Interview with Korpiklaani — “Sauna is the answer.”

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Finnish folk metal superstars KORPIKLAANI are releasing their twelfth studio effort, “Rankarumpu,” on April 5th, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records. We chatted with vocalist Jonne Jarvelä and drummer Samuli Mikkonen about the new album. In the interview, they discuss their recent UK tour and the inclusion of new songs in their setlist. They reflect on the influence of new band members, particularly violinist Olli Vänskä, on their latest album, “Rankarumpu.” Additionally, they share insights into their songwriting process, including the inspiration behind tracks like “Saunaan,” showcasing their love for Finnish culture and traditions. Watch the complete interview here or read the full transcript below…

Hello, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. How are you?

Jonne: Pretty good, except that we are a bit tired. We just came out of the UK tour and we got a little bit sick there, both fever and flu.

Samuli: We’re not at our best, but we’re hanging in there.

How was the UK tour?

Jonne: Really good.

Samuli: It was a blast, yeah.

Jonne: Really good gigs and it was nice to be with ALESTORM and HEIDEVOLK there. We had a good time and a great crowd.

Samuli: Yeah, very good crowd, amazing venues, it was very fun to play there.

Were you able to include some new songs in the set?

Jonne: Actually, we did, yeah. We played three. What was it?

Samuli: Yeah, although “Gotta Go Home” is not an album song, it’s kind of new, it was released in the Fall, but we played three songs, “Saunaan” and “Aita” as well, so all the released songs.

How have the reactions been so far?

Jonne: Yeah, it was really, really nice. “Aita” and “Saunaan” were so new, they just came out, I really liked it.

Samuli: Yeah, instantly you can feel the vibe that even though they’re new songs, they are getting it right away. It’s fun to see the reaction and the crowd is giving so much energy to us also.

They’re both very happy songs and party songs, maybe. Was that also how you think the audience experienced it?

Jonne: I think so, yeah.

Samuli: Yeah, they’re both very upbeat and kind of happy songs, so they’re very good live songs, definitely.

The last interview we did was about “Jylhä” 3 years ago now. You have meanwhile also had another lineup change where violinist Olli Vänskä, whom we know from TURISAS, joined the band. Olli has a very distinct style in playing violin, is that something that also influenced the energy levels of this album?

Jonne: Yeah, I think the whole album… Olli took a part in songwriting and arrangement very much, we got fresh new ideas and he’s really into the band. It was really cool, he did good work. Because of that, not all the work was on Sami [Perttula]’s shoulders, they worked together more.

Samuli: Yeah, I think so too. He had a very powerful influence on the sound, the folk arrangements are very top-notch, the best ever on this record, and they’re very cool to hear.

Jonne: We paid more attention and time to those because Olli liked to do it so much. Even during our free time, when we were at gigs, sometimes at the hotel, we went to think about maybe this could be like this or that could be like that, there were a lot of ideas.

Samuli: Yeah, it felt like he really wanted to make it right. It was very fun to see, so high-working ethics.

Obviously, you are also new, but do you feel having new blood in the band is refreshing and giving you new ideas?

Jonne: Yes, because this band became better always after a lineup change. Of course, I praise the Lord for the past members, because without them, we couldn’t be here, but for this band, we were really lucky because we always get a better band out of those situations.

Samuli: Yeah, it’s a very good band.

“Jylhä” already had a lot of fast songs, but this album feels a little more like old KORPIKLAANI in that sense. Was it important for you after some slower and more serious album cycles to go back to this style?

Jonne: Actually, we didn’t look back so much, but at least I noticed it afterward that yeah, there is that old vibe. But then again, maybe it’s because it’s faster and it’s funny because the “Saunaan” song, I think it’s the most typical KORPIKLAANI song [we wrote] in a long time. I didn’t actually take a part in the songwriting for that song, it’s Samuli‘s lyrics and mostly Olli‘s, actually, it is Olli‘s song, I took only a little part in the arrangement. But then again, it is still the most typical KORPIKLAANI song. [laughs] It’s funny.

