APOst - Interviews
Interview by Jaco Dekker, ZwareMetalen.com
Link to original interview
Interview Apocalyptica
It was a normal Tuesday afternoon when my colleague and I made our way to Amsterdam. After some parking problems and driving on the bus lane instead of the one meant for cars, we're finally face-to-face with Apocalyptica's Eicca and Mikko. The men have just released their latest studio album Worlds Collide. The last album did not get a lot of promotion and therefore the men are a lot more outspoken this time around, particularly about chairs, ions, the cello and the effect of effects.
Did you ever believe that Apocalyptica would become such a big act?
Eicca: No, not at all. We didn't think we would be successful at all. We never even thought that we would get to record an album. Once we were asked to record our first CD we thought that the person who asked us was insane. We just couldn't imagine that someone would ever want to listen to such an album. We did it for fun and played some songs at parties and such. People liked it, but we thought that was going to be the last of it.
Did you notice that a lot of people are covering your songs now?
Mikko: Do you know that English band The Beatles ? They stole some of our material!
Eicca: Everywhere we play we get to meet people who have started their own cello bands.
Mikko: You can listen to many of those bands on YouTube. It's a lot of fun to see that the other guys inspire so many cellists. It's a great honour.
Eicca: We're indeed very proud of the fact that people are influenced by us, or that they are inspired to have some fun with the cello and the music they like. Of course that doesn't mean that those cellists can't like classical music as well. You just don't have to use the instrument for classical music alone. Once you're able to let go of those conventional ideas, you can find a lot of positive things when it comes to getting the hang of certain ways to play. You play together for fun and when you do you play music that comes from the soul, instead of playing notes on a sheet of paper. It gives you a sense of freedom.
Mikko, how did you become part of the band?
Mikko: The Reflections album was the first CD on which the guys worked together with drummers. Dave Lombardo drummed on about five songs and a Finnish drummer did the other songs. When the Apo guys decided to start touring with the new material, they wanted a drummer with them. Both drummers that played on the album were unavailable.
Eicca: We knew a bunch of drummers, but we did not want a standard metal drummer. A couple of people we know well recommended Mikko. Unfortunately, they were wrong about his abilities. Hahaha!
Mikko: The guys called me in January whether or not I wanted to tour with them in February. I had to make a decision very fast: a decision that could mean a lot to me. I had two weeks to learn the songs and after that we needed to rehearse as a band as well.
So there wasn't a lot of time to get prepared for the tour. Is that the reason why you're behind such an usual drumkit?
Mikko: Yes, there was no time for me to get a decent set-up for the drumkit and so I just put everything on the floor. No, actually the real reason for me to have such a strange set-up is because I don't use a double bass. The guys had recorded some songs with double bass, so I had to think of something else to make it work. I came up with this set-up, which basically means that I only use the floor toms. I don't use small floor toms. With the large toms I try to achieve a similar thunderous sound as one would get with a double bass paddle.
Eicca: This non-metal set-up does influence our sound as a band, which is good because we aren't a normal metal band anyway.
How do you divide the different parts in the band?
Eicca: In the past we used to make sure everyone had equal parts to play and divide it that way: solo, bass, rhythm. Nowadays we divide the parts according to the sound. We want to make every song sound as well as possible. The guy who's the best with a certain part will take it.
Mikko: The set-up of the cellos is different now, too. Eicca has a sound that goes best while playing riffs in combination with distortion and microphone settings. Perttu plays the leads. His sound is best for that.
Eicca: Paavo has created a new bass sound, so he's the best man for that. Of course we switch around every now and then, so he doesn't have to play the bass part all evening. That would be rather boring indeed. We've got some more structure in all parts. I will play most of the riffs, because I really enjoy playing them. Mikko and I are a great team at the moment. We complete each other. During our last tour we learned to enjoy one another's playing and because of that we got closer personally as well. Therefore we form a stable basis for the rest, so the others can add their thing to our playing. So, to get back to your question, we all have our strong and weaker sides and we use those strong sides instead of just doing something.
Does playing the cello have any advantages for playing the electric guitar as well?
Eicca: Well, of course you need a bow to play the cello and that's completely different from using a guitar pick. The advantage of using a bow is that you can hold a note for as long as you like. Of course one can add a lot of dynamics to the playing with a bow. A disadvantage of a bow is that you can't play the rhythms as tight as one would like. A note doesn't have such a clear start on a cello as it would have when played on a guitar. With a guitar pick you have a "direct attack", something you don't have with a bow. One can't play as many variations on a guitar, though. At the same time that's also the biggest problem of playing the cello: because there are so many ways to play her, it can be hard to decide which way is right.
Mikko, isn't it hard for you to keep the music tight?
Mikko: Sometimes is can be, yes. During our last tour we found out what works and what doesn't. We practise a lot anyway and try to sense each other's playing as well as we can.
I can hear several guitar effects on the new album, like wah-wah.
