Interview with Mika in Helsinki, Finnland - English Version

(Entwine)

29.09.2006 von Diana Hartmann

Entwine’s fifth studio album Fatal Design has been available from German stores since 15^th September and in November you can convince yourself of how terrifically the six Finns from Lahti also can rock the German Clubs: together with Zeraphine they will play nine shows here.

Together with a friend I recently had the chance to ask their singer Mika some questions. Before their show at On The Rocks in Helsinki, a good-humoured Mika patiently let us bombard him with questions.

I’d like to start with talking about your new album, Fatal Design. Congratulations first of all, it’s fucking excellent, one of my current favourites!

Mika: Thank you! (smiles)

So what are your thoughts about the album? How satisfied are you with the work and how does it compare to your previous albums?

Mika: I’m very happy about it. It’s the best album so far. Okay, that’s a cliché, but it is! (laughter) Cos it’s a little bit different than before, it’s more outgoing stuff and it’s a pure album. And I think it’s more aggressive and more everything, you know. (laughs) Maybe the previous album was some kind of showing the way to the next album, if you know what I mean. But I think that we’ve found ourselves in this album, like big time. We got back to our teenage years. (laughter) It’s more like I don’t know it’s great! I like it! (laughs)

How long did it take to record?

Mika: The recording session was kinda short. It took something like four weeks, or six weeks, the studio session. But making the songs, that took something like six months or so. I was alone with the computer in a fucking bunker, writing the lyrics and making the melodies. It was kind of a hard session in a way; it was long, hard shit.

So you were doing most of the songs and then the band came in later?

Mika: No, the band were making the music, I only did the melodies and the lyrics. But it’s very hard to get there. You got 13 songs and you sit down and you’re like ‘Okay, where do I start?’ And you just start to like ‘Yeah, I’m opening my wounds’. (laughs) It’s a hell of a process. And the next time we’re gonna do it totally differently.

How?

Mika: I want to have a couple of songs, what I can write, and after that we can do the demos and stuff like that. You know, that I don’t have to sit down for months. Cos when you’ve got a lot of songs to write there’s a big now I forgot the words It’s very easy to start to repeat yourself. So many times I was just singing something and then I was like ‘Oh, that sounds like something!’ And I took another song, okay, and another one (laughs) You should have a long period to make the songs, so you don’t start to repeat yourself.

Okay. You do write most of the lyrics, but there are also a couple of songs on the album that are written by Tom. How does it feel for you to actually sing those? I mean, it’s his lyrics

Mika: Yeah, yeah, but it’s okay cos he’s going in the same places. (laughs) I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about that, but there is no difference really, I think. The only difference is that I have to try to get into that thing you know, cos it’s new for me. Cos what I write, it’s inside already so I know how to spit it out. But it’s not a big thing.

There are 10 songs on the album. Did you actually have more to choose from?

ika: There was one song, we just threw it away cos it was so, so different stuff. But maybe we’re gonna do it later, we’ll see.

So you don’t know what you will do with that one yet?

Mika: No. But there’s two songs. The one song is on the single, it’s Hearts Of Frozen Stone, it’s more poppier. We wanted to have kind of a package. (laughs) If we had put the whole 12 songs onto the album, it wouldn’t have been a package, if you know what I mean. Cos there’s the two maybe softest songs we’ve ever written.

And you wanted to have it kind of like all connected on the album.

Mika: Yeah! Kinda theme-like. (laughs) But there are bonus tracks anyway. We’re gonna put out a second single in three weeks, I think

Oh, in three weeks already? Which one?

Mika: Chameleon Halo. And there’s gonna be a bonus track on there. And it’s not anywhere else, so it’s kind of a bonus for everybody, who buys the single. (author’s note: release 01.11.2006, Finland only for now)

That’s cool! The lyrics of Fatal Design, the song, are political for a change. That’s usually quite a delicate topic to talk about

Mika: I know! But this time I felt that I had to do this.

But the others in the band, do they share your views there?

