Interview to KARMIVAl (Finland)

1. Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

-Hello, I'm feeling fine and well. I'm just chilling on my 4 weeks summer vacation. The Karmival is also on a chill mode. We are ejoying the nightless nights and the short summer time in Finland.

2. If you look back at the band from the time you started to where you are at now how would you like to describe that journey?

-It has been a fun and educational journey. Everyone has grown as a person and a musician.

-We are no longer a beginner band, everyone has developed a lot with their own instruments.

3. How would you describe the music of Karmival to those uninitiated? Who would you say are the biggest influences impacting the music of Karmival, both as a band and you individually?

-It's difficult to put Karmival in any particular category. But I think Karmival is perhaps a melodic metal band with death/black metal influences.

-Perhaps the biggest influences on me as a pianist and composer have been Nightwish and Tuomas Holopainen.

-As a singer, I've been influenced by bands like Amorphis, Sentenced, Metallica and Guns N' Roses.

-The band members' favorite bands are for example: In Flames, Tool, Insomnium, Dream Theater, Muse, and Frost*. There are too many bands to list that we like, but you can definitely hear some influences from one band or another.

4. Have you as a band developed an aesthetic that is uniquely yours? How have you developed a sound that is all yours? What influences have been the most important to you guys?

-Our melancholic sound stems from the cold and dark winters of Finland and the adversities of life. Our sound was born here while developing songs. We have rejected many songs along the way because they might not sound like Karmival.

5. What inspires you music and lyric-wise? What are the pros and the cons of the maturity and the experience of a musician when it comes to adequacy, originality and spontaneity?

-The biggest source of inspiration for me is the freedom and stress relief of making music. You can clear your mind and play whatever you want. That's where those songs come from as a byproduct.

-I often do the same thing with lyrics. I clear my mind and let my thoughts fly.

-The lyrics of "Wendigo" were an expression of my own thoughts about my brother's death in 2010. An attempt to understand what thoughts may have been going through his head and what were the things that led to that final decision.

-Nothing comes by force. There can be long periods when nothing new is composed. Only when we feel like it.

6. Talking about your debut album “Wendigo”, How long did it take you all to create the entire album from start to finish? What is the process Karmival takes when writing new music? How do you all feed off each other’s ideas?

-I don't remember exactly when each song was composed, but we formed the band in early 2021 and the last song for the album was recorded in spring 2023. We had about 10 songs ready, from which we then chose the songs that would go on the album.

-Usually someone has a good idea or demo, from which we start developing songs together. Everyone gets to bring their own ideas and thoughts. We test them together to see if they work or not. Then you learn to play these songs at the same time.

-Best thing in Karmival is that everyone has been able to bring their own ideas forward and influence the songs. Of course, sometimes there are disagreements, but even those are resolved in a good spirit.

7. When you work in the studio what kind of process do you go through? Do you come in all prepared or do you improvise?

-By the time we go into the studio, the songs have been rehearsed well in advance. Once the basics of the songs have been recorded, good ideas usually come to them and are then added to. So there is some improvisation in the production of the songs.

8. If you had to highlight one important message behind your music, what would it be?

-"Life is short and then you die"

9. What kind of respect do you get from your local scene? How massive is it to get responses from places you have never heard of?

-We're not a very well-known band yet, so the feedback has been limited. But the feedback has been very positive and encouraging.

10. Your album was a self-release effort. How much of a DIY scene is there still left around the world that can support you if you want to tour or release an album on your own?

-Nowadays, many bands already record in good home studios. We will probably try to record at home as much as possible in the future. We ended up recording "Wendigo" in a sound production school studio as a school project.

-Every member of our band has day jobs and families, so going on tour is pretty unlikely at the moment.

-But if some kind of tour ever becomes a possibility, I believe we will get help from local bands.

11. Can you tell me a little bit about the album cover, and do you think art work is important to public perception and branding for a band?

-Album cover art is very meaningful to me. I like it when it also tells a story about the songs or the album. I made the cover art to reflect the atmosphere of the album as much as possible.

-Great cover art can also attract people to listen just by its attention.

12. Please tell us what are the bands to keep an eye on in the Finish underground at the moment. Do you feel a strong connection between the UG bands in Finland, or is it more like everybody following its own way?

-I probably only know about UG bands from our region, but these bands come to mind: Stormbreaker, Innin, Decrowned

-I think everyone goes their own way, but it's easy to collaborate with everyone.

13. What do you do other than the band, for fun/work and do you like being in Joensuu?

-I am a machining engineer at John Deere's Joensuu factory. In my free time I spend time with my family, fish, play frisbee golf, go see other bands and of course drink beer.

14. Many thanks for your valuable time! I wish you only the best! The last words to our readers are of course yours!

-Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little about our band. Our next single "Fall into the Dark" will be released this summer. The single is a lot heavier than our previous releases. I hope you like it! Peace and stay safe.

-Jonne from Karmival

https://www.facebook.com/KarmivalBand