Amorphis
TM - Hi, this is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix, and we are here with Tomi Joutsen from Amorphis. Thank you for having this interview with us today, we appreciate it.
AS - Thank you.
TM - What can fans expect from your Australian tour?
AS - We are still promoting our newest Amorphis album, "Borderland". We are going to play some songs from the new album, some of our classics, and some that fans really like. We will have quite an amazing Amorphis show. We have four shows in a row, which will be intense for me since I am the singer, but I am looking forward to coming to Australia.
TM - What's your favourite song to play live?
AS - It depends on the day, sometimes I enjoy playing the new album because we don't play it that much. I also enjoy playing the first two albums, "Tales from the Thousand Lakes" and "The Karelian Isthmus". I am into death metal, so if there are songs like this on our setlist, I am happy.
TM - Do you have any pre-show rituals?
AS - Yes, I do exercise, like some push-ups, and then I try to warm up my voice a bit. My routine normally takes about an hour, but I am not doing any heavy stuff before the show. I just try to concentrate and warm up my body and mind. I try to get my focus, so I can concentrate on the show. It helps me a lot, and if I do all those things, I put on a great show, even if it is ten people or ten thousand people.
TM - Do you prefer playing big or small venues?
AS - As long as the audience is into our show, I don't mind if it is a big or a small venue.
TM - How is your tour going?
AS - At the moment we are playing summer festivals. I enjoyed going to summer festivals a lot when I was younger. I watched the shows from the audience, and now I play on stage. I like that everyone comes together to enjoy listening to all types of music. I have a good time on tour, and I am having a great summer.
TM - What is your favourite festival?
AS - Roskilde Festival in Denmark. I think I have been there five years in a row. I love the atmosphere there, and the people are open-minded. I enjoy the feeling of festivals because I come from a small City, and there aren't many people who are into metal or rock music. I feel alive when I go to a festival, and I see people who have the same passion as me for music.
TM - How have fans responded to your new album "Borderland"?
AS - The response has been really good. We have been playing those songs at our shows, and people seem to dig our new music. It is our fifteenth album, and you never really know how people feel, but we feel comfortable when we are playing those songs live on stage. I am still happy that we can deliver good quality music and still have passion for this band. We put a lot of effort into this album, and we can be proud of it. Jacob did a great job on this album.
TM - What was your writing and recording process for your new album "Borderland"?
AS - It's taken a long time, and I recorded all my stuff here in Finland. The other guys recorded their stuff in Denmark with Jacob. I was lucky enough to record my stuff here in Finland because, as a singer, it is more comfortable to record stuff here.
TM - How did you come up with your Album cover for "Borderland"?
AS - We had some ideas that we got from the lyrics of the album, and the Dutch artist "Marald Van Haasteren" designed a unique cover for a metal band.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, what band would you choose, what song would you choose, and would it be in your style or their style?
AS - Portishead covering one of our songs would be epic, I can't pick a song.
TM - If you could go back in a time machine who would you see live?
AS - Mabey "Bolt Thrower" back in the nineties or "Black Sabbath" back in the seventies because the PA system and everything else was so different back in the day. It would be interesting to hear how they sounded live back in that time.
TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
AS - It has been a long time since we have been back in Australia. Our last tour was great, and there were a lot of people at the time. I hope there are more at this tour. We saw some nice cities, and the host was really nice and took care of us. I really liked the atmosphere in Australia, and all the people were really friendly, so I can't wait to come back to Australia.
TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today. We appreciate it.
AS - Thank you.