Valerian

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Interview : Olli from Valerian

When and how was your band created?
I had an ad in a local music magazine looking for other musicians, Tipi contacted me and we started jamming together. That´s how it all began, in the winter of 1997. Toni hooked up with us a couple of months later and Janne & Matti joined the band right after the turn of the new millenium.
So we´ve been around for 9 years now.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
I had a song that I showed to Tipi, it was called "Valerian moon", he didn´t really like the tune but he figured Valerian would a great name for a band.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Well, I grew up listening the usual stuff kids listened back in the day when I was young, bands like AC/DC, W.A.S.P, Guns N´Roses, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Kiss, that sorta thing. Later on I started to find the 60´s and the 70´s, you know, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors. Nowadays I don´t really listen to that much music, radio occasionally. And Tori Amos, she´s absolutely great!

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
A decade ago it was a bad thing to come from Finland, today it seems like it´s Finland people are keeping their eyes on. For example a lot of people have contacted us from the USA telling us they can´t find any decent rockbands back home and they really are digging acts coming from Finland. I guess we keep it "pure" here, whatever that means. But it´s really hard to say what´s positive and negative, a musician as a profession is a tough job in itself.

How could you define your style of music?
Usually I don´t define it, it´s not my job to name it. It´s a job for the people who have to categorize different things in order to make life easier for the rest of the gang. Valerian is melodic rock but that doesn´t really explain a thing, now does it?

During the years how has your musical style changed?
Well, when we started out we were pretty pop with a twist of rock in it. Today we are rock with a twist of pop in it.

How do explain these changes?
It just sort of happened. Of course, in 1999, 2000, the "old-school" rock and the 80´s hair-band sound started to come back, and also the metal scene is very lively in Finland, those things must have affected us also and when you hear something played a lot on the radio, later on it starts coming back to you when you write songs. Whether you want it or not.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Loneliness, love, what´s going on with the world, murder, to not give up even if things seem bad, modern society and its twisted phenomena. Among other things:)

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
There are a lot of our songs I love, "Homesick" is great to do live. "Never bring me down" has great lyrics. New songs for the upcoming album are all my favorites!

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Well, it depends: sometimes it´s great to play live and sometimes you absolutely hate it. Other times it´s great to get back to the studio but sometimes the studio work is so frustrating, you need to be in top shape in studio. On stage, if you´re feeling great and the athmosphere is good, you can get away with certain things, like not singing in key from time to time:)

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
When I´m just starting out, I got a few chords and maybe a guitar intro and I start to really work them. It´s like a journey with a destination unknown to me. It´s a sort of an adventure, what happens next, what are the lyrics all about, where is this stuff coming from. I think at that moment I´m the most creative. Later on it´s just mathematics and figuring out where to find the proper sound, really.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
Yeah, that really is a stupid question!!:) No..let me think...there are so many great songs but here´s few: "Sympathy for the devil" by The Rolling Stones, "Welcome to the jungle" by Guns N´Roses, "I´m the walrus" by The Beatles.

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It´s a good tool to introduce new music, I think, but, like the saying goes, I guess it´s a good servant but a bad master.

What are your projects?
My projects? I have none, if you mean music. Valerian is a life-time project! My other projects outside music is saving for a new bicycle, aiming for better playing in my table-tennis, trying to improve my cooking skills and trying to be more in balance with myself, with the nature and all things around me.

What "image" do you have of French music?
I honestly know nothing about French music...I understand that Air is a French band, but that´s basically all my knowledge on French music, I´m sorry to say. It only proves how ignorant I am, not the state of French music scene. Although I have to admit, you guys should come up with an ace of a rockband, you know, and go for it the big time.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006