ShamRain pour l'album ''Isolation''

1. Hello and thank you for according me an interview for the third time. A few weeks after the release of your new album, how are you and how are the feedbacks so far?

We're fine thanks, just been rehearsing for the first ‘Isolation – gig' on September 16th. The feedback has been mostly positive. Very few actual reviews have pointed out that the decision to go with Minna as a lead singer wasn't good. They rather see the change as a good thing. As it comes to listeners, some like Minna better, some don't like the music as much without Mika. Quite natural reactions.


2. To begin this interview, I would like the talk about the time between "Goodbye To All That" and today. One of the most important events that happened during these last four years was that Mika Tauriainen is no longer the singer of ShamRain. However, I saw his name in the thanks of the new album: are you still in touch with him?

Yes, we're occasionally in contact with him. There are no bad feelings or bitterness on either side.


3. Even if he was more or less implied in the creation process of ShamRain (I might be wrong but I remember he didn't write music or lyrics), was it hard for you to take this decision, for the band's future and maybe as a friend?

Of course it was hard, but we felt that only option at that point were to quit the band or continue with a new singer.


4. We already knew Minna's beautiful voice because she always brought this female touch to your music. But after Mika left, I never thought that she could be your lead singer. How did you think of Minna for the job and did she immediately agree?

Well, I personally couldn't imagine another male vocalist for the job. That would have led to a lot of comparisons between new and old singer. Besides it would have been hard to find a new vocalist as good as Mika for the job anyway. Minna was actually the only one we could think of as the new vocalist. It was the most natural way to continue Shamrain, since, in a way, she already was a member. Also when we formed Shamrain we wanted to have a female vocalist, but never found a suitable person for the job. And then we came across Mika…

I think being the lead vocalist wasn't that simple decision for Minna. She knew all the comparisons and shit she would get replacing Mika, but after a little while and consideration she luckily said yes.


5. Did this change of singer change your way of writing music? Or even the way you feel the essence of ShamRain?

It don't show in writing the music that much yet, since much of the songs were there already before she joined. Then again, Mika and Minna both write their own vocal melodies, so naturally it affects the songs a lot. I would say the music is now more fragile, beautiful and ethereal thanks to Minna, even though songs are faster now in general.


6. So after four years of waiting, your fourth album "Isolation" was finally released at August 24th (at least in Finland) through Spinefarm Records. Why did it take so much time? Did you encounter any problems with your label? Or did you just need some time to think about the future of your music?

It eventually took a lot of time, yes, more than we expected. First making demos of the songs took a long time and the when we were about to start rehearsing for the studio in 2009, our drummer decided to leave the band. It took almost an extra year to find a replacement, rehearse the songs and finally enter the studio to record the drums in June 2010. Then we managed to spend the rest of the year recording all the other stuff in very various short sessions. The album was ready for print in January or February 2011 if remember correctly, but the label didn't want to put it out just before summer. We didn't have any actual problems, besides the drummer issue, other than being maybe too perfectionists with the songs which made writing the music and lyrics and recording demos that satisfy us a long project.


7. I already heard the 5 songs previously released on internet as "Demo" and when I saw the tracklisting of this new album, I feared that some good tracks like "Dying Echos" or "Souldivision" won't be a part of it. So it was a good surprise to discover that 3 of them have only a new title. But all of these 5 songs have some new vocal arrangements, especially "Surreal Play" (aka "Dying Echos") and "Everything Made Perfect Sense". You told me before that Mika improvised the vocal lines. Does Minna do the same now? And in a more general way, does the writing process changed along the years?

Yes, Minna improvises the vocal parts and the writing process is actually just the same as always. I didn't even realise myself that Surreal Play had changed that much, but everything surely has more intense verses now compared to demo version.


8. Because five of the ten songs of "Isolation" were composed some times ago, I wondered if the other ones were composed during the same period or even before. Did one of them were supposed to be sung by Mika?

Yes a couple of oldest tracks were first supposed to be sung by Mika, but they have changed a lot since. The songs were composed during a long period, last of them just before the drum recordings. We always have more songs than needed for an album, so there are still some old ones that we might record in the future along with new tunes.


9. Maybe I've never noticed it on your previous albums, but I found that the bass took a very important place in this new album. We can hear it all the time and it often leads the melody. Did you work especially on the bass lines to give another dimension to your sound?

It was actually the new line-up and the nature of new songs that gave me the possibility to play that way, without base always being a low background element. I always liked to wander around with bass guitar.


10. I didn't read anything about this new album yet, from press or fans. But personally, I found that something has deeply changed in your music: it is less plaintive (not in a negative way), and much more contemplative. It seems not to be focus on one person's feelings, but based on something more general. Do you feel this way? Can you tell us more about the lyrics?

I never thought of it that way, but you might be right. The lyrics are probably more direct now, but still I consider the songs to be quite plaintive and the lyrics to be about one person's emotions and dreams. The change is probably bigger for the listeners. For us it's harder to notice, since we worked on this new album for so long time, and process of writing and basic elements of music have stayed quite the same. The lyrics are not very calculated, just writing down some feelings.


11. Your artworks are very interesting since "Deeper Into The Night" and this one is especially cold and bleak like the title of the album. We can see a man alone leaving a huge building to reach a strange place, very hard to recognize. What does it represent for you?

I think Kalles artwork represent the album title and lyrics perfectly. It's suburban loneliness, a continuing search trying to find a place in modern world. It's about being isolated while still actually being surrounded by a lot people, chaos and city noise.


12. Is there any gigs already scheduled to promote this new album or maybe a tour with another band? Do you think you will come to visit us here in France?

No idea about a tour yet, but we wish it someday to happen, would be nice to visit France for instance. For now just some gigs in Finland.


12. What are you listening to at the moment? Any good things to share with our readers?

I could recommend The Pains of Being Pure at Heart from more poppy side. Also post-punk band The Estranged has been a huge influence to me lately, along with old bands such as Wipers.


13. Thank you for the time passed on these questions and I really hope to hear a new album before 2015. The last words are yours!

Thank you. Yes hopefully it won't take more than 2 years or so before the next album. Some new songs have already been written for it.