2021-22: Interviews during the Human :||: Nature tour

[Fugazi]

Let's get this one started with a recent interview with Troy and Tuomas on Chaoszine. I'm posting this here although it will only be available in a few hours and I will be sleeping, so comments to follow. 🙃

 

 

[Fugazi]

Highlights from the Chaoszine interview:

• Ewo is the one who comes up with the funny names for the various fake cover bands.
• Although they enjoyed the experience Tuomas doesn't expect more virtual shows for Nightwish, however a Blu-Ray will be made out of the two shows. 🤘
• After the first Auri album, and even more so after the second album, Tuomas has the feeling that what began as a project is actually a band that will keep going for a long time. He sees Auri doing ten albums, numbered 1 to 10 of course. 🙄😁
• Writing for Nightwish and Auri both comes from a place of freedom, but the historical dynamics within Nightwish makes it a bit different than Auri which is possibly a place of even greater freedom and friendship. (I'm paraphrasing a bit here)
• Tuomas is also quite excited about the idea of a short tour with Auri whenever Nightwish duties allow, including material from the two albums and possibly some cover songs.

[Fugazi]

Tuomas interviewed by Metal Hammer. Many good, direct questions and straight answers.

https://www.loudersound.com/features/tuomas-holopainen-if-floor-left-it-would-be-the-end-of-nightwish

 

Tuomas Holopainen: “If Floor left, it would be the end of Nightwish”

By Dave Everley (Metal Hammer) 2021-08-20, published in Metal Hammer #351.

Disney, dark places, and accusations of being ruthless: inside the life of Nightwish mainman Tuomas Holopainen

 

A few quotes:

• “[As a kid, I was] very introverted. I enjoyed being by myself. I was full-on into Walt Disney comics, fantasy board games, The Lord Of The Rings, all that. I had adventures in the nearby forests with my imaginary friends Huey, Dewey, Louie and Frodo Baggins. Was I a nerd? Yeah. And that still describes me pretty well.”
• “I was spending a night at my parents’ cabin at this little island with the guys from a high school band I was in called Dismal Silence. While we were barbecuing sausages and having a few drinks, I told the other guys that I wanted to form a band because I wanted to write my own songs. I said it will be completely acoustic campfire music, and they said, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ And then a week later I joined the army.”
• “I was completely broke, so I got this job as a stand-in teacher in the local high school. I was there for about two years. My main job was to take care of a girl in a wheelchair – I’d take her to class, take her to eat, all that. But whenever teachers got sick, they would call and say, ‘Can you replace me for a day?’ I have absolutely no qualifications for that, but they gave me notes, so it would be OK. It’s funny meeting those students, ’cos they’re 35, 40 years old now.”
• You fired Tarja Turunen after Once. Did you think, ‘This is it, the band is over’? “Funnily enough, no. I’ve had that feeling twice. The first time was in 2001, after we fired our first bass player, and the second was when Marko left. But when Tarja left, and when Anette left, I never felt, ‘OK, this is the end.’ On the contrary. The persistence was there: ‘We need to get over this and show the world.’”
• Have you spoken to Tarja since she left? “We have emailed a few times. Even though the wounds are still there on both sides, things are better.” Have you actually spoken to her? “No. Just emails. A few months ago, my father passed away and she immediately sent me an email with her condolences. I was very touched by that.”
• “There’s a very common misconception that people have of me, that I’m a tyrant and I want to take care of everything. I’m the opposite of a control freak. If you ask the other bandmembers, I think they would agree that I try to be as invisible a band leader as possible. I make the final decisions when it comes to important matters, but I don’t want to make an issue out of it.”
• “There was a period, maybe 15 to 20 years ago, when I was maybe drinking too much. There was the rock’n’roll lifestyle for a few years. But never drugs. I’ve never tried those.”
• “I trashed a backstage once, because it just had to be done. A bucket-list thing. But that was when the troubles with Tarja were happening, so the frustration just came out. I felt so ashamed afterwards.”
• “After doing this for this long, you’re bound to get a little bit jaded about doing another American or European tour for six weeks. I don’t mind at all, but the initial excitement is not there anymore, it’s not the same as it was in 1999 when we toured for the first time. To get that excitement back in would be something special.”
• You said in 2019 that if another bandmember leaves, it’s the end of Nightwish. And now Marko’s gone... “That’s how I felt back in 2019, and that’s also how I felt when Marko left. I take my words back when it comes to that. But if it would be Floor leaving, that’s it, it’s the end of Nightwish. Absolutely, 100%.”
• “If Nightwish ends [tomorrow], it was a great run, a wonderful adventure of 25 years. Then I’d just have to come up with something else.”

