
Tuomas Seppälä: Sure! Well, I think it's our best album so far. The songs are more varied and it is gonna sound different from the others we did before. At the mixer we have Miikko Kaarmila from Finnvox studios and I can assure you it's gonna be great, we have a very fresh sound. But it's always very exciting to release a new album, because you've been waiting for so long!
LFdM: Is there a sort of main theme in the album? Is it a concept album like Circus Black?
TS: No, it would be hard to define it a concept, because it has many songs which are very different form each other, both for the lyrics and for the arrangements. Songs are all about love, hate and many other feelings, there are also some true stories in between, while musically our tracks are very very diverse. It's really a kind of mixture of different kind of styles, musically speaking.
LFdM: How does the songwriting process work in Amberian Dawn?
TS: I write all the music. I am also on the guitars and the vocals. When I finish writing the music I send the demos of the songs to the singer who writes the lyrics.
LFdM: So you prefer to focus your attention and commitment on the sound rather then on the words...
TS: Yes, that's right. I don't like to think about lyrics at all. Even one of my all time heroes, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, once confessed that also for him the lyrics are something that must be done by someone else. I only want to concentrate on the music, that' s why our vocalist is in charge with writing lyrics.
LFdM: So it's your vocalist I should ask the reason why there's Gloria, deriving from Latin, and not the English word Glory, in the title of the song Fame And Gloria...
TS: Actually Capri, who wrote the lyrics, used the word glory, but I found that gloria sounded better, it kind of sticks out, it's more interesting.
LFdM: I agree. Talking about your new vocalist, the gorgeous Capri, she has a very powerful voice, I like her a lot, I follow her since she made backing vocals for other Finnish bands, but she is more “rock oriented” than your former singer, Heidi, who was a soprano. What's the reason behind this choice?
TS: During the recording of Black Circus, me and Heidi started feeling a bit uncomfortable with each other, like we had nothing left to add to the great job we had done until that moment, so we agreed she would have remained until the end of the promotional tour. In the meanwhile I had a lot of time to look for someone else and Capri was the best choice. She can sing also in a classical way, but we didn't need that kind of stuff anymore. I wasn't looking for another Heidi, I wanted someone different.
LFdM: And what about the album title? Is there any particular reason why you chose to call it Innuendo? What does it mean for you?
T.S.: To be honest it doesn't mean anything. This title only came on my mind at a certain point. Sometimes you just cannot explain, but you know or feel that something is right. There's no hidden reason behind this chioce. I asked our record label and the other members of the band and they all found it to be allright. Of course, I was aware of the fact that Queen named one of their albums the same way, but it wasn't intended to be a tribute or something...
LFdM: It just sounded great, then. Would you like to spend a few words about the tracks you find more meaningful or that you like the most for some reasons in this new album?
TS: One of my favourite is Knock Knock Who's There, because it's so different from any other Amberian Dawn song, it's almost pop, I like it very much. It shows my softer side as a composer, since I am really free as an artist. Our record label has no influence at all on our music, we only play what we like. But there are also many other songs I love, for example , Simphony Nr 1, because there's a real chamber orchestra recording with us in studio, which is no new to us, since we already did it before, this is our third time and it's always a really exciting experience. You can feel the music more deeply in songs like this, because of the chamber orchestra playing live. There are also a lot of other tracks I love for many reasons, for example because they end very differently from how they begin and are also very funny to be played live.
LFdM: I was also curious about a couple of your videos I found on youtube. They were from Magic Forest and Fame And Gloria. Both of them are really well done and I was wondering how does it work, I mean do you personally contact the directors or is your record label who provides you with everything?
TS: Those videos were directed by the same guy, Markku Kirves, a Finnish film maker. I accidentally saw one of his videos a couple of years ago and I was really impressed by his abilities, so I just contacted him asking if he was interested in working for us. He agreed and here we are. The location is called Hämeenlinna, a city which is more or less 100 km far from Helsinki and it was shot in the forest
LFdM: Wow! That place looks really magic and beautiful!
T.S: The other video, instead, has more special effects and was made entirely in a studio, in Helsinki. Of course it would have been easier to make another kind of Magic Forest video, but I wanted something completely different this time.
LFdM: I second this. I think it's always worth trying to realize something different.
I am also curious to know something about this beautiful and fine cover artwork. I like it a lot, it reminds me a sort of Venice Carnivalmask, but also the meeting of the opposites, the Yin and the Yang as well...
TS: Yes, this is a work by a Finnish graphic designer, Jan "Örkki" Yrlund, who has already realized maybe 5 of our album covers so far. We've been knowing for so many years now, that he perfectly knows what we're looking for. We trust him competely.
LFdM: How does it work? I mean, do you talk about the album's main theme, or does he give a prelistening to the songs...
TS: Yes, he listens to the album and he creates images coming from his own idea about it, so I guess this cover artwork represents his own vision of what he heard in the music.
LFdM: Great! I'm very impressed by the time we talk, that you could chose as many talented artists you wanted, all from Finland. I mean, you had the chance to chose the new vocalist, the videoclips director, the album cover designer...it gives me the dreamlike idea that your land has an artist in every inhabitant and that you all get along pretty well with each other. How far I am from the truth? (laughs)
TS: Well, Finland is a pretty small country, with a few millions inhabitants and heavy metal music here has always been deeply rooted, we have a very strong tradition; so there are a lot of musicians and artists of this same scene who have the chance to meet at a certain point of their career and to become friends. It's like in a small circle, after all. We have all the same places to gather, you know, heavy metal community here is like a sort of family. Generally we get along very well with each other too.
