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Just over two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak to the bassist of the finnish folk-metal band Korpiklaani. We chatted about what they had been up since I last spoke to them, the most recent album Noita and his favourite alcoholic beverage.
Thanks to Claire at Nuclear Blast for organising and Jarkko for his time.
Last time I spoke to you guys was at Bloodstock last year. What have you been up to since then?
Basically we have been touring and doing nothing else really! It’s pretty much the standard thing we do when we have released an album. Jonne has recently been busy doing his second solo album as well so that’s pretty much what we have been doing.
And obviously, you’re currently on tour with Moonsorrow. How’s the tour been so far?
It’s been really good so far. We started in France and then went over to Spain for a few days and then we went back to France again. Now we’re in the UK and it’s been good so far. We’ve had really good turnouts everywhere and we get along with Moonsorrow really well so there’s been no complaints J
The most recent album, Noita came out last year. What’s the response been like when you play these live?
They’ve been going down quite well. We’ve been playing a good half of the album and the audience seems to be really enjoying them.
We decided a couple of albums ago that we didn’t want to be trapped by having to play all the old songs. We didn’t want to be the band that played maybe one or two songs from the new album and then the rest from the first two albums. So we decided that we couldn’t continue like that and it’s kept the set-lists fresh for the audience and us.
If my sources are correct, Tuomas Kekimäki writes most of the lyrics. Is that correct?
Yes that’s correct. He writes most of them and Jonne writes a couple as well. He uses an old style of poem for the phrasing and things. I can never remember the name of it though…
When it comes to the writing in the band, it is just one person or does everyone chip in on the writing?
Jonne writes most of the music for the band. Especially on the latest album, Sami (Accordion) helped out with writing the folk arrangements along with Tuomas (Violin). They got together and wrote some more appropriate lines for the music. You can notice it on the new album and the folk section is a lot more prominent.
What’s the sort of gear that you use live?
I have a really simple setup. I use old BC Rich eagle basses and some old Ampeg preamps. I then have a wireless system that I use so I can move around. I effectively have 2 complete rigs with me so I have a backup incase something goes wrong.
And finally, what is your favourite alcoholic beverage?
It depends on the occasion. But in general my favourite is the traditional Scottish Whiskey. That’s pretty much the only whiskey that is worth having to be honest!
‘Korpiklaani are currently planning the release of their first DVD & live CD – due out late 2016/early 2017. Stay tuned for more details…’
Korpiklaani: official | facebook | twitter | youtube | spotify | last.fm | myspace