 

[Spartanguy83]

On 8/20/2021 at 12:49 AM, Fugazi said:

Tuomas interviewed by Metal Hammer. Many good, direct questions and straight answers.

https://www.loudersound.com/features/tuomas-holopainen-if-floor-left-it-would-be-the-end-of-nightwish

 

Tuomas Holopainen: “If Floor left, it would be the end of Nightwish”

By Dave Everley (Metal Hammer) 2021-08-20, published in Metal Hammer #351.

Disney, dark places, and accusations of being ruthless: inside the life of Nightwish mainman Tuomas Holopainen

 

A few quotes:

• “[As a kid, I was] very introverted. I enjoyed being by myself. I was full-on into Walt Disney comics, fantasy board games, The Lord Of The Rings, all that. I had adventures in the nearby forests with my imaginary friends Huey, Dewey, Louie and Frodo Baggins. Was I a nerd? Yeah. And that still describes me pretty well.”
• “I was spending a night at my parents’ cabin at this little island with the guys from a high school band I was in called Dismal Silence. While we were barbecuing sausages and having a few drinks, I told the other guys that I wanted to form a band because I wanted to write my own songs. I said it will be completely acoustic campfire music, and they said, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ And then a week later I joined the army.”
• “I was completely broke, so I got this job as a stand-in teacher in the local high school. I was there for about two years. My main job was to take care of a girl in a wheelchair – I’d take her to class, take her to eat, all that. But whenever teachers got sick, they would call and say, ‘Can you replace me for a day?’ I have absolutely no qualifications for that, but they gave me notes, so it would be OK. It’s funny meeting those students, ’cos they’re 35, 40 years old now.”
• You fired Tarja Turunen after Once. Did you think, ‘This is it, the band is over’? “Funnily enough, no. I’ve had that feeling twice. The first time was in 2001, after we fired our first bass player, and the second was when Marko left. But when Tarja left, and when Anette left, I never felt, ‘OK, this is the end.’ On the contrary. The persistence was there: ‘We need to get over this and show the world.’”
• Have you spoken to Tarja since she left? “We have emailed a few times. Even though the wounds are still there on both sides, things are better.” Have you actually spoken to her? “No. Just emails. A few months ago, my father passed away and she immediately sent me an email with her condolences. I was very touched by that.”
• “There’s a very common misconception that people have of me, that I’m a tyrant and I want to take care of everything. I’m the opposite of a control freak. If you ask the other bandmembers, I think they would agree that I try to be as invisible a band leader as possible. I make the final decisions when it comes to important matters, but I don’t want to make an issue out of it.”
• “There was a period, maybe 15 to 20 years ago, when I was maybe drinking too much. There was the rock’n’roll lifestyle for a few years. But never drugs. I’ve never tried those.”
• “I trashed a backstage once, because it just had to be done. A bucket-list thing. But that was when the troubles with Tarja were happening, so the frustration just came out. I felt so ashamed afterwards.”
• “After doing this for this long, you’re bound to get a little bit jaded about doing another American or European tour for six weeks. I don’t mind at all, but the initial excitement is not there anymore, it’s not the same as it was in 1999 when we toured for the first time. To get that excitement back in would be something special.”
• You said in 2019 that if another bandmember leaves, it’s the end of Nightwish. And now Marko’s gone... “That’s how I felt back in 2019, and that’s also how I felt when Marko left. I take my words back when it comes to that. But if it would be Floor leaving, that’s it, it’s the end of Nightwish. Absolutely, 100%.”
• “If Nightwish ends [tomorrow], it was a great run, a wonderful adventure of 25 years. Then I’d just have to come up with something else.”

