2024: Interviews promoting Yesterwynde

[Moondance]

In a recent interview with Swedish Rock Magazine, Tuomas has indeed confirmed three things:

• "The Day of..." is set to be the next single. Looks like I was right on the money for this guess. The theme for the single is "1984", which I can assume that it is the George Orwell book it will be about.
• "The Children of 'Ata" will feature vocal parts sung in Tongan by guest vocalists.
• Tuomas has stated that the band is not going to stop touring completely, but will start touring less after the hiatus is over.

I might have missed a couple of other details. If I did, please post what I might have missed.
https://swedenrockmagazine.prenly.com/p/sweden-rock-magazine/2024-06-12/a/nightwish/1295/1472769/52504243

[Fugazi]

Awesome! The article seems to be behind a paywall, how did you manage to access it?

Anyway, I suppose that 'The Day of...' won't be anything like 'You Will Never Be Our God' (Xandria) but it's funny that we get two metal songs somewhat inspired by the same book in the last year.

Tongan guest vocalists? Hopefully they used due diligence and hired authentic Tongans and not con artists. 🤔

[Fugazi]

Another new interview with Tuomas on Rock Antenne YouTube channel. The guy has listened to the new album already. It looks like the interview covers some of the same ground as the Sweden Rock article.

Some highlights:

• "The Day Of..." is synth heavy with an 80's vibe. The song is about controlling people with fear, with an optimistic message hidden beneath.
• The album requires time to absorb but it will be rewarding.
• The album booklet includes many old-time photos with band members added-in.

[Fugazi]

Off The Record With Nightwish (Tuomas Holopainen) - with Bear Wiseman

A few tidbits:

• Tuomas has no regrets about regarding his career, and he wouldn't go back and change anything.
• The song 'Something Whispered Follow Me' is about the meaning of life.
• Tuomas is asked to comment on the band members. He describes Emppu as carefree, Troy as positive, Floor as passionate, Kai as amiable, Jukka as grounding.
• He describes 'The Children of 'Ata' as an unexpected standout song in the album.

[Fugazi]

Interview with Nightwish — “Grew old enough and healthy enough to pass the seed. Generations and generations and thousands and millions of years… incredible, and beautiful.”

By Laureline Tilkin - August 11, 2024

https://tuonelamagazine.com/interview-with-nightwish-grew-old-enough-and-healthy-enough-to-pass-the-seed-generations-and-generations-and-thousands-and-millions-of-years-incredible-and-beautiful/

Also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuUmt51h_U

Some highlights:

• "Without spoiling any details, to me, the album is very optimistic, even the song “The Day Of…” has a very optimistic message behind it. What Floor does in that song is acting to be somebody else. She’s the preacher of fear, the fearmonger, and then we get children in the choruses who say how things really should be. When they both join together for the last chorus, that’s when the magic happens."
• "If you want to get the full experience, listen to “Yesterwynde” from beginning to end, preferably with lyrics and artwork. [...] The starting point for me in doing this album was that the songs are there in that particular order for a very good reason. We were really careful with the gaps in between the songs, all the little details are there to make it all cohesive, and one big experience."
• Yeah, the band immediately said after hearing the first demo that “The Day Of…” has to be a single. Then, a bit later came “Perfume of the Timeless,” and then Floor wanted “Lanternlight” to be the third one. It’s going to come out on the same day as the album with a music video.
• "Well, the plan for the near future, is to finish AURI 3, which should be mixed next February. Then, we’re going to do a tour with AURI in the Fall of 2025. What happens after that, I really don’t have a clue."

[Fugazi]

"Nightwish will probably celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2026" - Interview with Tuomas Holopainen

Some highlights:

• The topics covered by the last 3 albums reach the other band members more that the personal stuff Tuomas used to write about before.
• No thought has been given yet to the next Nightwish album (theme, songs), but there *will* be an 11th NW album eventually.
• As the interview title suggests, the label has discussed celebrating the band's 30th anniversary in some way next year.

[Fugazi]

Tuomas Holopainen of Nightwish satisfied with the “Yesterwynde” album: “I Don’t Want to Complain About Anything Anymore”

Riku Juutilainen and Hannu Juutilainen - 20.8.2024

https://metalliluola.fi/interview-tuomas-holopainen-of-nightwish-satisfied-with-the-yesterwynde-album-i-dont-want-to-complain-about-anything-anymore/

 

Probably the most insightful interview so far, here are a few excerpts:

• We had Troy sing all the songs in one take to a click track, and we began rehearsing with his vocals in our in-ear monitors. Hearing the vocals during the arrangement phase opened up new creative possibilities. Even though it was Troy’s voice, it was sung willy-nilly, in a rough, impromptu manner. We could still hear the melody, the lyrics, where the vocals come in, the chorus placement, and so on.