Eicca: Yes, that's right. We played with more distortion and delay pedals. We also use different ways to play on this album, something we didn't do before: a lot of pizzicato stuff, for example. The distortion is heavier than before. The reason for that is that we used effects during our recording sessions and didn't add them afterwards, like we used to do in the past. That new way does have a huge effect on the way we play stuff now. The riffs, the drum basis and the melody were already there, but this time around we totally went with the flow and added things to the music that we wouldn't have added if we had played "the old way". The process of recording was a lot more intense than it was in the past.
The way you write songs has changed. Did it also change because there's a drummer in the band now?
Eicca: In the past we used to finish the songs and then Mikko would just add what he wanted to drum-wise. And we also used to play what we wanted the way we had always done. Nowadays Mikko's drumming has a lot more consequences for our way of playing. Sometimes it goes like:"Mikko is playing a lot here, perhaps we should take a step back." Or we simplify the riffs, or Mikko has to take a step back.
On this album there are a lot more songs with vocals. Are you going to play the songs with vocals live as well, or will you play the instrumental versions, like you used to do in the past?
Eicca: We will play the instrumental versions. I can't think of a singer who would be able to sing the parts of Cristina Scabbia and Till Lindemann. If we would tour with only one singer, people would say that the live-singer's not as good as the one on the album. People would compare. In the past we have shown that we can do a fine job when it comes to playing an instrumental version of a song, so that's what we'll continue to do.
Mikko: There are eleven songs on this album, four with vocals and seven without. We've recorded quite a few albums and have a large repertoire from which we can choose. There won't be a problem at all when it comes to having a lot of action going on stage, even without a singer.
Eicca: However, for this album it was a lot of fun to record the songs with vocals. Every voice is different and every song will have a different feel to it. It keeps things fresh, gives the album more character and is therefore a lot more interesting. I'm not saying that an instrumental album would have been boring, but this is more exciting. If the songs that we will write in the future will be like the ones on this album, we will put even more vocal tracks on upcoming CDs. That doesn't mean that we will never ever do another instrumental album again. If we would start to write fifteen-minute symphonies it could be the case. I just don't think that we will go in that direction in the near future. We hope that this album will open new doors, so we can participate in new collaborations and dive deeper into the world that we've created with this album.
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Eicca: There are many. People from the metal scene and out of it. People from the metal scene we contacted before this album were Jonathan Davis, Serj Tankian and Marilyn Manson. Unfortunately the timing wasn't right. Serj Tankian was working on his solo album and couldn't find the time for a collaboration. Marilyn Manson had just decided to quit the music industry and start working on a movie career. We've been talking with Manson for about three or four years now. Jonathan Davis was interested in a collaboration as well, but Korn had just decided to do an MTV Unplugged tour, so he couldn't participate either. To get vocalists for an album is quite the puzzle. There are so many factors that can ruin a collaboration. Sometimes people have given their OK and the managers don't like the idea. All labels try to protect their artists. Some of them are afraid that some of their artists' actions might cause damage to their image. Or they're just working on their own album and a collaboration would pull the limelight away from their own project. The music industry is a very political business when it comes to strategies and the like.
Does your new record company interfere in your decisions?
Eicca: They mainly control the artistic- and recording procedures. They give advice and take care of certain things. In the past we would just make an album and that was it. The record company would release it and nothing more. Now we're signed to an A&R label which is owned by one of the most legendary A&R guys. He made sure that we could work with Max Martin, for example. Apart from that he took care of negotiations and made sure that we had the greatest benefit from them. He also gave us feedback on some of the songs, like "You should get this songs mastered there". So we mastered in several studios, all of which are the best. He made sure that we could rent them for a decent price. The most important issue was that from the first time we met him, we felt like we were going to be a priority for the label. That they want us to make the best possible albums and that they honestly like our music.
They do everything they can to support the album. England is for the first time very excited, just like France. Germany has always been going well and remain to do so. Our last label did a good job there, but they were mainly focussed on the German market. Outside Germany they didn't have a lot of connections and England didn't give a f*ck about us. Japan and America are starting to open up to us as well. This label looks at ticket sales and decides to do promotion in a country where it's going well, instead of letting us know that we've sold 2000 tickets in a country, but that we should keep our mouths shut.
Are there any classical composers that influence you when you compose?
Eicca: I haven't been listening to a lot of classical music in the past few years. Sometimes I will listen to Shostakovich, but my musical influences lay a lot more in rock and pop. Our classical background is still there, but more in the playing of the cello and less as an influence. Most of the time I'm thinking about writing a good song and not about writing for an instrument. Once I've written something I'll try to make it work on the cello. The second song on the album is by Mikko. The demo which he record of it had a trance beat and some guitar sounds. We copied that idea and transferred it to the cellos and in that case it worked. If we've got a good song we can make it work for Apocalyptica. Some songs are fine tuned on the cello, others on the guitar. Sometimes I will hold my cello as a guitar and use a guitar pick to get the right vibe. This is how I create artistic energy.