 

I am going to plan some time to go all these older posts. Hopefully this weekend. Thanks again for the time you put into these greats posts! (It says I can't react to anymore posts today)  so here🤘🤘

[Fugazi]

Oh? I didn't even know there was a limit on reactions. I'll have to have a look under the hood and fix that. 😁

[Fugazi]

A keynote interview with Tuomas during the East European Music Conference held in Sibiu, Romania.

https://www.facebook.com/EastEuropeanMusicConference/videos/653759775649807

 

Some highlights:

• Auri 2 (the second album) took about 6-7 months to make from start to finish. Most of the recording was done either at Tuomas' or Troy's place.
• Tuomas has been obsessed with Nightwish work in the last few months, the foundations of 7 songs have been mapped.
• There are no plans to start rehearsing and recording the new album before the planned date of Summer 2023.
• The virtual show idea was proposed to Tuomas as soon as Spring 2020, at the time there was no interest from the band but it eventually grew on them.
• Tuomas reiterates that a Blu-Ray will be released with the virtual show.
• The tavern idea came from Toxic Angel, without input from the band.
• The band has toyed with the idea of including digital elements (like holograms) in future shows.
• Despite the struggles, the crew members (Crewish) have stuck on board, and Tuomas values personal relationships with the crew members above business relationships.
• Tuomas would be excited about Crewish supporting the band during live shows one day.

[Spartanguy83]

“When Nightwish stops giving as much as it takes, I’ll quit”: the gospel according to Tuomas Holopainen | Louder (loudersound.com)

[Fugazi]

Good interview, very insightful!

“After the [Tarja] split, the next few months were really, really dark. The things that really saved me from doing anything silly were my family, my close friends and the film The Village by M. Night Shyamalan. I watched it twice a day for weeks. That film made all the difference. Just the idea of this community living in peace in the middle of the wood, secluded from the world. Plus it has the best soundtrack ever written. It just filled me with comfort and hope. I was never suicidal, it wasn’t even close, but I was in a really dark place. It was the worst period of my life. Call it depression, but not suicidal. I want to make that clear.”

[Spartanguy83]

 

[Fugazi]

Quote of the day, about her solo career: "The fact that I can do it doesn't mean that I have to do it. It has to be fun, it has to be good, it has to coexist."

Quote of the day #2: "There's no need for concern at all. I could never leave Nightwish."

🤘

This was a nice interview!

[Fugazi]

It seems like it's been a long time since the last proper band interview... Anyway here's Floor in Swedish media:

 

Nightwish: "We love the world we live in"

The symphony metal band Nightwish has undergone many changes and conflicts during its 26 years since its inception and has also become Finland's largest music export. TT met the singer Floor Jansen at the festival Sweden Rock.

10 June 2022

https://www.gp.se/kultur/kultur-nöje/nightwish-vi-älskar-världen-vi-bor-i-1.74584847

It is cloudy on the second day of the rock festival when Dutch Floor Jansen gives an audience in the backstage area and remembers when she last visited Norway. Then as a singer in the band After Forever.

- I remember that it was my first time in Sweden. But it was hot that year, really hot. Then there was a girl who bought me a drink at the bar but I did not understand that she liked me and wanted to flirt, says Floor Jansen with a laugh.

Nightwish was formed in 1996 but had a major international impact in the early 00's. Now they have just embarked on a long world tour after the pandemic. Floor Jansen compares it to getting on a bike again after many years. Something that sits in the spinal cord.

- I really missed it. I need both home life and artist life. Both me and my husband (Hannes van Dahl who is the drummer in the metal band Sabaton reds note) have really tried to focus on what we could do, instead of what we could not. Like writing music and all that, but there is nothing that can replace going out and playing for an audience.

"Let's festival!"

Jansen says that the start of the tour began a week earlier at a festival in Finland. It was bad weather but nothing disturbed the band.

- When we arrived, it rained a lot, of course. It was ten degrees, everyone had rubber boots and there was mud everywhere. Then we were back and felt "let's festival", says Jansen.

After the tour, which is expected to continue until June 2023, Nightwish plans to record his tenth studio album.

- This will be the third of the albums I have been on that fit together thematically. I'm really looking forward to starting working on the songs and getting to know them and seeing how everyone in the band gets to add their own creativity and sound.

Heavier sound

Floor Jansen wants to keep much of the new album concept secret. She admits that the new record will be in the heavier direction, but promises not to lose the typical Nightwish sound.

The band's lyrics and themes were initially inspired by gothic and fantasy, including themes from JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". But the latest albums "Endless forms most beautiful" and "Human II Nature" have had a different character, says Floor Jansen.

- It's not fantasy with elves and dwarves, it's much more about love for the real world, but where you can almost imagine a fantasy world because everything is as fantastic as it is. We simply love the world we live in. But more scientifically and biologically than spiritually, says Jansen.

