Interview to PRIMA FURIA (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.

Teemu: Currently, every day you can find me in my own small home studio, finishing new songs, amidst the snowfall.

Satu: Thank you for having us in Rotten Pages! At the moment I’m in my home in Southern Ostrobothnia, making some carrot soup and wondering how much it’s gonna snow at once. Me and Teemu are located around 400 kilometres apart so working online is the most likely for us. It brings also a wonderful chance to compare the weather conditions that we Finns love to do :D They are now surprisingly similar.

2. What was the reason into making melodic death metal music and whom are the gateway entries for your discoveries getting into extreme music?

Satu: My passion for metal music started to take shape around 25 years ago. I hung out with friends for whom metal was the way of living. From those days I remember bands like HIM, Children of Bodom, Charon, Thy Serpent, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Sentenced and Cryptic Wintermoon. They've really had an impact on my identity as a musician and a vocalist.

Later on I discovered bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and Carach Angren. I've always been prone to ”dark” and ”black”... I guess this can also be heard in our music. All the same - it's the extreme vocals that have always lit me up. It's a channel for huge emotions and telling tales that cannot be told in any other way.

Teemu: For me, it just somehow automatically felt like the most natural option.

3. You guys have put out your debut EP titled “Fame, Lies & Fortune” and was released two years go. How was the overall reception from the media press and what was the inspiration into writing this 5 tracks?

Teemu: we experimented with what happens when you put together whole songs from old riffs. The end result was a product we love and the reception has been mostly positive. Daymare has been the most praised song, even a little surprisingly, if one single song had to be singled out. The inspiring aspect for me is the sampling from several years for these songs.

Satu: Regarding the lyrical inspiration, I got to pick the best ones of Teemu's compositions! :) I guess the lyrics throughout the EP somehow work as a bridge. They bring together different parts, ideas and tracks. All the same energy - even though they are 5 very different songs.

4. Can you give us a glimpse into the creative process behind your music? How do you typically approach songwriting and arranging?

Satu: Teemu is like a bottomless well of riffs and he creates almost complete songs at once. Then I listen, and let events and occasions come into sight, feel a certain atmosphere and try to give the right words for them. Then I send a poor-quality phone recordings for Teemu to catch the idea. :D Usually at this point Teemu gets tons of new ideas, especially mixing-wise. His capacity to listen to music is much wider than mine. That is one reason for him doing all the hard work in the studio... Shortly, the process moves on and ideas come up in layers.

5. Regarding all the writing and recording process, have there been any standout moments or memorable experiences you'd like to share?

Guess it is the overall experience of making music together. It's a valuable thing to have a companion with a similar aim – that is mainly the passion to create. We have this non-verbal connection and similar values that lead the process. It makes co-operation safe and relatively easy. There's no need to hurry or push one another.

6. Musicians often have a single favourite spot on each recording they make. What would be your moment of joy on this particular EP?

Teemu: I have to say the chorus melody of Welcome to the world. It’s super fun to play.

Satu: My personal moment of joy is the ending of ”Inside the secret”. Teemu did an amazing job balancing all the orchestrals and vocal parts (plus everything else). I love the cluster harmonies and the etheric appearance of the outro part.

7. What are some techniques you haven’t used on your current releases that you would love to experiment with in future albums?

Teemu: Definitely breaking traditional patterns. Personally, I love orchestral and/or string arrangements.

Satu: My personal ambition as a vocalist is to carry out really fast, truly aggressive and crystal clear pronunciation. This is something I work with all the time and hopefully be able to take it to the next level on our new release by the end of this month. It's very important for me as a singer AND as a listener that the lyrics are understandable - whatever the language was.

8. Who would you say are your current favourite bands in Finland, and anywhere else, I’m always keen to discover more great music. I find a lot of people just refuse to open their eyes (ears) and give some of the newer stuff a go. Any thoughts?

Teemu: I think it's always worth listening to what feels and sounds right to you, and not caring about the genre or other people's opinions. Music divides and will always divide opinions. I personally listen to different playlists and a lot of it comes from completely random music and artists I've never heard of. But in metal scene my latest top choice has been Finnish band called Assemble the Chariots.

