ShamRain pour l'album "Goodbye To All That"

1. Hi Kalle! Thank you for according me some of your time for this interview. To begin, how do you feel just before the release of the new album, "Goodbye To All That"? Did you already had some feedback about it?

You're welcome. I've been really enthusiastic lately since the release is getting closer, only a bit over a week to go. Just got the finished CDs from offset so it made me feel even more anxious. Got some feedback, and it's been very positive. People are liking new tracks at our myspace site. I would like to see reviews soon, and hear what people think about the whole album. Luckily it will happen soon.


2. When I interviewed you last year for the release of your EP "Deeper Into The Night", you told me that this EP would be the end of an era for the band and that you wanted something new for the future album. And now that the new album is here, it actually sounds a bit different, less atmospheric and more rock tainted. Does this album represent this evolution you wanted for your music?

Yes, we felt that “Deeper…” would end a certain era, because it had some songs from “Someplace Else” sessions, which didn't fit to the album and it also had 2 new songs (if I remember correctly). We didn't actually plan much about the future style, or decide that “now we should do this kind of music”, we just started making songs from a different perspective with a bit different elements on it. And took some influences from a different kind of bands we started liking or had liked but earlier thought that kind of influences weren't suitable for ShamRain. We just didn't want to make 3 rd same album. I mean that “EWE” and “SPE” are quite similar to each other so we felt we needed to get something fresh to our music. It just didn't feel natural to make same kind of songs as earlier with the same kind of elements. It's true that new songs are more rock tainted and faster, and nice to play live as I noticed last Saturday on a gig at Tampere.


3. I'm not an expert, but this new album seems to go a step ahead in the arrangements. When listening to each song, we can hear a lot of layers of instruments and sounds. I suppose it wasn't easy in the studio to obtain such a result so how spent the recording process?

Quite often those arrangements and layers were created at Matti's place by Me and Matti when we were recording demos for new album. Sometimes Matti arranged some song many times over and over again, from slow to fast and back to slow again. Many songs got their last touch at studio also. We also wanted to use a bit different synth sounds and instruments like clockwork, which we hadn't used before. I studio the working was quite exhausting since we had so much different opinions, so it was really hard to struggle through and find the path everyone agreeded.


4. Perhaps you won't agree with me, but I found that the music and the general atmosphere of "Goodbye To All That" were close to a recent song we could hear in "Deeper Into The Night", the song "Black November". Did this song inspire you for the rest of this new album and did you had some of the new songs already written when you release the EP?

The song didn't inspire the upcoming album, but as I said it was one of the new songs on “Deeper…” EP so it might sound a bit like the songs on “Goodbye to all that” because it's quite new song. And it's more up-tempo song than the earlier stuff. So I think that's the reason for your conclusion. We didn't have any finished “Goodbye to all that ” songs that time, but some demos without vocals like Raindrops, Passing shadows and Silent lullaby etc. Some were arranged much later to a different way though.


5. Your previous productions were not very happy but I felt this new album much darker and colder than before. Which feelings did you wanted to express in this record?

Now when listening to “Someplace Else” it's very sorrowful and hopeless and the new one compared to that is much darker in my opinion too. It's just the way the songs came out, we didn't decide to put out feelings like that.


6. Do the lyrics follow the impressions given by the music (I mean sad, dark and so on)? Which themes did you approach this time?

Lyrics usually come out at the same time as music. Not necessarily to a certain song, but I for example write down separate lines and verses and then when I've music for a song ready I start fixing those lines together. But usually when writing music I've certain feelings or ideas what the song should be about and usually songs will have the lyrics with those emotions in the end.
This time there are many songs about permanent loss, meaning death. There are much lyrics referring to ghosts also. Actually so much, we thought that the lyrical theme is actually mostly on ghosts even it isn't a theme album. The cover art also shows some kind of ghosts. But don't want to spoil too much the lyrics, telling specifically what they're about.


7. To sing these lyrics, we can always hear the amazing voice of Mika Tauriainen who gives an excellent performance: the vocal lines are more diversified than before and the same with Minna Sihvonen who sing in a few songs as usual. I know that most of the songs are written by Matti and you but did Mika participate to the writing of the vocal lines? And did he tell you if to have such a voice was an advantage for the sex-appeal?

Matti and I write the music and lyrics and Mika does all the vocal arrangements and vocal melodies. In demo sessions we put the song to his headphones and give a lyric sheet to him and he starts improvising and making the vocal lines. (ndlr: et ma dernière question ?)


8. Is there a song that touches you particularly in this new album? Why?

It depends a bit on the mood I am. But mostly ‘Evangeline', because of it's lyrics. It holds a beautiful and sad story, suggest you to read it carefully when having the booklet with lyrics. And then ‘Stars Will Fall' gives me shivers almost every time, even it's a song I've written myself. The lyrics are telling a story from 2 different persons view. It's maybe the darkest song I've made.


9. Will you do a tour (or something) to promote this new album? Is there a chance to see you in France one day?

We hope to get some gigs from abroad. This far each tour have been cancelled for some reason. We are making some gigs in Finland at the moment and in few next months.


10. Last year, I also asked you about the new artwork style of ShamRain and the giving up of the logo. You told me you wanted to try some new things, like photos or drawings. And for "Goodbye To All That", it's actually a nice drawing, very dark and original but with something innocent (like a kid drawing). What did you mean by such an artwork?

Yes, this time there was going to be photo-based covers also at first, but then we gave up the idea and went for the drawings. Great choice when thinking afterwards. I wanted to create a collage kind of art, mixing photos and drawings. It turned out great. You should see the full artwork to get the whole picture what this album is about. Back cover tells also something with separating the songs to A and B “sides”. And such sketchy drawings are “scary” and distressing since they look a bit like drawn by a little kid. Because kids are innocent and if they draw such dark pics there must be something wrong. Maybe. Those drawings are made by my friend, but I chose some of them, mixed up together and manipulated them to be dark, and not black drawings on a white page.


11. What are you listening to these days? Any good new album to share?

In last few months I've been listening a lot to Joy Division (try: Unknown pleasures & Closer), My Bloody Valentine (try: Loveless), Radiohead (try: Anything up from OK Computer), The Smiths (try: Meat is murder & The queen is dead), The Knife (try: Silent shout), Gallhammer (try: anything), Kent (try: Isola, Hagnesta Hill, Du och jag döden), I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness (try: Fear is on our side), Interpol (try: anything), IAMX (try: The Alternative), Blonde Redhead (try: 23), Air (at the moment listening to Pocket Symphony), Velvet Underground (try: The Velvet Underground and Nico), Placebo (try: Sleeping with ghosts & Meds) etc etc. I listen to music always, so the list is long!
Yesterday I bought new Ulver album “The shadows of the sun” and it's really great. Also I like the new Radiohead album “In rainbows” very much. Love talking about music, as you might notice.


12. What do you think of the idea of Radiohead to let the listener decide of the price to give to their new album?

I think it is good thing in some ways: The money goes straight to the band, and it's a very good promotion trick, but can be done only once. But on the other hand, some people who don't appreciate the bands or music they might not pay a dime from it. They don't support band at all then. I don't get it.
Also another negative point is that there isn't a physical product you can own. I personally want the CD or vinyl to be on shelve and I want to browse through a booklet and read the lyrics and watch the artworks. That's how it should be. I need physical product to get the feeling I own the album.


13. Thank you for the interview and I already wait to see the final product (promo-CDs are a bit frustrating sometimes...). The last words are yours!

Yes I suggest everyone to get the CD and not downloading the album. It has great covers and great lyrics. You want to own this, let me say! Thank you for the interview once again!