Floor Jansen is Nightwish's third singer since the band started and other members have also been replaced over the years, which has led to some conflicts that have been reflected in the media. Jansen, who is also planning a solo album in 2023, says that it is difficult to have a band for so long without any problems.

- Music is more important than all the drama around. At the end of the day, that's what we stand for. An honesty to be true to the music.

[Fugazi]

Kai and Tuomas are interviewed at Knotfest, Kai seemed a bit nervous there or he had too much caffeine? 😁

Interesting comment from Kai about how the band was lucky in a way that Marko's leaving didn't happen while they were touring -- I can imagine Tuomas recalling some bad Imaginaerum tour memories right there.

There's even a teaser at the end about a song on the new album! 😁

[Fugazi]

There's another interview from the same gig.

Tuomas mentions the "deep pits of hell" of Internet forums where he ventured to find inspiration for 'Noise'... 😁

[mabla]

Nightwish Interview - Sweden Rock Online - YouTube

Floor talking Swedisch 🤔

I can't understand a word of it 🤣😂

[Fugazi]

She sounds pretty fluent -- but that's all I can say about it! 😁

[Fugazi]

Tuomas Holopainen reveals “major surprises” on next Nightwish album, admits he thought the band “were finished” when bassist Marko Hietala left

Nightwish’s next album will be the final part in a trilogy, according to keyboard player Tuomas Holopainen

By Metal Hammer 2022-12-07

https://www.loudersound.com/news/nightwish-new-album-tuomas-holopainen-surprises

Nightwish’s Tuomas Holopainen has revealed that the band’s next album will contain some “major suprises”.

Speaking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the keyboard player says that the follow-up to 2020’s Human. :II: Nature would complete a trilogy that began with 2015’s Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

“I immediately knew after getting that album [Endless Forms Most Beautiful] done that, ‘Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this’,” he says. “And the same thing happened after Human. :II: Nature, we’re still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.

“In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with Endless Forms… and then Human. :II: Nature There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to Human. :II: Nature.” 

While Holopainen remains cagey as what these “surprises” would involve, he revealed that the band have already demoed the new album.

“The wonderful thing is that we have had the demo done since last spring. So it's been done for six months now. We really have all the time in the world to go through it all, and we have had a such great time with the band, just listening to the demo in our hotel rooms – me singing the lyrics and the melodies to Floor [Jansen, singer], she's recording them and then she's seeing them and throwing ideas to each other.”

He also added that he thought Nightwish was finished when bassist Marko Hietala left the band in January 2021, citing depression and disillusionment with the music industry.

“That was devastating,” says Holopainen. “We knew about his problems, but it still was a huge shock to us all. For about 48 hours I was convinced that that was the end of the band. I remember calling Emppu [Vuorinen, guitar] like, ‘Can you believe what happened again?’ We laughed: ‘You think this is the end? Yeah.’

“Then some time passed, our management called me, saying 'think about it again, you have had 26 years of…quite the ride, you want it to end like that?' And I was like ‘That’s a really good point. If we go out, let’s go out and stylishly’. I mean, we have survived bad things in the past as well. So maybe we can survive this as well.

“Then a few weeks later, things started to look a bit more bright. I felt, ‘Yeah, let's try it once more’, then Jukka [Koskinen, bass] came along. The stars have been out of line so many times, it's nice to have them aligned now."

Nightwish singer Floor Jansen recently revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She subsequently underwent surgery and has since said she is now “cancer-free”.

[Moondance]

Tuomas recently had an interview with Metal Chest of Wonders and he had some things to say. I'll leave it below.

http://metalchestofwonders.com/en/interview/tuomas-holopainen-nightwish-2022-11-30

[Fugazi]

7 hours ago, Moondance said:

Tuomas recently had an interview with Metal Chest of Wonders and he had some things to say. I'll leave it below.

http://metalchestofwonders.com/en/interview/tuomas-holopainen-nightwish-2022-11-30

Great interview, many burning questions that have never been asked before as far as I know! 🤘

You mentioned some of them elsewhere, but I wanted to comment on a few more:

