Indica

Interview date

17 Février 2014

Interviewer

Orion, Evanessa

I N T E R V I E W

Interview Jonsu (by email)


Hi Jonsu, thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for the French Webzine aux portes du metal.

Hi! Thanks for the interview!

After five albums written in Finnish, you finally recorded English versions of some of your old songs for your first album written in English, “A Way Away” (your first album released with Nuclear Blast). Did you manage to reach a wider audience thanks to this album?

Yes, I´m sure that it would have been quite difficult to tour in Europe and only sing in Finnish. Also two tours with Nightwish made it possible to find some new fans.

Now your new album “Shine” is also written in English. Was it your own choice or did you just follow your label's recommendations? Is it true that a Finnish version of this album will be available in your country?

It was clear already when we decided to do “A way away” that we would do more than only one album in English. If you start working in a new area it means usually thousands of hours extra work and pretty big investments so you have to have a good reason why to go abroad. We think that music will make this life more tolerable and bring a lot of hope to people and that´s why we will continue our career with both languages. We have released "Shine" in Finnish too because we wanted to give the fans the possibility to choose if they wanted Indica in Finnish or in English. You can order both versions of the album no matter where ever you live.

We had to wait five years to hear your new tracks on the album “Shine”. Why have you waited so long to release some new songs, whereas before, when you released an album it was quickly followed by the next one?

There are several reasons for this. I refused to have any deadlines and it was a bad decision. It just made me lazier, slower and more spaced out. Deadlines are healthy for me. Another other reason was that we had some contractual problems so the album was waiting to be released for over a year. We also needed a small break with the girls.

Your album seems to be a very positive one, because of the title and the yellow cheerful picture on the cover. Is it really a positive album, filled with optimism (in contrast to many Finnish bands, who usually release dark and gloomy albums)? What about you? Are you an optimist?

No. I think that I´m a realist. At least that´s what I´m trying to be. I believe that this world is quite a sick place to live. At the same time I see a lot of beauty in it. There´s always beauty and ugliness in the same picture. It depends what you want to look at.

Do you write the English lyrics on your own or do you work with someone who translates it for you?

When I´m writing in English I usually work with some other writer. It just feels more comfortable for me. In Finnish I usually write alone.

Can you tell us what inspire you to write and compose music?

Yes. When I was four years old I realized that when I heard musical notes, life felt beautiful. The chaos dissappeared. I could see harmony everywhere I looked. All was clear. I had a reason to live in this planet and it was to be a composer. I realized that the meaning of life was hidden in the notes. If I don´t compose I become a dark person.

What is your favorite track on you new album, and why?

"War child". It´s a story about hope in the middle of darkness. I think that hope is a crucial thing if you want to keep your mental health.

Are you still the one who plays the violin parts in this album ?

No. I had a chance to have more talented violinists on this album so I hired them straight away!

On your album “A Way Away” you brought some symphonic elements in your music, and you did it again on this new album. Did you ask some people to work with you on this album? What about Tuomas Holopainen? Did he help you again?

We worked with a German producer Roland Spremberg. He did a couple singles for our previous album. We wanted to create more pop-ish album than the last one so he was a great choice for this.

You are not really considered as a metal band, and yet this interview will be published on a website devoted to metal music. We also know that a lot of metal fans really like your music. How can you explain this?

I can´t. We have always had metal fans and nobody knows why. Not even the fans.

By the way, how would you describe your musical style?

It depends what album you listen to. The press in Finland has named it as mystic-romantic pop rock. The press abroad usually talks about symphonic pop rock and yesterday I saw a line in the cover of the album which said that it´s music with sex appeal and a rocking punch. That line made me laugh.

You shared a tour with Nightwish. Is there any tour planned soon with some other rock or metal bands? Or will you go on tour on your own, as headline act?

Unfortunately I can´t answer that question yet.

The lineup is the same since your band was created. Can we say that Indica is a beautiful story of friendship?

Yes. The girls are my best friends.

Do you have something special to say to our readers and to your French fans?

Yes. I want to thank our French fans for the last show that we had there in Nouveau Casino. Our parents came there and it was one of the best shows in the tour. My mom said that the audience was listening so carefully that if you would have dropped a needle in the silent parts of the songs you would have heard it. I want to thank all our French supporters from the bottom of my heart! Our fans and supporters make it possible for us to live our dream.


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