To the Future with Tuvalu

This is an in-depth interview of Tuvalu, about Tuvalu and the future of Tuvalu. Their bassplayer Jussi answered my questions concerning the soon-to-be-released new album and beyond.

Tell me about the process of making your new album. How did it go and what went on in the studio?

Well, most definitely it was a more painless and faster process  compared to our earlier albums. In the past we recorded our albums in parts, but now we nailed it at once. Recordings were more intensive than before and we had a clear vision of what to do before the studio. We did not leave any open questions in air. We had complete, ready songs and it caused easier feeling in studio. At the end of September 2009 we had recorded our songs.

We recorded our album at two different locations. In Helsinki we recorded drums and bass  at studio Kuu and in Tampere vocal parts and guitars  at a studio called Dramatic Sound.

Recording album took two and half weeks, a common day of recording was 12-13 hours long. Even though days were long, there  was no teeth-grinding. If someone was about to have a studio-death mentally, it was his or her time to go home and relax.

We were well prepared beforehand so we did not take almost any missteps in studio. They were songs of a moment. Sometimes we had to make big decisions in song arrangements just in that moment.

What can you tell about THE album’s songs? Have this album some kind of a theme?

We see our album as one whole concept that  has eight parts. The shortest part is a roughly 3 minute song and the longest one is about 15 minutes. A lot of variety I think.

We have made theme albums before so it was natural to have continuum. This time there’s no adventure tale, but there is one theme that connects all the parts together. The album moves in a borderline-state experience between the lines of dead and the living. On the other hand we have made no tight frames so there is a lot of room to wonder in listening experience.

Everybody can use their own judgement about what kinds of emotions and thoughts rise from our music. Our singer Annina writes the lyrics. The process follows the pattern: Annina feeds the ideas to the others and we give her constructive feedback, which way we can move in musical sense. Our band has also taken the role of a producer. Everybody participates. It is important because you are fully responsible for the outcome at the end of the day.

Your album Viimeiset hetket ovat käsillä had futuristic settings and atmosphere. Almost a claustrophobic feeling. Can we hear some echoes from there on this new album?

No, we don´t like to repeat ourselves. The cold futurism that we present has not disappeared, but now it´s not so underlined. We have new approach angles and our lyrics have a more of twisted heat. Jussi laughed “Darkness is a friend”. You don´t necessarily have  to fear the unknown, sometimes you can just welcome it with open arms.

What were the roles of different instruments?

I bought a bass-pedal called Moog Taurus, which is  a foot-operated bass synthesizer. It was commonly used in the seventies in progressive rock. It brings a new edge to our music. Also we don´t use the theremin like we used to in our earlier recordings. We were not pedant concerning the music and we preferred feeling and expression in the  recording sessions. We also discussed song arrangements more. We used  guitar and bass-effects more orderly than before. We wanted to have more rock and roll attitude.

Progressive music. What does it mean to you?

We trust in each other as musicians. We don´t want to sink into a swamp of prog rock. Most important is the musical adventure together. Yeah, I have roots in prog rock and metal music. I played in technical heavy metal bands in my youth. I liked many bands like Rush and Genesis.

I liked to block how their music was played. Antti has studied classical guitar. Everyone of us has their own influences and together we can improve our music with them. Our music is a natural choice. We are open-minded and we like to explore musical dimensions. I have to admit that we like to play with prog rock clichés. It is fun to do that sometimes. In small amounts it works.

We are not a pure-blooded prog rock band. I think we don´t want to limit our freedom with such a burden. We have HC - punk  elements in our music and that element can be heard on our gigs. Music has to talk to you. If it leaves you cold and bored it has failed to pass on your feelings.

How do you define your music?

We are the friends of catchy tunes. Music has to have some surface you can hang on to. There must be some short and long bridges of drama. If you give some musical promises and don’ t fulfill them at the end, listeners are not so pleased. We like to flirt with pop too, not only with prog rock.

We think our music has movielike feeling. We like to use movie metaphors in our music. To describe our late album in movie terms, it´s like Blade Runner, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
and Eraserhead put together. Quite a mix.

How did you make your recording arrangements?

First we played bass and guitars with drums. I have to say that sometimes finding the right sound takes time and experimenting. Especially the bass sound. It was not an easy task. I have three bass amplifiers and I like to play extremely loud. That way the sound will open correctly.

However we could not record the bass together with the drums. It was because I had such a loud output from my amplifier and 5 feet tall bass rig. There were three bass stacks altogether. I get the right sound only by cranking the amps all the way up. If you got too close to the stacks it felt like the sound pressure would knock you out. The studio’s personnel had to check regularly that the windows were still unbroken. It was not possible to record good quality drum sounds together with the bass. There were no separate recording spaces at studio Kuu, so I played my parts afterwards.

What is the title of your upcoming album?

It is called Tuvalu. Plain and simple.

Can you think of any funny things that happened in studio?

Hard work needs hard amusements. The studio session was a collective thing for all of us. We really enjoyed spending time together. When everything was ready and all was recorded we opened a bottle of champagne. After that we continued with rum and blew up the balloons. Watched W.A.S.P from net, all of us wearing skeleton masks. We all were so happy that the album recordings were ready and it was time to celebrate. Then we remembered that one thing was forgotten. One single guitar track was missing.

So Antti had to nail that final guitar track in the middle of celebrations.

Have you any prophetic visions concerning the future?

Doomsday 2012 is approaching fast, but before that our album comes out 24.2 February.

Tuvalu’s new album hits the stores on Wed 24th Feb. Listen and download the mp3-single Tulevien Aikojen Luurangot:

Interview by M. Koponen, photo by Tuvalu