Long camping isn't obviously really new to Nightwish, as you could've read already from Soundi 08/2006. Back then, in the summer of 2006, Nightwish retired for a few weeks to the Sävi camp center in Suodenniemi, to practice and arrange the material of Dark Passion Play, later released in September 2007.
- The idea of renting Röskö was naturally kind of conceived from the experience we had in Sävi. It was awesome there and the band was knitted together like never before, after some very rough stages. But surely the Sävi memories have been gilded by the years - we didn't even have a singer back then, hems Tuomas and continues:
- Anyhow, we decided already back in Sävi to masquerade the working and arranging of Dark Passion Play's follower as a long summer camp. And it's easy to say now that we'll be doing this in the future too. I hope we'll find a great and most importantly peaceful place when we'll need it.
Yeah, basically anyone could've come to Röskö by a car or by a boat, regardless of the "private event" signs. But the peace has remained?
- Yes. We haven't seen unknown vehicles, except for two occasions. The locals have surely known who has rented the camp center, but in the Finnish tradtion we've been left alone.
But since we're speaking of Kitee, a lot of friends have passed by.
- It's been an awesome Summer, water temperature +31, wonderful surroundings... Let's say that I've been returning empty bottles to the store quite a few times, laughs Tuomas.
In the end of August Röskö was visited by Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen and Apulanta mainman Toni Wirtanen. With world-famous consequences.
- It got completely out of hand. The guys came for a visit and strayed to the training room in the evening. Heikki announced he has some drumming skills and we instantly decided to form a new line-up. We distributed rest of the instruments, and as a result, we had a band called The Myötähäpeä. Our versions of songs "Sukset" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are quite the hits already. Next we'll do a ballad like "Nothing Else Matters" or "Wind of Change", and next thing we'll know we'll be touring, Tuomas laughs.
Speaking of other bands, Tuomas presented the ideas ordered from him also at the demo sessions of the next Kotiteollisuus album, to be released early next year.
- I'm sincere when I say this: Kotiteollisuus is about to release a very fresh-sounding album. The band has taken a completely new approach to things, believe or not. And they've been preparing the album with special care - Hynynen had even written all the lyrics beforehand.
But let's forget the other bands after all. Tonight, Saturday 11th of September, it's a small occasion for Nightwish. The reason for that is rather good - just a few hours before singer Anette Olzon finished her parts of the demo version of the next Nightwish album. She was the last of the quintet to deliver her parts. In other words, all the instrument tracks and vocal parts that were planned for the demo have been recorded on hard disk.
- We arrived to Röskö in mid-July. After a few days of probing we started working and processed the new songs with a good intensity... Everything we had planned was recorded, even though the melancholy of atmospheric heavy metal was occasionally at trial, when we worked hard in the sauna-like heat of the training place, Tuomas sneers.
- We realized quite quickly that it's no use trying to force the work. The main idea of the camp was, of course, to finish my demo songs with the other members, but another idea was to raise the spirits in the band after a long break. The mood we achieved here will surely be heard on the final product as well.
Many fans wondered the summer camp diary of the Nightwish website, that have they even touched an instrument, when there were blog photos only about fishing and waterskiing.
- Naturally we've had a plenty of free time, because we also live here. Try it yourself; when you play for 6 hours in tropical indoors you find waterskiing very appealing. Or going to a Kitee Pallo match. Or virtual hockey, to which I've fallen completely. Forming your own team and thinking about all the tactics really captures you. It's twice as addicting as smoking.
Spring and Summer 2010 of Nightwish went along the same lines as the times preceding recording of Dark Passion Play. The preparations for the summer camp were started well in the spring, after Tuomas recorded rough home demos of all new 12 songs. Next, the song billets were sent to the other musicians for evaluation.
- In principle. the songs were quite ready already in the Spring, when I presented the ideas to the others for the first time. For example the tempos didn't change during the summer training, but some song structures underwent slight changes. We also worked the arrangements to be smoother, adjusted the vocal melodies and so on. It's pretty much what we did the last time, Tuomas nods.
What's also familiar from the Dark Passion Play era is that there's one song from Marco among your compositions.
- True. Marco's song joined in half-way through our last tour. He was playing a nice melody with acoustic guitar and I encouraged myself to ask if it's going to for Tarot. It wasn't, so it came for Nightwish.
- Still, there are some differences in the process of working, in comparison with the previous album. This time I had in advance even a clearer view of both the separate songs and the whole album. The song order and everything, Tuomas stresses.
- By the way, people occasionally ask why you make such a perfected and thorough demo. There are many reasons for that. For example, we don't need to do that during the actual studio session. In addition, Pip Williams (the orchestra/choir arranger) needs to have a perfect idea of what kind of things the album is going to have. Otherwise his job work will be crucially harder. It's the same thing with the multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, who was in with the previous album too. He has even a bigger role reserved for him on the album, and one of the songs is even written for his contribution. So the old gang is back together again!
