INTERVIEW: Cane – Korpiklaani

Finnish folk-metal legends KORPIKLAANI unleashed their tenth studio album in the form of Kulkija yesterday (read our review here). Distorted Sound‘s Nick Dunn sat down with guitarist Cane to get his thoughts on the new album, and the wider folk-metal scene of which KORPKILAANI have been a fundamental part since their inception back in 2003.

Kulkija is the tenth studio album from KORPIKLAANI. How do you feel about it in comparison with the others? Does it feel like an evolution of the band’s sound, a culmination of everything that’s gone before, or is it more accurate to say it’s a new direction?

Cane: It’s all about evolution and developing the sound more. On the last album Noita we already took a huge step in this direction. I think we got the balance right between the folk instruments and the other stuff. Now we wanted them sound even more natural, dynamic and raw, trying to capture the emotion by using the first takes as much as possible. The same thing goes with the vocals, which are now more in the front and has even more character than before.

Would you say that Kulkija is a concept album dealing with the character of The Wanderer, or is he simply a character who wanders in and out of the songs?

Cane: No, I wouldn’t call it a concept album. We didn’t plan that at all. It wasn’t until we got all of the songs together that we noticed that this ‘wanderer’ occurs in most of the songs in different ways. It’s more like the lyrics look the world and life through this ‘wayfarer’s’ eyes. This album is pretty much about real life and not that much mythology.

Who exactly is the wanderer? Is he a representation of Vaari, of the band as a whole, or is he someone else entirely?

Cane: Everybody is a wanderer of their own life; we all have to face the same feelings of life; happiness, sadness, longing, sorrow etc. The album deals with all of these. We let the listener decide who the wanderer is. Vaari, you, or someone else you know.

There’s a sense of longing and wistfulness in most of the songs, musically and lyrically. Was this a deliberate choice, or something that came about during the creation process?

Cane: No, it wasn’t. When writing the songs, they just came along one by one. You don’t even see the connection between them until you put them all together.

Kulkija is the longest album you’ve created as a band. Was this intentional, or just an accident of the creation process?

Cane: When we had all of the songs ready, it was clear that none of them could be left out from the album. They just had to be together. This album is a whole, which should be listened to like that. So, no, it wasn’t intentional.

The tempo of the songs is generally a lot slower than it has been on previous albums. Was this to help emphasise the narrative of each song?

Cane: Actually the tempos are not that much slower. I guess it’s just the melodies and the way of playing that creates that image. Of course I can admit that our fastest songs are not on this album. We don’t change tempos to emphasise anything.

Where did the inspiration to use your and Jonne’s children as vocalists on Sillanrakentaja come from?

Cane: There was no inspiration needed. We just took the easy way out.

Not only is it the tenth studio album, but this year marks 15 years together as KORPIKLAANI. Do you ever think of how far you’ve all come together, and do you have any plans for the next 15?

Cane: We have been thinking about that a lot. It is really great to think that hard work and being true to yourself can take you this far. We are not going to change and the next 15 years will bring so much more, taking us so much further. Believe me!

Over those 15 years, a large folk-metal scene has grown in popularity, although it undoubtedly existed before KORPIKLAANI did. How does this make you and the rest of the band feel, given that you have helped bring the scene to life?

Cane: Thank you for your kind words, but we can’t take the honour of bringing the folk metal scene to life. Every band in the genre has had a big role in building this scene up. Or is it even the bands that created this? I think it’s the people, the fans who first created the genre and grew the scene around it. I’m certain that we were just making music before someone came up to us and said that we are making folk metal.

A lot of the band’s songs have dealt with Finnish folklore and mythology, but there’s less focus on that this time. Will we see a return to that in future?

Cane: Yes, most likely you will.

Lastly, if we could see into your soul, or that of the band, which five bands, or albums, or songs would we see there?

Cane: MOTORHEAD, BLACK SABBATH, KISS, Hank Williams and VARTTINA.

Thank you for the interview!

Kulkija is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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