Samuli: Olli custom-made it to be a KORPIKLAANI song [hums melody line].

Jonne: But actually, we think that this album could be a little bit faster than before. We went in that direction already with “Jylhä” but now it was the next level in that sense. Maybe even thrash metal vibes.

Samuli: Maybe we had that kind of plan to make a tight, not-so-long record, just like straight. Make a fun record to play live.

Is it fun? Do you prefer having these fast and joyful tracks?

Samuli: For me personally, I love the faster songs, they get the crowd going, and it just feels good. Of course, in our set, we have more drama, it’s not all full-blast party, but it gives a good feeling to the whole set.

Jonne: Yeah, I still put those slower songs to the set as well, but now after those, you can breathe… Then again, now because the lineup changed, we can write as fast and as versatile music as we like, there are no limitations in that way.

In the press release, I read that for the first time in a long time, you wrote all the lyrics yourself, except for two songs. Why did you make that decision?

Jonne: Actually, I thought I’d try again after a long time, then it started to go fine, so I thought to continue it. Then Samuli also had really good work with “Kalmisto” and “Saunaan,” so we didn’t need to use an outsider. It’s always good if everything comes from the band, then it’s more like us.

Samuli: I really enjoy listening and reading those lyrics Jonne has written, it fits the music so perfectly, it feels like Jonne knows what he is singing about. There’s more power to the feeling.

Does it feel different for you to sing the songs you wrote the lyrics to?

Jonne: Yeah, because I know the background and even the situation, that’s why they’re also easier to remember because I actually know what I’m singing, that’s why it’s also easier.

Was there any reason why you decided not to write lyrics anymore a long time ago?

Jonne: I felt that it was difficult. Maybe it was time to grow a little bit in that way, then again, Tuomas [Keskimäki] did a really good job those years with the lyrics, so it was easy to continue with him that way, but it’s always good to refresh the table now and then, and this was one way to do it as well, this album would be totally different if not.

Samuli: Yeah, that’s true. But I think also for you, writing music, it comes out so easily. You give any instrument to him, and there’s a song in a few minutes. In that kind of perspective, maybe the lyrics will take more time to form.

Jonne: Yeah, it’s more difficult for me to write the lyrics than the music.

Did you enjoy it this time?

Jonne: Yes, in a way. Because now I got the feeling that I succeeded with it. I had a good feeling to write more, then it started to go forward again.

Samuli: For me, it was like instantly I had those two songs I made, I had such a good idea about it, so it felt so natural to do those, and I was very happy to get to do those, it’s new ground for me in this band as well, so I was very pleased.

Jonne: Yeah, and it’s funny… I think your lyrics are really good and I had the feeling that he’s always done that, it’s very professional work. So, it was also funny to see because I guess you haven’t done so many of those.

Samuli: There are a few bands in music history that have those lyricist drummers, like RUSH or MESHUGGAH. It was a fun experience.

Why did you want to write a song about sauna? Because it’s such an essential part of Finnish culture?

Samuli: Yeah, it’s so… I just love it so much. I’ve been during these few years, I’ve been changing my apartment a lot, and at one point, I was in an apartment, that didn’t have a sauna, and I felt so crappy, like I need that fucking sauna. I just enjoy it so much.

But the building did have a sauna, didn’t it?

Samuli: Yeah.

That would have been even worse. [laughter]

Samuli: No, the whole… I didn’t have a chance to go to the sauna for half a year or something and I just had to move away. It’s very…

What do you do on tour? [laughs]

Samuli: Yeah, but it’s also kind of like sauna…

Jonne: Yeah, the show’s a really good sauna.

Samuli: If we play the sauna song every night, it gives me the feeling and I’m sweating… But the other song, “Kalmisto,” [“Burial Ground”] is very different lyric-wise, that one came out weirdly as a dream. I had a dream of watching KORPIKLAANI‘s music video, I woke up, and found out that we don’t have anything like that – what the fuck was that – I had the melody in my head and the lyrics and I knew that the song was called “Kalmisto,” but we don’t have a song like that, so I sang it to my phone, and the next morning, I went to Jonne‘s place and he took it to his guitar and the song was written in one hour or something. It was kind of easy to write because I already heard Jonne singing those lyrics.