Mika: I don’t think they’re thinking about the lyrics at all. They are like, you know, just go fast forward. I don’t think that they’re thinking about that.

Is this kind of a new direction you wanna go with your lyrics?

Mika: Definitely! When I had my Irish friend with me, many times we were sitting there talking and drinking some vodka and stuff And what he said was: ‘Don’t think too much! Cos you’re the artist, you can do whatever you like. And your English is good, so don’t think too much. Cos when you think too much you lose the main thing what you’re trying to say.’ This time it was like this, that I can open my mind again and I did many things that I used to do when I started to write, so it’s fresh for me this time.

Jules from Misery Inc did the additional vocals on Twisted and I also heard that he sang with you at the release show in Lahti last month. How did this come along, that you were working together?

Mika: Aksu has been producing Misery Inc and Aksu knew him before. That was actually the first time I saw him. (laughter) Yeah, it was! In that night, a couple of hours before the show. We had a great time! And what was the question? (laughter, I repeat)
Yeah, I didn’t know him before, it was Aksu’s connections. Cos in Twisted I said that there should be some calling in there and then Aksu said: ‘Yeah, we’ll see what’s gonna happen’. And then we were mixing the songs at Finnvox and he called to Jules and said: ‘C’mon, I’ve got a couple of lines’. He went there and it was great. But it’s very boring to do Twisted live without him. It’s like lalala

So will he occasionally appear then, at more gigs?

Mika: Hopefully!

Is there anyone else you’d like to work with in the future? Like, Finnish artists or international artists maybe?

Mika: I don’t have that kind of fantasy or something. I don’t know, I really don’t. Maybe somebody

Like, whatever happens, happens?

Mika: Yeah. Maybe with Layne Staley, ex-Alice In Chains singer. But it’s not possible he died five years ago or so.
But I’m not very into it. I don’t listen to so much music nowadays. Sometimes, when I’m sitting on the train or something I listen all the time. But at home I’m just enjoying the silence. Cos it’s too much noise in my head all the time.

Previously you’ve done a cover version of Savage Garden’s Carry On Dancing. Do you have any other plans for doing some covers?

Mika: Not yet.

But what about Poison? The Alice Cooper song

Mika: We were thinking about that before the whole Savage Garden thing cos we played it a lot. But I think the song came to its end for us. We played it so many times, so it was like: ‘Okay, if we’re gonna do it, it’s gonna be only for the fans’. And maybe we wanted to do something special.

Finnish bands are getting more and more popular abroad these days. Why do you think that is?

Mika: One name: Bam Margera. He’s been doing a lot of fucking good promotion for every Finnish band. When somebody is connected to HIM, it’s always like: ‘Okay, what is this?’
Do you know a band called Bloodpit?

(laughs) Yeah! I actually did an interview with Matthau last month!

Mika: Yeah, okay! (laughs) Well, anyway I think it’s going strong. I think the Finnish Goth scene is growing and maybe it’s because the whole Goth scene is still growing in the world. I think that everybody wants to look like that: put some eyeliner on, wear black clothes and stuff like that. But I think we’re moving away from that right now (laughs) If we’re talking about we can talk about The Rasmus. They’re selling that as Gothic music in Germany, from what I’ve heard.

Yeah, they do.

Mika: It’s not exactly that

It’s more like a Pop band

Mika: Yeah. Pure Pop. But if you put on some make-up and black clothes then everyone is like ‘Fucking Gothics’. And then you have some butterflies

Yeah. But I have to say, it’s also at the gigs, there you have all the little Goth teenies

Mika: Yeah, and that’s the thing that kinda pisses me off a little bit. It’s only about the clothes and stuff like that. It should be about the music. The music should be priority number one. But yeah, I don’t know maybe the Finnish music is growing. It’s gonna be a new Grunge wave from Finland. Like Finngoth (laughter)

Did you have any musical influences, like first of all, any bands?

