Tuomas wins Soundi award!

[seraph7]

It's been a bit quiet in here recently, so I hope no one minds me posting a link to a bit of positive news from the NW forum.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=114603

Tuomas was nominated by the writers of Soundi magazine for an award.
I didn't know that Dark Passion Play had sold so much since it'd come out. I'm eagerly awaiting the new material now after a good long break for the boys and girl. It'll be interesting to hear what Anette will do with material specially written with her talents in mind. Seeing as Dark Passion Play was started while she hadn't joined the band.

Slightly OT: I'm still still umming and aahing about going to see them in March. I don't know if I can afford it but I haven't been to a gig in ages and it is Nightwish so we'll see if I can afford. Money is a bit tight at the moment. Does anyone know whether tickets are still available?

 

[C.]

I wouldn't know the answer to that, unfortunately.

But to keep on topic...go Tuomas!

 

[St Enigma]

That award can be taken as greater honour than winning any random public poll because it's granted by professional writers who know the music scene like their own pockets.


seraph7: there are still tickets available for the Brixton Academy gig, but only to the "Circle" (in the back of the venue or whatever that means?). Google is your friend, make your pick!

 

[seraph7]

Thanks Enigma, I think that means I'll be upstairs and won't see anything like when I 'saw' Children of Bodom at the same venue.

I still don't know. I had a bad experience there so maybe not. I have seen them twice on this tour so it's no hardship not to see them.

Anyway back on topic any comment from Tuomas on the award?

*makes mental note to check the forum more diligently*

 

[St Enigma]

I think someone on the Nw-board is working to complete a translation of the Soundi-article this weekend. We can borrow and copy-paste it here when it's done and up there.



Edit: OK, here it is. Thaks to Afrodite on Nw.com board!



Soundi 2/2009

Tuomas Holopainen and Pandora's box

When Nightwish's Dark Passion Play Tour ends in September it will have lasted almost two years. On the rest in February while receiving the Soundi award the band's skipper Tuomas Holopainen told the latest news.

Nightwish begun to record it's sixth studio album under abnormal and heated circumstances. The band has set it's own step marks in a way that the situation, the frills leading to it nor the pirouettes afterward don't have to be repeated in early 2009.

If you haven't been living under a rock, every Finn knows or at least thinks he knows how the singer switch happened and Anette Olzon replaced Tarja Turunen. Delightfully many Finns have also heard the album in question: Dark Passion Play which was released in late September 2007 has sold almost a ataggering 130 000 copies in Finland.

Nightwish's founder, leader, songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen is a known romantic and a friend of fantasy, adventure and great stories. But the media, especially the sensation hungry part of it, has turned out to be a ruthless friend to play with. Who once opens the Pandora's box has to deal with the consequences.

When you were preparing the material for Dark Passion Play in Sävi two and a half years ago we talked about the media fuss around Nightwish. "Perhaps in a few years I can ignore this", you hoped then (Soundi 8/06). How is it, can you?
- I think I can. Now I only look that this bill or headline has this thing. Okey. And I move on. No one will remember those things in a couple of weeks. In fact I had a hysterical fit of laughter when I saw the cover of MeNaiset. Someone had came up with a thrilling headline. [Nightwish singer Anette Olzon: "Now I understand Tarja Turunen better"]

Your point of view to the matter may also be different on some airport in Los Angeles heading for a gig. Is you spending so much time away from Finland partly the reason for your grown tolerance?
- Perhaps it's like that. Perspective is indeed different in a different place. This fuss isn't that big anywhere else. Heavy circles are of course small in the world's scale and they know something about it but only in Finland this seems to intrest everyone so to speak.
- At night it's good to go look at the starry sky and think how small we are. It helps.

Nightwish will soon release Made in Hong Kong (and various other places)-package from live songs and a few rarer tracks, Dark Passion Play promovideos and a documentary on the road. Why this kind of gap work?
- The idea came from the German record company. They said that there's too long a gap between the albums and with a Europe tour coming up we need to get the band's name out there with some release. That's the way it's done. And because we didn't have any un-released material we came up with this live-ep. And indeed the documentary clip by Ville Lipiäinen, which I think is really well done and the best thing on this release.
- I actually heard the mixed live songs just yesterday. Tero Kinnunen has been working on them and they sound good. But I didn't bother listen to them for long. It's a little like listening to a not so well played album. This release really isn't close to my heart because I'm not a friend of live albums.

Lipiäinen filmed you on the first show October 2007 and November 2008 in Chile. What is the documentary like?
- It quite straightforwardly deals with certain things that people surely are intrested in and the yellow press has speculated with for the last few months. We tell ourselves what's behind breakdowns and everything. Honest talk about life on the road and things related or caused by touring.

With a breakdown Holopainen refers to the incident in Belo Horizonte November 10th 2008 when a gig was cut short after the sixth song because Olzon couldn't go on singing. The incident spread with a few mobilephone recordings and was discussed, weight and interpreted visibly not only on the band's forum but on the Finnish tabloids.

What happened to Anette in Brazil?
- I believe that the constant pressure of touring for a year and a half erupted in one moment - without a bigger separate factor or singular reason. It was a little smoke machine, stress, illness, time-lag, middle fingers in the front row and a couple of 'Tarja!'-screams.

