Interviews : Korpiklanni – “We were just curious to see if people really like our songs in English” (An interview with Kalle “Cane” Savijärvi)

Finnish folk metallers Korpiklanni will soon be gracing Australian shores for the first time ever next week. The band are currently promoting their brand new album, ‘Manala’. Guitarist Kalle Savijärvi, took some time to sit down with Metal Obsession and answer some questions about the new album and imminent Australia tour.

Metal Obsession: Hi, Kalle. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

Cane: Not a problem. You’re welcome! I’m very excited about the upcoming Australian tour.

MO: Your most recent album “Manala” included both an English version and a Finnish version. How did this decision come about?

KS: We were just curious to see if people really like our songs in English. We’ve been mainly singing Finnish on our latest albums and there has been requests for more material in English. In the first place we were going to release them as their own albums, but then we decided to put the English one just as a bonus disc. It would have been too much for the fans to buy two albums with the same songs. This experiment showed us very well that fans like more those Finnish versions and so do we.

MO: How was the music for the album written?

KS: I think the basics were quite same as for the previous albums. Jonne did most of the music and poet Tuomas Keskimäki wrote most of the lyrics. Little changes were made in the studio by our producer Aksu Hanttu.

MO: Do you use a home studio for recording at all?

KS: Yes, if it’s needed. But we prefer to do everything in the “real” studio if possible. It is good that we have nowadays these possibilities to do things also at home, if somebody can’t make it to the studio or we don’t have enough time.

MO: I have always been impressed with how quickly you release new new albums. How do you manage to do this?

KS: We are still only max. one quarter of the year on the road, so we plenty of time to be at home and write songs. Like Jonne always says, if you have a good flow songs just comes pretty easy. Of course there’s a whole lotta work to record first the demos and then the albums. It is something we don’t think about. We are not forcing ourselves to anything.

MO: Does anyone in the band follow any sort of spiritual practise to do with nature? Or is nature mainly just something you find inspiring?

KS: I can’t be sure, but I think not. Nature just has a big role in our small country. Cities are very small and you can get connected with nature pretty easy. We, like you said, just find this thing very inspiring.

MO: Who is the man that appears on a lot of the Korpiklaani album covers? What is his story?

KS: On the first album covers there was just the shaman symbol. Then we decided to put a little flesh around those bones and “Vaari”, as we call him, was born. He is a shaman, a mascot, a grandpa, a god father, a man who knows everything, our Eddie.

MO: How did the recent departure of Jaakko and Juho effect the band?

KS: Since there was no drama in their departure, thing have been going very well. This is a band where you cannot be part of if you are not feeling good. Happiness must show and if it doesn’t that will affect the whole band in a wrong way. I appreciate their decicions and we are still in contact with Juho and Hittavainen.

MO: How did the idea to move from Folk music in Shamani Duo to the Folk Metal that Korpiklaani plays come about?

KS: Jonne has been a metal head since his childhood. This acoustic period was just one step in his carieer. Doing the elecric staff was more like getting back to the roots. The folk influences at that time were already so deep in his head, so combining these two beloved things was kind of natural. After all these lineup changes sound has developed to it’s current form.

MO: Do you prefer to play smaller club shows or big open air festivals?

KS: I can’t choose. I love playing on those big festival stages where I have enough space to run around. We can also reach more people on festivals. Then again club shows are usually longer and the atmosphere is more intimate, so interacting is easier. If I really have to choose, maybe I would say clubs.

Australia Tour 2013

MO: When I look at your touring schedule there are always a lot of dates across a lot of countries. How do you manage to keep up this lifestyle?

KS: No problem with that. It is just fun and always feels exciting. When you are doing something that you like, it doesn’t feel like work that much.Ask me again when we are doing tours which lasts six months or more.

MO: Does having so many songs make it difficult to decide what to play live?

KS: Sometimes. Usually after the album release we play more songs from this new album. Rest of the set consists songs from all of our albums. Of course there is some songs what we have been playing for a long time in almost every show.

MO: Have you guys wanted to come to Australia for a while?

KS: Yes, we have been discussing about this for years and now it’s finally happening. We are really happy about that.

MO: Do you find it funny when you play in an English speaking country and they are singing along to your Finnish songs? I plan on singing along to every song even if I have no idea what I’m saying!

KS: Maybe not funny but surprising. If I think time when I was a child, I didn’t know any English, but I was still singing all those English songs. Not right, but still repeating what I heard. I think it is the same thing with our Finnish lyrics.

MO: What do you like to do when you are not on tour?

KS: I have my own house, so there always lots of work with that. I also like doing things outdoor, gardening, walking, etc. Not forgetting guitar playing and cooking [laughs].

MO: Thankyou so much for taking the time to do this interview guys. I absolutely cannot wait to see you play here in a few weeks! We will all drink a lot of beer and vodka!

KS: Thanks! See you soon and yes, lets have few drinks for the first Korpiklaani Australian tour! Take care!

Tuesday 22nd Brisbane – The Zoo + supports
Lagerstein & Gorefield

Wednesday 23rd Melbourne – Corner Hotel + supports
Orpheus Omega & AlaskanThunder

Thursday 24th Hobart – Brisbane Hotel + supports
Orpheus Omega & Atravetosus

Friday 25th Sydney – Manning Bar + supports
Troldhaugen  & Trollgasm

Saturday 26th Adelaide – The Gov + supports
Octanic

Sunday 27th Perth – Rosemount Hotel + supports
Wrath of Fenrir & Silent Knight

Tickets on sale now! www.metropolistouring.com

Related Posts

• 

  El Colosso – Forgotten Ancestors
• 

  HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel
• 

  AC/DC – Power Up
• 

  Depravity – Grand Malevolence