Mika: It’s gonna take something like four hours! (laughter) Cos I just don’t know, there’s a lot of stuff. In the band everybody is listening to totally different music. Of course we have some bands that everybody likes, but I just can’t say what have been influences. There’s too much of those. I haven’t been listening to music for a long time, so everything is in my head, what I’m doing. But I’m doing the Pop stuff and the Grunge and so on. Cos what I listen to is from Backstreet Boys to Children Of Bodom. I’m listening to every kind of music, so I really can’t say.

But it doesn’t influence you what you’re listening to at the time when you write the songs?

Mika: Maybe unconsciously, but not like that I’m thinking ‘Oh, that sounds like this’ or ‘Oh, let’s do it this way’. It’s really hard to say.

And what about influences in your upbringing, like do you have any musical background? For example, when you were little, that you’d play an instrument or something?

Mika: I did not. But I always wanted to be a circus clown. (laughter) You know, at the New Year I don’t think you have the same kind of thing that we have. But we warm up this metal and then

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Mika: Yeah, and that thing, it was always a clown when I took it out. And here I am! (laughter) I’m a fucking clown!

In a musical circus

Mika: Yeah! Maybe I wanted to be some kind of performer, I don’t know.

And do you think that growing up in Finland had an influence on what you’re doing now? Like compared to if you’d have grown up somewhere else, like

Mika: In Sweden Well, maybe. Maybe it’s the melancholy that I have in my head. (laughs) Cos if I’d been living in Sweden, I think that I’d have been listening to totally different music from everywhere; you know what I mean. So I think it would have been a little bit different maybe

Describe yourself in three words!

Mika: (thinks) Two words: restless soul.

Okay. And the others?

Mika: Waaah! You have to ask that from them! (laughter)

Okay, you don’t wanna say anything wrong now?

Mika:No! (more laughter)

Okay. You have one girl in the band, Riitta. How is she getting along with all you guys? Like what do you think about having a girl in the band, and her female role?

Mika: He’s a guy. Kind of.

HE is a guy? (laughs)

Mika: Yeah! (laughter) It’s very hard to say (thinks) Cos he’s been always here, he’s one of us. (there’s still frantic giggling from our side about the ‘he’ thing) It’s impossible to think I don’t know. He’s just one of the guys!

So there’s no difference for you?

Mika: No. He’s not drinking so much. (laughs) And he errrm she is married. And she’s not drinking so much.

What kind of feedback have you gotten so far internationally, especially from Germany, since this interview is mainly for a German webzine?

Mika: Actually, I haven’t heard any feedback from Germany.

But you’ve been playing there before

Mika: Yeah. But if we’re talking about Fatal Design...

Ah no, I meant that generally now.

Mika: Ah okay. It’s been very good. There’s a lot of fans, but it’s not Cos what happened, you know, after Time Of Despair, when DiEversity came, it was kind of a flop in Germany. Maybe it was because of the music style went too far away from the Gothic scene. But in America they liked it a lot. And in Finland it sold better than Gone. But it’s very weird when you go to Germany, cos the Gothic scene is very big there and if you go too much somewhere else like we did I don’t know what’s gonna be with Fatal Design. I’m a little bit afraid.

The reviews were good from Germany so far.

Mika: Yeah? Some of them okay. So when you kill the Gothic music you’re nothing in Germany. Maybe it’s because there is some big Goth hype going on in Germany. But in America things have been best. Better than ever. Cos everyone was like: ‘Okay, people have opened eyes for your band’. But maybe it’s yeah, it’s more American music nowadays.

And are you excited about going on tour in Germany soon?

Mika: Of course! That’s our market in the area. Europe and America and maybe Japan. But Finland, it’s a small country, so you get bored very quickly, you know. Six years in here, it’s like ‘I’ve been here a couple of times and it’s getting really boring’. It’s totally different when you go to Germany. It’s not so far away, but the culture, and the feeling to be somewhere else than home is always good. And you meet new people.

And you’re supporting Zeraphine?

Mika: Yeah!