You told in the summer (Soundi 6-7/08) how Anette had provoked a wil tol fight in Germany's Rock am Ring in difficult circumstances. This was the opposite.
- Yes. My very first thought was that: "Oh. Now it happened." None of us paniced. Then I got scared that maybe Anette was thrown with something. Our monitor mixer soon came next to me when we tried to figure out how to continue. I asked if something physical had happened. He answered: "No. Anette's crying backstage".
- It was inevitable for that to happen. And it happened then and there. But think about how many bands are touring all the time. Who hasn't had something like that? What band hasn't fought or cut their gig short?

Anette has made a personal management deal with Swedish Hagenburg Law, Media & Management-company. Was the solution essential and what caused it?
- If the contract makes her feel more safe then no problem. I have nothing against it. And she had talked about it for months. It was no suprise. But there was a little.. feeling of lack of confidence. You still have to understand that some of us have known eachother for 12 years and the band's relations to their management are very tight. A newbie may have some problems adjusting.

The language barrier doesn't help. Do you try to speak English always when Anette is around?
- No matter how well you speak English some meanings, secrets of the soul and nuances would be hidden. And not everyones skills in English are that good - myself included. (pause) I have to admit that we're really bad at talking English. If a group has ten Finns and one Swede English turns into Finnish after a few drinks at the latest. Unfortenately.
- And as far as I understand the contract doesn't affect the practical things. We'll talk about the everyday things straight to Anette in the future as well. About business, which I want to stay as far as possible, the management offices will talk to eachother. I've interpreted that as the only woman in a large group of men Anette just sought safety from someone who spoke her mother tongue. There's no greater drama in this, eventhough all in all Nightwish is apparently some sort of a drama magnet.

From the outside the situation looks a little worrying. Many thought that is history repeating itself.
- There was a little déjà vu, yeah. But these things are from different planets. No need to worry. The man in question [Anette's manager] is extremely smart and gets along with us well. We have a great trust that this will work.

Have you asked Anette if she realized how big a celebrity the new singer of Nightwish will be in Finland?
- I don't think she did. Before her name was announced, we tried to explain it. She answered with a laugh that she understood coming from a family of musicians. Afterwards we've laughed with Anette how wrong she was. She has said that she couldn't have know what kind of turmoil she'd face. Anette has been close to breaking several times.

Accroding to Nightwish's bulletin from October 2007 Dark Passion Play has sold gold in Sweden, Germany, Austria and Poland, platinum in Switzerland and platinum times four in Finland. Here the first day sale was a whopping 42 000 copies, which was sped up by the sale starting at midnight in a few stores. The sales brought the band four Emma awards.

Wouldn't you want as an ambitious songwriter that the public's attention to Nightwish would focus on the music?
- Isn't it flattering that people are intrested in everything we do? (laughter) I don't take offense to what the yellow press does anymore. But you're right. Of course I'm worried that people forget what this is really about. Nightwish is a rock band with a big heart and nothing more.
- We have partly purposely and partly unintentionally caused this drama that begun three and a half years ago and is straight from a movie or soap opera manuscript. And that appeals to the people writing these articles. Perhaps we've jumped on a hamster wheel we can't get off. At least once a week MTV3's teletext or Viihdeuutiset (Entertaiment news) has some completely insignificant piece if news with either my or the bands name.
- I'm fine with it as long as people remember what it's about. But if people are stuffed with the name Nightwish or get a 'What is it now?'-feeling, you can't control it anymore. And I'm a little worried and bothered by it. I'd definetly feel the same if I was a fan of a band who'd be in the media for the strangest reasons. But I have to say I can't believe that 130 000 people bought the album just out of curiosity to see 'how does the Swede sing'.

Dark Passion Play world tour will have lasted a few weeks short from two years at it's end. Have you learned to rest on the breaks or are 'Tuomas' holidays' like before, working with other bands?
- There was an incident in early January that woke me to realize that I need some rest. I got scared when I noticed behaving in a way that really wasn't like me. I thought it's better to do nothing for a few days. And afterwards I understood the situation resulted from fatigue.
- Now I have three weeks off. I intend to devote that to watching movies and ice swmming. Doing nothing is an underrated virtue. But if I'm offered thing I really can't say no to, I can't say no. Because I wouldn't forgive myself for that later on.

Offers to do different projects haven't probably lessened lately. Is the image of you different on different parts of the world? Are there certain types of proposals from somewhere and other kind from somewhere else?
- Not really and I haven't gotten any offers for example from the States. Mostly the inquiries come from Finland, Sweden, Russia. Mostly it's producing or movie music. And then there's "will you play the keyboards for this one song?"-questions. If I'm intrested and the schedule allows it, why wouldn't I do it? You don't have to feel like a whore eventhought you're in with a lot of things. As my good friend Marco Hietala says "A pro has work to do and the amateurs whine".
- But there isn't a lot of time. At the moment my favourite therapy children are Indica and Kotiteollisuus. They are more than momentary session work and both really important to me. I've been able to give them a large part of my soul. Besides For My Pain isn't buried yet. It's been seven years since the last album but you never know...

Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom has talked about his first side project in that tone. You should make a bet can you round up For My Pain faster than he Sinergy.
- Precisely. That's not a bad idea!


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[seraph7]

Thanks for the article. I haven't been on the board for a while so I would have missed this.
Am a bit curious about this 'incident' that convinced Tuomas he needed to take it easy. Still hopefully everything is fine now.