Interview Sonata Arctica: Henkka
Artiest: Sonata Arctica
Geïnterviewde: Henrik 'Henkka' Klingenberg
Interview afgenomen in: Effenaar
Label: Nuclear Blast
How are you today, glad to be back on tour?
I’m okay, yeah definitely.
This is a very special tour, you are going to play your re-recorded debut album ‘Ecliptica’ entirely. Why did you decide to do that?
We thought about it since we redid the album anyway. It started out a bit like a joke but then we thought, oh what the hell, let’s see if we can pull it off. So far it’s working great.
How did the previous 2 shows go?
It was okay. The first show was of course a bit shaky since you’ve been home for a while, but it wasn’t too bad and yesterday it was getting on track and today it will be even better.
Are you going to play any of the latest songs tonight?
A couple, if we play just ‘Ecliptica’ that would last only one hour, so we are going to play some other stuff as well, but not a lot.
When you go on tour after not playing live for a while, do you have to adjust to that every time again?
Yeah, it takes a little bit of adjustment but it’s not so bad. We played like a hundred shows last year and already 20 to 30 shows this year, so it always takes a little bit to get back into the groove, but it’s not too bad.
Regarding the new ‘Ecliptica’ album, how was it to re-record these songs in the studio?
It was actually really easy, because we played most of the songs live before anyway. So we just listened to the original because sometimes you forget things live and then you don’t remember how the original actually was, so you had to listen to the songs a bit and what we did is that we recorded drums in the same studio that we used for ‘Pariah’s Child’ and then all the other stuff we did at home. So it was really in between tours, record some songs, go back on tour and come back and record a few more songs. It took a while but it was fun.
Was it not difficult for the new members?
No not really. I look at it as a tribute album.
Some small things have changed a little, like some words in the lyrics. Was that a conscious choice, did you see it as improvements?
Yeah, sometimes Tony was not really happy with what he sang. Of course we also changed some solos here and there, but we try to stay as true as possible to the original.
Could you tell us something more about the artwork of the re-recorded album? This time it is colored green, the logo in a background of nature compared to the previous blue.
Yeah, exactly. We wanted to have the original view of the album but of course we had to update that as well.
Do you see yourself re-recording other albums for example on your 20th or 25th anniversary?
I don’t know, I don’t think we will play ‘Ecliptica’ in its whole again. But of course, it can happen that we do this again, but so far no plans for that. But why not, so far this has been fun so it could be fun to do it with some other album as well. But I’m more or less sure we are not going to re-record another entire album, maybe some songs here and there. But playing an album live, that might work.
Are you already in the progress of writing new songs?
I know that Tony has some stuff ready, but we’re going on tour until Fall and then we’re going to take some months off to talk to everyone and work on some stuff, but generally in 2016. Plenty of time for us to come up with new ideas and new songs. So a new album in 2016 if everything works out, that’s the idea.
There is going to be a tribute album for you guys. Do you have any involvement in that?
Pasi (Kauppinen, bassist) is actually mastering it. He has it on his computer but I haven’t checked it out yet. But that’s as far as our involvement goes, the label asked if it’s ok to do this and we said sure. But I don’t even know the bands playing on it. Well, we know some of the bands but don’t have any direct involvement in it. We were just asked by a UK label if we were ok with that and sure, why not.
And do you like it?
I haven’t heard it yet, but if someone wants to pay a tribute to you, that’s always nice. Now I have to be a critic to see who succeeded and who not (laughs).
After this tour, the festivals are coming. Is the current tour list going to expand with more festivals and shows? Any further plans after that?
Maybe a few, it’s all in the making. I don’t think we are going to have a really busy summer, we just play some selective festivals, take it easy and start to prepare for our break.