• Unfortunately, these demos I just mentioned won’t be released. I doubt Troy would want fans to hear them. There are no bonus tracks on the album, and there isn’t a single Nightwish song that hasn’t been released in some form.

• The choir featured in “Yesterwynde” is what we call the Tallis Choir, named in honor of Thomas Tallis. He was a renowned medieval composer. We aimed to capture an ancient, medieval atmosphere. It was a very challenging recording and the most difficult thing to get done during the Abbey Road sessions in London.

• There were 12 singers (in the Tallis Choir), and the intonation was so delicate that it took approximately two hours to sing “Yesterwynde”. For these professionals, that’s quite a long time, as they usually get it done by the second or third take.

• I took a big A4 sheet of paper and made a drawing on it. Throughout the time I was composing “An Ocean Of Strange Islands”, that drawing remained on my music stand. I won’t reveal what was in that drawing, though.

• I was aware that ["The Day Of..."] would provoke discussions and conflicting feelings, but that’s precisely what music should achieve. The core idea of the song is that humankind has been frightened by apocalyptic and terrible events for tens of thousands of years, yet here this planet still is. -- We should always remember to challenge those in power – whether it’s politics, religion, or the media.

• This song ["The Children of ʻAta"] is perhaps the biggest positive surprise for me on the album. During the songwriting and rehearsal phases, it was very good and had potential, but it really took off, particularly through the orchestration and choir recordings. -- Meeting the Tongans was fascinating, particularly because their leader, Hanalee Vaike, insisted on meeting with me the day before the recordings. [...] It was clearly so important to her that she wanted to meet the person daring to fiddle with their story. I assured her that this project was approached with the utmost respect. It’s such a beautiful metaphor for the state of the planet and human kindness, and we wish for the world to know the story of these boys. [...] They were also very strict about who sang what. In Tongan culture, women aren’t allowed to recite certain prayers, and vice versa: they cannot participate in chants. They were very precise in the studio, ensuring that this person sings that part and that person sings that part, so everything was done correctly according to their traditions.

• None of the songs and stories on this album had a place for growls.

• Jukkis (Jukka Koskinen) took on the major challenge of playing the fretless bass at the end of “Sway”, an instrument notoriously difficult to keep in tune. The parts he plays there are just brilliant. It’s one of his highlights on this album.

• It was difficult for me to imagine anyone other than James stepping into Pip’s role. Fortunately, he had the motivation and time to do it. Whew! We chose Abbey Road because almost all the other studios in London have closed, except for AIR Studios and Abbey Road. AIR was fully booked for the rest of the year by Netflix.

• Janne Pitkänen, also known as ToxicAngel, couldn’t get involved this time [with the album design], so he passed the torch to Pete. We didn’t know each other at all. Janne said Pete is absolutely brilliant – just as good as he is and even much better. He’s a great guy and a great artist, he appreciated the themes of the album, and we had excellent harmony. [...] I directed Pete to draw the cover by hand so that it would look old. I also told him that the cover must have a clock going into infinity. Those were the approximate guidelines I gave Pete. I also asked him to sprinkle in a few Easter eggs from the album’s lyrics.

• Regarding performing, I don’t dare to comment on anything because we’re busy. The honest answer is that none of us know. We’ve signed a multi-album deal with Nuclear Blast, so there will be albums.

• In 2026, Nightwish’s 30-year history definitely needs to be celebrated in some way. Just this August, we were discussing with the record label what that could be. Most likely, there will be some sort of anniversary release.

• [About Marko and Tarja performing Nightwish songs] I don’t mind, why would I? People are free to cover others’ songs as much as they like. Perhaps they have felt that the people attending their concerts want a nostalgic trip to Nightwish as well. I see this as a win-win situation.

• We filmed it (the [Kitee] concert) just in case because it was such a special event. We don’t have any plans regarding what, or when anything will be released, but the material is there.

It's definitely worth reading the whole interview though.

[Fugazi]

Interview with Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen (10.08.2024)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4IvKyxL1X8

Nothing really new, content similar to previous interviews. Auri album in 2025, Auri tour end 2025. Possible Darkwoods album in the future, if stars align.

[Fugazi]

Interview with James Shearman on Metal Fusion.