With 2021 coming to an end, it’s time to look back at the year. One act that recently released an excellent new single is progressive metal act EDGE OF HAZE, who recently landed a management deal with Ginger Vine Management and are planning to release a new album in 2022. We thought we’d catch up with bass player Eero Maijala and ask him how everything has been going with him and EDGE OF HAZE in 2021. Read the complete interview below…
What musical goals did you set for 2021? Did you achieve them?
We spent the lockdown times of 2020 prepping our upcoming album. In that sense, staying home actually helped us as we had all the time on our hands to focus on getting the album finished. At the beginning of this year, we had two goals, to release new music and play live to real people. I’m super glad to say that we achieved both and it feels amazing.
Were you able to dedicate as much of 2021 to your project/band as you had hoped?
Yeah pretty much so! These have been hectic times, to say the least. With the virus still lurking around every corner, it has been hard to make plans and balance the band time with other things in our lives. But I’m happy to say that overall we’ve always been able to find time for the band and achieve bigger and bigger goals with it.
What were some of the highlights you realized in 2021?
This year we’ve managed to find two amazing people on our team! We started working with manager Heta Hyttinen from Ginger Vine Management and live promoter Aki Juvonen from Loose Mind Productions. These two are just some marvelous human beings and we try to live up to their work every day.
Also, it was great to finally release new music! So far we’ve put out two singles from the album, “Parts of Anything” and “The Other Side.” It’s been great to see everybody’s reactions and also new people discovering our stuff and becoming a part of the EDGE OF HAZE family.
Is there anything you learned during 2021?
Never take anything for granted! It’s a privilege to get to write and play live and it can get taken away sooner than we think. It’s also a privilege to get to see and interact with friends, family, and audiences without any worries of infection. I’ll try to cherish that in the future when things will slowly normalize.
One thing that’s been on my mind lately, is that it’s crazy how different our news might be from our neighbors’ and how tribal things have become online. I think this and the past year highlighted how we might live in totally different information universes. I sincerely hope that they’re emphasizing media literacy at schools to kids these days, it’s more important than ever.
Have you (re-)discovered any new music during 2021?
Oh yeah! It’s been a great time to listen and discover new stuff, which I try to do daily. I’ve noticed that for me I have these preference cycles when I just seem to go for a certain artist for a while; e.g. last spring I had a MESHUGGAH-phase when MESHUGGAH just felt like the correct way to start the day. Now I’ve been listening to Richard Bona a lot. He plays some awesome jazz- & Cameroonian-fused Latin music and he is a total virtuoso on bass, check his stuff out!
What can we expect from you in 2022?
A NEW ALBUM! Hell yeah. It’s coming! The date and title are yet to be announced but just hold on tight and follow us on the socials to be the first one to know. Also in the plans: a lot of gigging (hopefully in the form of a tour) and a lot of going out to concerts, movies, and theaters as the world is slowly and steadily opening up. Can’t wait for next year!
Written by Laureline Tilkin
