ENTWINE
By Melanie Haack
Their first gig in Germany in Hamburg and they had no time to spend a night in some bars on the Reeperbahn the most popular and famous street in Germany with lots of bars, clubs, restaurants, discos and just everything that promises fun. Entwines first European tour started really hard. They arrived early in the morning in Hamburg and didnt have much time to relax before being live on stage. Some days after their new and third album Time of Despair was released in middle Europe the non-Finnish people should now learn who Entwine are.
There were lots of good reviews in all the magazines and those who love melodic and often melancholic gothic rock will definitely enjoy the music. In contrast to Entwines last album Gone the new one is more electronic, the voice rocks more Time of Despair is more experimental. It is gothic rock with great and wonderful melodies to dream of. Mika Tauriainens voice becomes more and more the bands trademark. Just a few hours before the gig the singer took much time to talk about the new album, the tour and the band.
It's your first gig in Germany - your first European tour! Nervous?
I can't understand that thing right now cause I did a lot today. Its been a very rough day. I didn't even have the time to become nervous. I should go to bed and sleep... I'm really tired. One year ago we had the chance to go on tour with Paradise Lost but they came 3 weeks before the tour started - too late. The 69 Eyes did the Germany tour. It was supposed to be a promotion tour but it wouldnt have served us cause Germany is the biggest place to do this kind of things. We wanted to come here.
Is it just a "normal" gig or something special?
No, it's not a normal gig. In Finland, when you are doing stuff in English you are like an invader. Its not your home country. But when you are in Germany or Sweden and you sing in English you are the same as everybody else. I think that everybody who sings in English wants to be somewhere else. There are some bands doing their job in Finland since 20 years and have been at the same places over and over again. I don't want to do that!
Are you more nervous than in Finland? Here you have to convince the audience of your musical quality. The fans who come to your gigs in Finland know that you're good
That's what I like to do. When you are for example in your hometown and your friends are there, this means: Oh, yes, I am gonna be a rockstar for my friends - that's not possible. Here I can be what I want to be and do whatever I like to do. It's different. I like to perform to some people I don't know and they dont know me. My friends know who I am. So I don't have to prove them anything.
How difficult is it to play as support for a band like Theater of Tragedy? The majority is waiting for them..
It's the same gig if I am headliner, middle act or the first band. I wanna do my music. It's not a competition - it's pure music.
Will you play a mixture of "Gone" and "Time of Despair"?
Yes, because we hadnt been on European tour with "Gone". We love playing these songs. It wouldn't be good to leave them out. "Time of Despair" has just been released and there are many people who don't know the songs yet. We will definitely play "Closer". A lot of people think that it's a love story but it's about my grandfather. I had a vision. You have to know that my grandmother died and I imagined what he thought in the last minutes before her death. This is the true story of the song.
Every day on tour you look into the same faces. Afraid that there might appear any problems?
Of course, there can be problems. Once in Finland we had had a fight but we settled happy again together. We are all six big heads. Maybe we come back to Finland with black eyes. Serious: If you don't argue it is not normal. It's comparable to a family. If you truly love each other you argue sometimes. It's similar in the band. Its nice when there's a little bit hectic on the tour. You get power and you don't think so much.
What is your inspiration? Long Finnish nights?
Its Everything. It sometimes comes when I am walking, sometimes it simply comes to my mind. Then I take a pencil and start writing. Sometimes when I play guitar a melody evolves. But when I am in a bad mood I can't write down anything! I have to calm down and be relaxed. I need a timeless moment for myself. Then many ideas gather in my mind and can be put together like a puzzle. Tom Mikkola, our guitarplayer, and our producer Anssi Kippo also write the lyrics. If you are not satisfied someone else will come and say: "..let's make it that way". That's a good thing!
Let's talk about "Time of Despair". What should have been changed after Gone?
We wanted it more powerful and aggressive, spacy. My favourite song is "Time of Despair". Lyrics and melody walk together hand in hand. The feeling speaks the word. I did most of the vocals of that song in the morning. I just woke up, drank coffee, my eyes were tired... I was totally relaxed while recording the vocals. It was some kind of natural. Some sound I had lost I found again. This happened unconsciously. Everytime I hear this song it gets me shivers.
How long have you been in the studio?
About 45 days. It was hell. We thought it would be easier to record the third album. But you fight against yourself, the biggest monster. You are hard to yourself, sometimes too hard. Sometimes it really was a "time of despair". There were two days when I thought that I will never come back to the studio. I was so pissed off
The album-reviews were really good here. 9/10 and 8/10 points for example. Surprised?
Yeah, really because I don't know how Century Media promotes us here in Europe. I don't know what's going on here...cool...everybody loves me. I am not so bad after all... In Finland the single "The Pit" had been released but that's not a song that is played by radio stations - too hard. It went another way than we wanted. We would have preferred "Nothing left to say" to be published.
In many reviews you could read that your voice improved. Do you think the same?
Yeah, I found myself again. It's the new old me. I was too whimpy. On "Gone" the sound was clearer. Now we concentrated on finding the real sound, my real self. It gives more feeling to people
Thank you for the interview
Thank you, see you at the concert.
A really interesting and nice young man who took more than much time and told a lot, who offered his beer to me, who sometimes couldnt the find the right words because he was so tired... so we searched for the best explanation but couldnt find one but we knew what we meant and who hardly stopped holding a cigarette in his hand and of course smoking it.