How did that come about?

Mika: I don’t know; that’s from our manager.

So it’s not that you know them or so?

Mika: No, no. But I think it was that some of the guys called or sent an email or so that they wanted us to be there.

And are there any other touring plans for other countries?

Mika: We’ve been talking about that we’re going back to Europe in March, I think. We are trying to do places that we’ve never done before, like Holland, Belgium, France. Well we’ve been there once. And Spain and Portugal. But we’ll see what’s gonna happen. Cos it takes a lot of money. And this time we have a very bad situation because of that. Cos the contract with Spinefarm is ending and we ain’t gonna get any tour support. Cos they want us to renew, sign a new deal and now we’re gonna pay everything by ourselves.

Oh!

Mika: Yeah. But of course if they put up a good deal for us, you know But we’ll see what’s gonna happen. We really have to pay everything by ourselves and I can say it’s

It’s fucking expensive!

Mika: Yeah. And we’re a poor band! (laughs) We don’t have any money, we have only a long minus on the account! (laughter)

So, eating the same all week

Mika: Yeah, macaroni and cheese! (laughs)

Tuna!

Mika: It’s very expensive nowadays! (laughter)

Earlier this year, in the summer, you had problems with your voice and had to cancel some gigs.

Mika: Some? Almost all of them

Are you okay again now?

Mika: Yeah, I’m kinda okay but I have that same kind of feeling sometimes. Like today, when we went to the bus and I was sitting there and my throat felt very bad, but now it’s okay again. I don’t know what it is, maybe some kind of mental disease. (laughter) But it was very bad in that time and now I have my neck is broken and I went to the hospital and they scanned my head and everything is okay in there Maybe I shouldn’t bang my head so much. (laughs)

Like, your neck is broken?!

Mika: Yeah, kind of. (laughter) The nerves are broken somehow. So I should eat some painkillers and some relaxants. But I can’t do it, I’m gonna get something else. But we’ll see what’s gonna happen, the voice is okay now and I don’t care about anything else now.

When you’re on tour, is there anything you hate?

Mika: Waiting!

(laughs) Everyone says that!

Mika: It’s always the waiting

So what are you doing when you’re waiting then?

Mika: You know it! We do this! (points at his coffee mug)

Drinking coffee? ;-) (laughs)

Mika: Noooo! (laughs) Drinking booze most of the time. Not so much, but it’s Of course when you go to Germany it’s I know what it’s gonna be: you wake up, you go and have breakfast, then hang around for a couple of hours, and then ‘Oh maybe I take a beer’ and then it starts a beer in there and a couple in there. But it’s not like when you’re touring in Finland, because there it’s a couple of shows and you can drink the shit out of yourself. But over there (author’s note: in the rest of Europe, outside the Nordics) it’s more like ‘European drinking’, you can’t be on ‘Suomi booze’ (laughter) If you know what I mean.

Yeah! Well, the tours are a little bit different there; it’s one show after the other.

Mika: Yeah. So you have to think about the voice and so But I’m smoking too much when I’m there. On the last tour I smoked something like three packs of cigarettes. Per day!

Jesus Christ!

Mika: And then when I got back home I was just like ‘eeee, arrr, uuurr’ (author’s note: well, you get the picture ;-) And it feels very bad and it’s very bad for your voice and stuff like that, but what can I do? I’m a human! (laughter)

Well, it’s good that you know that it’s bad, at least!

Mika: But when I’m at home I can be like a couple of days not smoking at all.

It’s basically just cos you’re bored then

Mika: Yeah, that’s true.

And is there anything funny to tell about being on tour, like something funny happened on stage or on the tour bus? Or something embarrassing happened?

Mika: (laughs out loud) The only thing is: vanilla sticks! If you get to know about that from somewhere you’ll understand why I’m not talking about that in the interviews.

Okay! (laughs)

Miak: (laughs) If you get to know that thing from somewhere, you know, I will buy you, the whole night. (laughter)

Now, that’s a challenge! (more laughter)

Mika: But it has to come from somewhere else outside the band!

