Poets of The Fall

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Interview : Mark from Poets Of The Fall

When and how was your band created?
It was one of those sweltering hot days you don't want to spend in the suffocating heat of a poorly airconditioned car. Nonetheless, our guitarist Olli and myself we're sitting in such a vehicle, planning what we want to do with our lives. We wrote down a list of things we wanted to do musically. later on we've come to think of that day, when speaking of the birth of Poets of the Fall. This was in May 2002

Where is the name of the band coming from?
It derives from the idea that two opposing concepts both give meaning to the other and together they may create an entirely new concept. There is the appealing idea of beauty and the possibly equally fascinating idea of ugliness or decay, which when put together create an understanding of what's valuable and what's less so... get it? It's a four word phrase that can give you a topic for long hours of contemplation... Also we all like the mood the name sets for the music we write...

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Uh, a load of them, Pink Floyd, Steve Vai, Metallica, the whole Seattle grunge thing, classical composers, thank you very much... Live, Madonna, Tori Amos... even Def Leppard in the Hysteria days, and of course U2 has had great influence on us... does that answer your question... I'd also like to thank Bill Watterson for the Calvin & Hobbes comics. After reading them I was ok with myself, since I knew I wasn't the only six year old in the world... ha ha ha...

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
It's a small market.

How could you define your style of music?
It's Hybrid Clash... which means it's got loads of melody, spiced with punkmetal and ballad pepper with a dash ethnic sounds...

During the years how has your musical style changed?
I think our tastes have broadened while simultaneously we've become more selective with what we actually like to hear. This has also influenced our own writing.

How do explain these changes?
I believe that has a lot to do with working with music... like, say, a chef wouldn't want to eat just any load of crap on a plate, the same goes with us with music.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
I tend to focus a lot on things that seem to be very common problems everywhere. I talk about love, about being humane and finding the right angle of looking at things to find solutions, I try to give hope and sometimes I'll state the obvious just so people wouldn't forget it, and of course there are always those who'll hear it from me for the first time.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
That varies daily, it's all really up to how I feel at any given time. From the first album, Signs of Life, I'd say it's a song called Shallow and from the new album, Carnival of Rust, there are such songs as Desire, Roses and Delicious, which are fun laid back songs to sing.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Both have their perks. In the studio I like it because I get to hear the tone of voice you're singing in and the music you're singing to a lot better than in any live concert, but the live situation has a completely different set of perks, the energy, the atmosphere, the audience to name but a few.

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The very beginning, when the song seems to well up from the depths of my soul, new and striking. Then there's the completion, when if successful, I'll hear exactly what I've meant when I wrote the song.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
No such thing as a stupid question, but neither is there's such a thing as the best song... I can name great songs that have meant a lot to me, some still do...

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
The internet has it's uses. It's a good tool for spreading the word of music as well as it's good for any other similar "mission" if you will... of course, if you're referring to piracy on the net... that sucks.

What are your projects?
Right now getting the new album finished takes precedence over any and all of my projects... so I suppose that's my project... although I'm looking to find a nice, warm little place somewhere in the south of France to spend the cold cold winter months, and maybe do some hang gliding.

What "image" do you have of French music?
Isn't Kmaro French? He came to Finland last year and we performed at the same concert. I think Patricia Kaas has some real nice tunes. But I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur of the French music scene.

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
"Laissez moi chanter" by Patricia Kaas comes to mind, she has a beautiful voice. Of course, Celine Dion, has some sassy tunes as well, but I don't know if the French people actually consider her French, her being Canadian and all... just a minor detail, ha ha ha

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006