Internet: www.entwine.cjb.net
By Melanie Haack
Their first gig in Germany in Hamburg and they had no time to spend a night in some bars on the Reeperbahn the most popular and famous street in Germany with lots of bars, clubs, restaurants, discos and just everything that promises fun. Entwines first European tour started really hard. They arrived early in the morning in Hamburg and didnt have much time to relax before being live on stage. Some days after their new and third album Time of Despair was released in middle Europe the non-Finnish people should now learn who Entwine are.
There were lots of good reviews in all the magazines and those who love melodic and often melancholic gothic rock will definitely enjoy the music. In contrast to Entwines last album Gone the new one is more electronic, the voice rocks more Time of Despair is more experimental. It is gothic rock with great and wonderful melodies to dream of. Mika Tauriainens voice becomes more and more the bands trademark. Just a few hours before the gig the singer took much time to talk about the new album, the tour and the band.
It's your first gig in Germany - your first European tour! Nervous?
I can't understand that thing right now cause I did a lot today. Its been a very rough day. I didn't even have the time to become nervous. I should go to bed and sleep... I'm really tired. One year ago we had the chance to go on tour with Paradise Lost but they came 3 weeks before the tour started - too late. The 69 Eyes did the Germany tour. It was supposed to be a promotion tour but it wouldnt have served us cause Germany is the biggest place to do this kind of things. We wanted to come here.
Is it just a "normal" gig or something special?
No, it's not a normal gig. In Finland, when you are doing stuff in English you are like an invader. Its not your home country. But when you are in Germany or Sweden and you sing in English you are the same as everybody else. I think that everybody who sings in English wants to be somewhere else. There are some bands doing their job in Finland since 20 years and have been at the same places over and over again. I don't want to do that!
Are you more nervous than in Finland? Here you have to convince the audience of your musical quality. The fans who come to your gigs in Finland know that you're good
That's what I like to do. When you are for example in your hometown and your friends are there, this means: Oh, yes, I am gonna be a rockstar for my friends - that's not possible. Here I can be what I want to be and do whatever I like to do. It's different. I like to perform to some people I don't know and they dont know me. My friends know who I am. So I don't have to prove them anything.
How difficult is it to play as support for a band like Theater of Tragedy? The majority is waiting for them..
It's the same gig if I am headliner, middle act or the first band. I wanna do my music. It's not a competition - it's pure music.
Will you play a mixture of "Gone" and "Time of Despair"?
Yes, because we hadnt been on European tour with "Gone". We love playing these songs. It wouldn't be good to leave them out. "Time of Despair" has just been released and there are many people who don't know the songs yet. We will definitely play "Closer". A lot of people think that it's a love story but it's about my grandfather. I had a vision. You have to know that my grandmother died and I imagined what he thought in the last minutes before her death. This is the true story of the song.
Every day on tour you look into the same faces. Afraid that there might appear any problems?
Of course, there can be problems. Once in Finland we had had a fight but we settled happy again together. We are all six big heads. Maybe we come back to Finland with black eyes. Serious: If you don't argue it is not normal. It's comparable to a family. If you truly love each other you argue sometimes. It's similar in the band. Its nice when there's a little bit hectic on the tour. You get power and you don't think so much.
What is your inspiration? Long Finnish nights?
Its Everything. It sometimes comes when I am walking, sometimes it simply comes to my mind. Then I take a pencil and start writing. Sometimes when I play guitar a melody evolves. But when I am in a bad mood I can't write down anything! I have to calm down and be relaxed. I need a timeless moment for myself. Then many ideas gather in my mind and can be put together like a puzzle. Tom Mikkola, our guitarplayer, and our producer Anssi Kippo also write the lyrics. If you are not satisfied someone else will come and say: "..let's make it that way". That's a good thing!
Let's talk about "Time of Despair". What should have been changed after Gone?
We wanted it more powerful and aggressive, spacy. My favourite song is "Time of Despair". Lyrics and melody walk together hand in hand. The feeling speaks the word. I did most of the vocals of that song in the morning. I just woke up, drank coffee, my eyes were tired... I was totally relaxed while recording the vocals. It was some kind of natural. Some sound I had lost I found again. This happened unconsciously. Everytime I hear this song it gets me shivers.
How long have you been in the studio?
About 45 days. It was hell. We thought it would be easier to record the third album. But you fight against yourself, the biggest monster. You are hard to yourself, sometimes too hard. Sometimes it really was a "time of despair". There were two days when I thought that I will never come back to the studio. I was so pissed off
The album-reviews were really good here. 9/10 and 8/10 points for example. Surprised?
Yeah, really because I don't know how Century Media promotes us here in Europe. I don't know what's going on here...cool...everybody loves me. I am not so bad after all... In Finland the single "The Pit" had been released but that's not a song that is played by radio stations - too hard. It went another way than we wanted. We would have preferred "Nothing left to say" to be published.
In many reviews you could read that your voice improved. Do you think the same?
Yeah, I found myself again. It's the new old me. I was too whimpy. On "Gone" the sound was clearer. Now we concentrated on finding the real sound, my real self. It gives more feeling to people
Thank you for the interview
Thank you, see you at the concert.
A really interesting and nice young man who took more than much time and told a lot, who offered his beer to me, who sometimes couldnt the find the right words because he was so tired... so we searched for the best explanation but couldnt find one but we knew what we meant and who hardly stopped holding a cigarette in his hand and of course smoking it.
Internet: www.entwine.cjb.net