- The idea of renting Röskö was naturally kind of conceived from the experience we had in Sävi. It was awesome there and the band was knitted together like never before, after some very rough stages. But surely the Sävi memories have been gilded by the years - we didn't even have a singer back then, hems Tuomas and continues:
- Anyhow, we decided already back in Sävi to masquerade the working and arranging of Dark Passion Play's follower as a long summer camp. And it's easy to say now that we'll be doing this in the future too. I hope we'll find a great and most importantly peaceful place when we'll need it.
Yeah, basically anyone could've come to Röskö by a car or by a boat, regardless of the "private event" signs. But the peace has remained?
- Yes. We haven't seen unknown vehicles, except for two occasions. The locals have surely known who has rented the camp center, but in the Finnish tradtion we've been left alone.
But since we're speaking of Kitee, a lot of friends have passed by.
- It's been an awesome Summer, water temperature +31, wonderful surroundings... Let's say that I've been returning empty bottles to the store quite a few times, laughs Tuomas.
In the end of August Röskö was visited by Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen and Apulanta mainman Toni Wirtanen. With world-famous consequences.
- It got completely out of hand. The guys came for a visit and strayed to the training room in the evening. Heikki announced he has some drumming skills and we instantly decided to form a new line-up. We distributed rest of the instruments, and as a result, we had a band called The Myötähäpeä. Our versions of songs "Sukset" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are quite the hits already. Next we'll do a ballad like "Nothing Else Matters" or "Wind of Change", and next thing we'll know we'll be touring, Tuomas laughs.
Speaking of other bands, Tuomas presented the ideas ordered from him also at the demo sessions of the next Kotiteollisuus album, to be released early next year.
- I'm sincere when I say this: Kotiteollisuus is about to release a very fresh-sounding album. The band has taken a completely new approach to things, believe or not. And they've been preparing the album with special care - Hynynen had even written all the lyrics beforehand.
But let's forget the other bands after all. Tonight, Saturday 11th of September, it's a small occasion for Nightwish. The reason for that is rather good - just a few hours before singer Anette Olzon finished her parts of the demo version of the next Nightwish album. She was the last of the quintet to deliver her parts. In other words, all the instrument tracks and vocal parts that were planned for the demo have been recorded on hard disk.
- We arrived to Röskö in mid-July. After a few days of probing we started working and processed the new songs with a good intensity... Everything we had planned was recorded, even though the melancholy of atmospheric heavy metal was occasionally at trial, when we worked hard in the sauna-like heat of the training place, Tuomas sneers.
- We realized quite quickly that it's no use trying to force the work. The main idea of the camp was, of course, to finish my demo songs with the other members, but another idea was to raise the spirits in the band after a long break. The mood we achieved here will surely be heard on the final product as well.
Many fans wondered the summer camp diary of the Nightwish website, that have they even touched an instrument, when there were blog photos only about fishing and waterskiing.
- Naturally we've had a plenty of free time, because we also live here. Try it yourself; when you play for 6 hours in tropical indoors you find waterskiing very appealing. Or going to a Kitee Pallo match. Or virtual hockey, to which I've fallen completely. Forming your own team and thinking about all the tactics really captures you. It's twice as addicting as smoking.
Spring and Summer 2010 of Nightwish went along the same lines as the times preceding recording of Dark Passion Play. The preparations for the summer camp were started well in the spring, after Tuomas recorded rough home demos of all new 12 songs. Next, the song billets were sent to the other musicians for evaluation.
- In principle. the songs were quite ready already in the Spring, when I presented the ideas to the others for the first time. For example the tempos didn't change during the summer training, but some song structures underwent slight changes. We also worked the arrangements to be smoother, adjusted the vocal melodies and so on. It's pretty much what we did the last time, Tuomas nods.
What's also familiar from the Dark Passion Play era is that there's one song from Marco among your compositions.
- True. Marco's song joined in half-way through our last tour. He was playing a nice melody with acoustic guitar and I encouraged myself to ask if it's going to for Tarot. It wasn't, so it came for Nightwish.
- Still, there are some differences in the process of working, in comparison with the previous album. This time I had in advance even a clearer view of both the separate songs and the whole album. The song order and everything, Tuomas stresses.
- By the way, people occasionally ask why you make such a perfected and thorough demo. There are many reasons for that. For example, we don't need to do that during the actual studio session. In addition, Pip Williams (the orchestra/choir arranger) needs to have a perfect idea of what kind of things the album is going to have. Otherwise his job work will be crucially harder. It's the same thing with the multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, who was in with the previous album too. He has even a bigger role reserved for him on the album, and one of the songs is even written for his contribution. So the old gang is back together again!