Will you give singers freedom to write their own lyrics?
Eicca: It depends. Most of the time the singer will write the lyrics. In this case we used lyrics by David Bowie. The lyrics of I'm Not Jesus are by Johnny Andrews. I wrote a small part of the lyrics of I Don't Care. The biggest part of the lyrics of that song are by Max Martin, though. The lyrics are fantasy and not about a particular someone, but I think everyone can find a sense of truth in them. I think that goes for all our lyrics. People can find a meaning in lyrics without artists telling them what they should feel. It's all about translating emotions. If we can come up with suitable lyrics ourselves, we will use those. Most of the time we tell singers in which direction we want a song to go. After that they will get the freedom to create something beautiful. We aren't that great when it comes to writing lyrics.
When it comes to instrumental songs, do you first come up with a title or with the music? A song like Farewell sounds like a soundtrack to me: it's like a goodbye to this world.
Mikko: Perttu wrote that song. He had a clear view about this song right from the start, both the music and the title. I can't explain what's with that song, but I know what you mean. The song and the music belong together.
Eicca: Usually we start with the music. Sometimes we'll have a chat and share our ideas about a certain song. I'm the worst when it comes to that. I have no clue whatsoever whether a song tells a story or not. During those conversations we try to come up with words that describe the song, mostly emotions and feelings. On this album there's a song called Ion. That's just a song. It just happened. We write the music and done. One day we were talking about the fact that we have so many songs that end on 'ion'. Destruction, Reflection, Resurrection, and so on. We promised each other that we wouldn't come up with song titles that end on 'ion'. Once I had finished this song and I told the guys that I wanted to call this song 'Ion', they all said "No, no, no. We really can't do that!" Hahaha! Sometimes a song doesn't have a deeper meaning, but just a certain energy.
You will play three gigs in the Netherlands this year. So you're doing rather well here, too?
Mikko: Yes, we have quite a few fans in the Netherlands. We've played at the 013 in Tilburg. That's a very nice venue. Last time we played Paradiso as well, and before that De Melkweg. We'll come back there this time as well. The venue had been renewed and is very suitable for us. And we'll play in Gr... chr... Groningen.
Eicca: Our former label did a lot of promotion in the Netherlands for our first album. During that time we got part of our fans, some of which are still visiting our gigs. Despite the fact that our last album didn't sell very well, we still sold a lot of concert tickets. We have no reason at all to skip the Netherlands during this tour. Denmark and Norway we will skip, because our tour is more suitable for larger venues: 2000 people or more. That's the reason why we won't visit a country where we will only sell 500 tickets. It costs a lot of money to do these shows. We will do a tour-concert for a select few in England. This show is to test our new lights. A company has created new lights and we are the first European band to use them on stage.
Will Antero be present during this tour?
Eicca: Yes, he managed to get two years off of his orchestra to be on the road with us.
Mikko: He plays in the Finnish Lahti Orchestra. That's an orchestra with a well-known status.
Does he even like touring? All those times I've seen him live he barely moved. Once he stood up during a gig. I was shocked!
Mikko: Hahaha! That must have been during the highlight of the tour, because he always does it only once during a tour. He's an extremely great musician and has a wonderful sense of humour. His stage act is quite different. If he raises his pinkie, you notice it right away.
Eicca: He likes the music. His way to view our music is that of a passionate musician. He tries to create the best possible sound and always plays as well as he can. We'd rather not play a single show without him. We hope that we have earned enough money after two years so we can pay his orchestra and offer him a fulltime job. His orchestra has already let him know that after these two years he won't be able to go away for such extended periods of time.
Would you like to have him back in the band?
Mikko: He wouldn't want that. He's not too fond of the other things that come with being in a band. During the recording of an album he would probably kill everyone. Well, first he would kill himself and then he would come back to haunt us and kill us.
Eicca: He likes a clear organisation of things. The songs need to be rehearsed well. He doesn't want to be part of any form of chaos. A situation in which nobody knows what to play is something he can't deal with. The writing process is very frustrating for him. We started to rehearse for our tour about a month ago and that's the way that works best for him: get in, play right away and being sure of what he hears. We rehearse quite a lot: about eight hours a day. We haven't been touring for a while and now we'll be back on the road again, we want to do things right right away.
Mikko: Usually we're really happy with the shows around gig number twenty. Now we want our first show to have the level of a 20th show. That's the reason why we will rehearse a week before the kick off of the tour with everything we will need on stage: lights, p.a., and so on. In the past we used to rehearse the day before and that was it. Now we'll spend a little more time rehearsing so we can get everything ready in time. Basically we want to go to another level.
Will you bring those cool chairs again?
Eicca: We're currently hiring a designer to create new chairs. These will be partially made from our old chairs. During a tour we try to walk around as much as possible, or else our arses will feel like wood!
Translated by Varda