Satu: Nowadays I find myself not listening to music as much as before. At this point it's very important to hear my own voice: what I have to say and how I want to put it out: what is it actually like - the world of Prima Furia. It's partly a consciously made choice to protect myself from having too much influence from the outside, because the answers lie inside.

However, the music I enjoy year after year is from Finnish bands like Wintersun, Stam1na and Mokoma – just a few to mention. Other than Finnish bands, I always get back to music of Hypocrisy, Alcest and Dimmu Borgir. At this point I find myself being more and more drawn to Finnish roots and traditional influences. I love the music of a Finnish band called Noiduin. Also Vermilia is a fascinating new discovery for me.

9. What can fans expect from your next release? Are there any particular themes or influences that you're exploring?

Teemu: Something familiar, but definitely something new and maybe something surprising moments as well. Everyone need to take a listen and make their own decision which one it is, when our new music has been released.

Satu: And mentioning the fast, lyrical expression earlier... Hopefully there will be moments of spitting out the words as if it was a tribute for Stam1na's Hyrde. He's my inspirer in this one. Of course he spits mostly in Finnish.

10. When you release a record how much attention do you pay to things like track order, lay out and art work? How planned is everything?

Teemu: It's more or less a matter of working on it and relying on subconscious thinking at the same time. The pieces have fallen into place smoothly, at least so far. There are usually a few pieces that we wonder where they fit best. The beginnings and endings are very clear.

11. How much time do you spend on the band both physically but also mentally each day? Is it worth all the time and effort in the end?

Teemu: At the moment, both are daily due to the mixes of upcoming songs, and after the release, it will become clear how much it has been worth all the effort.

Satu: It is clear that Teemu does all the hard work: the instrumentation, recording, mixing, editing etc... His know-how is huge in almost every step of the recording process. And if he doesn't know, he figures it out. My effort has been mostly concerned about the lyrics and vocal techniques and some of the arrangements. I do lots of subconscious work with the texts, and usually write down the whole story at once.

We spend very little time physically at the same place. We've had 0-2 sessions per year for vocal recordings and arrangement sessions. When we get together in the studio for a couple of days it's very intensive and productive work.

12. With so many bands competing for attention what do you do in order to stand out and be counted? How far would you go in order to gain attention?

We love to make our music, however marketing our music is not our strength. Neither of us find running social media a very easygoing thing. However, we are still quite at the beginning of our journey with Prima Furia. From here it's hard to say how far we would eventually go.

At this point we create, take little steps, head forward inch by inch - come what may. In today's fast world it asks trust on the intuitive process and nurturing inspiration. Accepting the fear of being forgotten instantly, for the algorithm doesn't favor zero effort :D And realize the fact that getting counted takes more than just making great music.

In short, we step out when we have something to say. Like very soon as our new single release, coming out on March 31st, gets closer and closer.

13. Since the death metal scene has grown for long as it existed, what are your current thoughts in the modern-day era of the genre?

Teemu: I would say that these days it's good that bands dare to try something new and a little different, whether it's adding orchestral arrangements to songs, for example. They dare to step outside the original mold. That is really great.

Satu: In general, I think over time it is harder and harder to strictly label bands and their music. There are countless genres and subgenres. For me personally defining my music (or anyone else's music) has always felt a little bit wrong and artificial, sometimes even suffocating. Creative expression doesn't follow man-made rules. Music is always more than the word trying to define it. For me this has been a very important thing to remember – especially when someone strongly disagrees with me about the genre that my music might represent :D

14. As a metal band do you feel that you’re a part of a greater worldwide community of metalheads?

Satu: What a great question. We are still figuring out ourselves, exploring Prima Furia and our position in the metal music scene. Not in pressure, but in time – piece by piece. In general, metalheads worldwide are really one big, warm and cosy family and we are proud to be a part of it.

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

Thank you for having us, and for the valuable work you do in Rotten Pages!

All of you reading this, please feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and be sure to have firsthand information of our upcoming release! In the meantime, feel free to explore our first one “Fame, Lies & Fortune” which is available in most common streaming platforms. Check it out here: https://linktr.ee/primafuriaband

Rage, caffeine and metal to y’all!