Very cool! I also read that the title track, “Rankarumpu,” is about the band and considering the new members and you mentioning you think everything feels right now, is that why it felt appropriate to name the album after the song?

Jonne: Yeah, actually, there might be also that. I never thought of it that way, but now when you say it, it might be. I’m really proud of this band right now, maybe the idea is from there. We are working hard right now, but we are in the right way, so maybe, yes.

I feel like “No perkele” is going to be a fan-favorite in Finland, what is it about and are you planning to include it in your live set?

Jonne: It is actually about a giant old farmer who is in that kind of mood that he’s shouting, “Perkele,” he took trees out of the ground and big rocks out to the field.

Samuli: It’s kind of, “fuck it.”

Jonne: Yeah, he will plow the field with bare hands. It’s kind of a Finnish thing called sisu. It’s about that attitude.

Samuli: It’s a fun song. We’re not going to have it on the set on this North American tour, but maybe later we’ll take it to the live set.

You mentioned sisu, do you feel like there is more sisu attitude in this album?

Jonne: Yeah. The war is also a big theme because of the situation right now around the world. I would have a good way to end all wars… thinking about the sauna, we can put those who want war and violence in the sauna, lock the door, and listen in there for 4 hours, and then if they are done with their fighting, we can let them out. If they are there for 5 hours, they really want to shake their hands and get out of there. [laughter]

Samuli: Sauna is the answer.

Yeah, I guess it speaks volumes that those people don’t come from a country with a sauna culture!

Jonne: Actually, it is an old Native American tradition, they have done that, they would put them in a hot tipi, filled with hot rocks, they’d put the fighting people there and they let them out when they cooled down. We should do the bad guys there too.

Yeah, well, let’s see, maybe somebody can offer themselves up and try to make that happen. You’re also starting the US tour, how are you looking forward to the tour in general?

Jonne: We’re looking forward to it, we just went to the embassy this morning and… we didn’t get the visas. [laughter] because we didn’t get all the papers.

Samuli: Yeah, we’ve been waiting for this, the last time KORPIKLAANI was there was in 2019, right after that, I became the drummer, then we tried to do it in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and now it’s 2024, now it’s going to happen… if we get the visas. [laughter]

Jonne: Actually, they promised we would get it.

Samuli: No worries!

I have a friend who’s a tour manager and she seems to be always struggling with the visas the whole time.

Samuli: I’m really looking forward to this tour so much. I love North America so much, it’s good to have a proper tour there.

Have you ever toured there?

Samuli: No, I haven’t, I’ve just been a tourist.

Do you have any expectations for your first US tour?

Samuli: I’ve heard the horror stories, but I think it’s going to be…

Jonne: Big adventure!

Samuli: A big adventure, yes!

Will there be some time for sightseeing?

Samuli: Let’s hope, I think it depends on the day and how long we are going to travel.

Jonne: Usually not too much, but always something.

Samuli: It’s good to see something else than just the bus or the backstage, it’s always good to walk around a bit and check the scenery.

In the Fall, you’re also doing a European tour, I’m assuming the European tour is going to be a bit different than the US tour. Are you already preparing for the production for that?

Jonne: [starts whispering something in Finnish in Samuli’s ear] I think we can’t say that because…

Samuli: If I don’t know, how can you say it?

Jonne: Maybe we can just…

Samuli: We can talk about it later. [laughter] Yeah but the production, I don’t know yet whether we will have any special things, but they’re going to be big venues, so I think we are going to get a good production for it.

Jonne: … So you do know? [laughter]

Samuli: Ah, that was the secret!

I guess that’s it for my questions. Do you have any last thoughts you want to share?

Jonne: Check the “Rankarumpu” album, it’s really good, and see you at gigs.

Samuli: Yeah, it totally kicks ass and our live shows will kick more ass. See you…

Jonne: Soon!

Interview by Laureline Tilkin