Okay, we’ll try(author’s note: the things one does for drinks ;-) Okay, as a musician, what do you think of the internet? Do you think it’s an evil curse or a good way to promote?

Mika: Both. It depends on the situation. But it was very shitty when Fatal Design, the promos we’ve sent them out like six weeks before the release and then someone put it on the internet, somewhere in Europe. Actually, Matti from ShamRain called me like: ‘Have you heard the news?’ – ‘What fucking news?’ – ‘Yeah, it’s on there already!’ – ‘What?’ – ‘Your new album!’ And I was like ‘Yeah well, that is nice’ You know, if it happens a month or two after the release I don’t care, but before that it’s (pulls a face) I was doing an interview for Japan and the guy was asking me: ‘Do you have any last words for the readers?’ – ‘Yeah! Forget the internet and buy the albums!’ Cos we have to get the money to get somewhere. So people, who take everything from the internet, they just don’t understand that it’s a big thing for us. If we’d be a fucking big band, selling millions, then it wouldn’t be anything. But if people want us to go somewhere then they have to buy the album.

Yeah, of course. I mean, this is what you’re living of!

Mika: Of course.

What about reviews, like fan reviews, press reviews? Do you bother with that or don’t you just care reading that?

Mika: It depends. The thing is, if the reviewer is an amateur, doing the review and he doesn’t have any background and stuff, if he’s just like: ‘Okay, I’ve been reading in some magazine that this band is like this’, you know If he’s got nothing to say and if you see that he doesn’t know anything about this and just is writing someone else’s words, then it’s like ‘Oh no, c’mon’ But if it’s some shitty critic, then it’s ok if it’s done (starts looking for THE missing word, and we have quite some fun with the word hunt – censored ;-)

So you basically mean, that if it’s done professionally, if the person has a point

Mika: Yeah! If there is a point and arrrgh, I only need ONE word, it’s the main word in the sentence! (sighs in despair while we are amused) Okay, next question! (laughter)

Okay, is there a question you’ve always wanted to be asked, if so, ask yourself and answer!

Mika: (thinks for a while) I don’t know. Does anybody answer to this question?

It’s actually the first time I’ve asked it (laughter)

Mika: Well, okay then How are you? (laughs)

Okay! (laughs) So, how are you?

Mika: I’m fine, thank you! (laughter) But it’s always in the beginning

Okay, we have to move that around a bit then(laughter) Okay, we’re almost done. Where do you see Entwine in the future, what are your plans if everything goes like you wish for?

Mika: Maybe like Rolling Stones or something (laughter)

Filling the stadiums!

Mika: Yeah! (laughs, then starts giggling when he continues) Tom’s words: ‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?’ – ‘Making burgers. Near you!’ (laughter) I don’t know. Maybe we’re doing the same shit still and hopefully we’re doing this as a job and we’ll live with it. That’s my thing. Get rich or die trying (laughter) But that’s a good sentence, you know!

True! Well, okay, we had that before already, but anyway, to keep it in order: The last word is yours, if you want to say anything to the readers

Mika: My last words? BUY THE FUCKING ALBUM! And have a nice day! Oh, and fuck the hypocrites! (laughter)

Okay, thank you for doing the interview with us!

Mika: Thank you!

As you can tell, we started to fool around more and more towards the end of the interview and our tummies were hurting already from laughing so much. Mika comes across as being fun, confident and entertaining; the same way he is on stage too.

On The Rocks was packed out for the concert; something that is not always common there due to the age limit being set at 24 years. They mainly introduced songs from the new album but some tracks from DiEversity also found their way onto the set list. The atmosphere was impressive and the audience got to see an energetic show, jumping along busily and blowing the roof off after the one-hour set, yelling for more.

We thank Susanne from Spinefarm and Aksu for arranging the interview, and a big thank you goes to Mika for the entertaining hour we were allowed to spend with him.