LFdM: How cool is that!?! Why do you think that heavy metal has such a strong tradition in Finland?
TS: I think it might depend on the success that bands like Stratovarius had many years ago. A lot of musicians then chose the same music genre to reach fame also abroad, as they did. Nowadays I think that heavy metal music has become definitely heavier then before, not just in Finland, but also in the rest of Europe, so Amberian Dawn is kind of out of trend right now, since we are more melodic. Of course heavy metal music is evolving, like it should be and also our own music is evolving to something else, but at the moment I can't say what the future direction will be. I mix our album myself and I noticed that sometimes it's the mood I am in a certain moment to lead to a certain kind of sound, so it can depend on many things. I don't know what the future may bring to us, musically speaking, but we are evolving for sure.
LFdM: That's a really brave choice I have to agree with. What would you reply to those who keep on comparing you to Nightwish? Personally if I had to make a comparison, I would rather think of you as much more similar to Blackmore's Night...
TS: I don't understand why, of course we all can have our own opinion and the right to make comparisons, but I don't think we are so similar to Nightwish. Maybe it's because we're both Finnish and we both have a female vocalist in the band, but I don't think we have so much in common, musically speaking. And you're right, I have always been a huge fan of Richie Blackmore, so I have always appreciated his music, with Dep Purple, with Rainbow... and you can bet he had a big influence on me, being one of my greatest sources of inspiration, so yes Amberian Dawn is closer to Blackmore's Night for sure.
LFdM: Talking about other musicians, when you are not touring or recording, in your spare time, what kind of live acts would you love to see?
TS: I missed some interesting shows here recently, but I would really love to see Rammstein live, for example. You know, I'm not such a big fan of modern bands, I'm in for older bands, like Deep Purple, but Rammstein is one of those I have been always impressed by.
LFdM: And it's also a pretty different band, with a totally different sound from yours too! (laughs)
TS: Yes, true, but I like it very much.
LFdM: Talking about live acts, are you planning an extensive tour throughout Europe?
TS: We planned a couple of weeks tour in Europe with Delain and Gentle Storm. We had the chance to perform a couple of shows this summer in Finland, during some festivals, but we actually do not have the chance to reharse a lot, so we will see what happens, especially during the first two dates of the tour. I can't wait to hit the road again, it's always a very exciting experience: new places to see, new people to meet, it's fun
LFdM: I imagine it's also pretty tiring too...
TS: Not that much. When you're having fun you don't feel so tired
LFdM: Do you have enough spare time on tour to enjoy a visit to the various places, like tourists? For example, you've already been here, did you have the chance to have a walk or to visit a museum...
TS: We usually have just 4 or 5 hours spare time before the shows, so it's not that much to enjoy the cities as we would like to, but it's funny. Of course in such a short time we could not visit Milan properly, but we had a walk in the surroundings of the venue. Personally I've been in Rome for holidays and I think this summer I will enjoy another visit there. Rome is one of my favourite cities in Europe, since it's full of history, the whole city is a sort of museum, you know, so I can see many beautiful and ancient buildings just by walking around, which is the thing I love to do the most when I am on holiday.
LFdM: How is Amberian Dawn live act like? What should we expect? (Amberian Dawn's most recent show in Italy was at the beginning of November 2015, ndr)
TS: We've been in Milan twice already, one with Epica. I think this time we'll play in a different venue. We' re going to play also some old stuff, from Magic Forest and also River Of Tuoni, bacause people always like to listen some tracks from those albums, but if you ask me as a musician I prefer to play the new songs, they are more fresh and they show our evolution in terms of sound.
LFdM: While on stage, do you prefer songs with some instrumental solos of yours or songs where people can sing along? What gives you more goosebumps?
TS: Both, I have to say that in both cases I am always very happy to play in front of other people, it's something really satisfying. I love when the audience sing our songs.
LFdM: I can imagine! The audience of a live event is a main part of the show too. Have you ever thought to play some covers of some old famous songs you liked?
TS: It's something I would love to do. I would like to record some covers too. It's pretty strange we haven't done one in all of our albums yet. Maybe in the next there will be something by Abba.
LFdM: Awe! That would be precuious! I am already so curious to know what song you will cover! Now, one last question, which probably should have been among the first...where does the name Amberian Dawn come from? Why did you chose it?
TS: Oh, well, it was a long process. You know, all of the other cool names had aleady been taken and I insisted we needed something beginning with the A letter, since it's something easier to find in the catalogues or on music store shelves. It might sound silly, I know it...
LFdM: No, not at all, it is smart, instead! I confess I would have never thought to this aspect, but it's interesting!
TS: We made a long period of brainstorming and Amberian Dawn was the name that eventually came out from all of our efforts.
LFdM: And what a name it is! It sounds great! Now our time is over, so thank you very much Tuomas for your precious time and for this very pleasant interview. See you soon live in Italy! Kiitos paljon!
TS: Yes, thank you and see you soon!
The cover artwork for "Innuendo" was created by Jan "Örkki" Yrlund.