• "We've been listening to the songs with the whole band in hotel rooms, me singing the lyrics for them to get the idea of the structure of the songs. And everybody sincerely seems to be super excited about the themes and the songs so that was a massive rock off my heart." -- Wait what? Tuomas singing to the band, I want to hear it! 😁
• "When we started to put together the setlist, I had an idea of using "Ad Astra" as an outro but Troy said "Wait. What if she sings it live and we would be standing next to her in a line?" And when we tried it at the rehearsal, it just felt right, like "Wow, what a way to end!" " -- Yay for Troy! 🤘
• "I'd love to play "Procession". It's one of my favorite songs from the new album. But for some reason, it was just left out. We haven't even rehearsed it. But I'd love to bring that at some point. It's a very underrated song. We all like it in the band." -- Well it's a downer thematically and musically, but I'd love to hear it live at least once.
• Nicolas: "About that, last time we met in Paris, you told us you were thinking of asking Tarja to join you on stage for the last concert of the Decades tour but it didn't or couldn't happen. Is this still something you're considering? -- Everything is always possible. I don't say no to anything anymore. But it is not something that we have planned in a concrete way." -- This is the first time I hear of it. 👀

[Moondance]

On 12/9/2022 at 11:18 PM, Fugazi said:

"I'd love to play "Procession". It's one of my favorite songs from the new album. But for some reason, it was just left out. We haven't even rehearsed it. But I'd love to bring that at some point. It's a very underrated song. We all like it in the band." -- Well it's a downer thematically and musically, but I'd love to hear it live at least once.

It'll definitely be interesting to hear "Procession" live in concert. It's probably too much to bet, but I'm hoping to have my fingers crossed for the band to perform the first disc of Human. :II: Nature. in its entirety at the Kitee show, but at the same time, am not holding my breath on that.

[Fugazi]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:56 AM, Moondance said:

It'll definitely be interesting to hear "Procession" live in concert. It's probably too much to bet, but I'm hoping to have my fingers crossed for the band to perform the first disc of Human. :II: Nature. in its entirety at the Kitee show, but at the same time, am not holding my breath on that.

I wonder if Floor would give a shot at singing Endlessness... together with Troy? 👀 I don't know if it would be blasphemy, but still I'd like to hear this one live more than anything else on Human Nature and chances are Marko is not going to guest star anytime soon. 😪

[Moondance]

Found another interview that was made in Budapest recently. @FugaziPerhaps some interesting points in the interview laid out? 🙂

https://metal.hu/tuomas-holopainen-nightwish-interview-2022-budapest-eng/

[Fugazi]

Tuomas talking about the usual things, but with some fresh updates. The title is sort of misleading, given Tuomas' actual answer below.

 

FEATURE INTERVIEW – NIGHTWISH “THERE WILL BE A NEW ALBUM IN SPRING 2024” TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Oran

https://www.overdrive.ie/feature-interview-nightwish-there-will-be-a-new-album-in-spring-2024-tuomas-holopainen/

• "I can’t even begin to understand the stress levels for the booking agents who have had to change things around so many times now. It’s been a nightmare."
• "The first show of this leg in Antwerp was just so emotional for all of us, but especially for Floor. It all came out during the song, ‘Sleeping Sun‘, she couldn’t sing the song towards the end, and she just broke down. It was a positive break down, if you know what I mean. It was just a huge release of so much anxiety, and pressure that had been building up inside her. It was a culmination of beating Cancer, finally do this tour, and that her voice was good enough to do what she loves to do. All of that came out at the same time, and it’s been wonderful ever since."
• "The pre-production [of ‘An Evening with in a virtual World’] was created by all of these wonderful people, and then the band got involved on the last eight days of the project. We were rehearsing in a green cube with just two camera men, and that was basically it."
• "Yes, the studio is booked, and the album is expected to be released in Spring/Summer/Autumn of 2024."
• "I’ve been writing fictional stories, and at the moment, I’ve got about fifteen. There is a publisher in Finland that is very interested in taking them on, but I feel that I need a few more stories before I will consider publishing them."
• "[The escalating cost of touring is] a massive problem. For example, tickets for this tour were sold in 2019 for this European leg, and now we’re paying 2022 costs. Our catering costs have risen by three times, the price of fuel. So, regardless that we’ve sold more tickets than every before, the costs of running the tour cancels out the profit margins. My wife is a singer, and has been for fifteen years, and the Pandemic took it all away. Now she has started a new company doing fantasy knit ware called Auriwear [click here]. I’m so proud of her, because she came to me and said; “I can’t do music anymore! But I have to come up with something else”, and throughout the whole lockdown period, she was just knitting so many things, and setting up this new venture."