domenica 22 giugno 2014

Bright dancing lights like a dawn - Severnica Interview

Severnica is a Finnish symphonic and melodic metal band. 
"Long Lost Longing" is their debut EP released 26th of May 2014.
Their drummer Ville Vainio talks with us about this project.

LFdM: Hi Ville, thank you so much for this interview!
V: Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and for your important work in promoting independent bands such as ours!

LFdM: So your band is called Severnica and you are from Finland. Tell us something about the band: how and when Severnica was born?
V: Severnica took its first steps back in 2010. I was looking for a new project and answered an ad seeking a drummer for a symphonic metal band. Severnica had been founded by vocalist Maarit and keyboardist Teemu and they had already added guitarist Lauri to their lineup. We started out like most new bands playing covers mainly from Nightwish and Epica. Back then we had this horrible tiny room where we rehearsed. There was no heating and in the winter it was so cold that we had to wear heavy coats while playing. Sometimes upon arrival we found that someone had trashed the room and the drums. Good times!
Then later on we found a better place to rehearse and added my good friends guitarist Tuomo and bassist Timo to the roster. With this group we recorded the EP though Lauri left the band shortly after because of moving to another city.

LFdM: We love Finland and its music. There is an important symphonic and melodic metal scene. Where does the inspiration for this kind of sound come from?
V: Yes, the metal scene has always been very vibrant in Finland. I think it's because we need the extra power to get through the long and dark winters! In the symphonic and melodic metal genre there has been important Finnish bands like Nightwish, Apocalyptica and Sonata Arctica which have paved the way and provided great inspiration for new bands and also for us. I think that we Finns also have an unique relationship with nature and a passion for folklore which both are a great source for compositions as well as lyrics.

LFdM: What is the force of your band, in your opinion, something that makes the difference with other bands?
V: I think that Teemu is an absolutely fantastic songwriter and his compositions provide a rock solid backbone for our songs. Then there's Maarit whose high and clear cut vocals are of course an essential component in this kind of metal. Tuomo's and Timo's play has influences from a vast pool of music ranging from progressive metal to funk which brings a unique touch to the arrangements. By no means do these strengths give us an edge over the other bands since there's just so many amazing and talented bands out there. But hopefully there's an audience that is able to connect and relate to our music and we're able to find our place in the community.

LFdM: The EP is recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by you. Nowadays is very important to have a figure like this in a band, because it enables you to feel every single mistake or distortion and correct it. What do you think about it?
V: Well, regarding the making of this EP I feel like my role was kind of a double-edged sword. On the other hand it gave us the freedom to do everything in peace without having to be on the clock like in a studio. This enabled me to focus more on the details during the mixing phase though I don't think that it's absolutely necessary to correct every single detail. On the other hand we didn't have strict deadlines which made everything a lot slower than we had anticipated. Also the fact that this was my first serious project where I handled everything from recording to mastering, I had to learn a lot along the way, making it even slower. But I'm really happy with how the EP turned out and I hope that this experience will be useful for the band in the future with things like creating our live sound or making our pre-production more efficient.

LFdM: The EP consists of four songs. Can you describe us their own stilistic path?
V: The EP begins with Mirror And Me which is an energetic blast off where Maarit's vocals really get to shine. It's definitely the heaviest songs of the EP.
The second song is the titled track Long Lost Longing which cools things down a bit with a slower triple timed tempo. Timo's groovy bass lines are prominent in the verses and set up the more straight forward chorus nicely.
Third song is called My Journey which lyrics is written by Tuomo. Tuomo also provides a growl vocal part which opens up a dialogue with Maarit and brings a different kind of dynamic to the song.
Dream is the last track and begins with a delicate piano intro which erupts into a heavier verse. I think that the piano melodies play an important part in carrying the song through and also finish things in an epical outro which seemed like the perfect way to conclude our EP.

LFdM: Is there going to be a video from the album?
V: We didn't plan for a video for this release. It's definitely something we would like to do at some point, possibly alongside with our next release.

LFdM: Have you got any plans for this summer?
V: Bandwise we're going to work hard to get into a great gigging shape for the autumn! Personally I'm going to also try to find time to enjoy the awesome Finnish summer!

Thank you Ville and thanks to Severnica! 

Interview by Michela

Official Link: severnica.bandcamp.com
Video: "Long Lost Longing"

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