Poets Of The Fall
Having An Alter Ego Helps

22.04.2011

Poets of the Fall were abut to wrap up the main part of their Moscow gig when I started elbowing through the thick crowd that occupied the entire floor of Club P!PL from one side to another. I had to leave the hall before the band finishes the encore. Otherwise, as organizers warned, chances of showing up for our 15-minute interview slot were close to zero. When the huge swirling flow of visitors would rush to the exit stairway, there would be no way for me to get to the dressing room door – and that meant no opportunity to chat to singer Marco Saaresto. This was something I could not let happen, as Finland’s Poets of the Fall, whose popularity at their homeland and outside it has been on the steady rise since their formation in 2003, just had to be given the floor on our website. Thus, me and our photographer Natalia Reshetnikova fled out and watched the encore through an open door to stay away from excited fans and wait for Marco. We didn’t have to wait long, and 15 minutes after the band’s set was over a tired but very friendly Marco provided detailed answers to my questions, treated me with mineral water and eagerly posed for photos…

Whose idea was it to throw the balloons to the audience during today’s show? It seemed that the band had a lot of fun doing it.

That was what the fans did. When they come they throw us flowers, they throw us balloons, sometimes it’s teddy bears or something, you know, whatever… Sometimes it’s paper, paper kites or how you call them. Paper airplanes and these origami things. That’s nice. Balloons are always nice, because you can kick them around and that’s fun.

It feels like you’re hugely popular here, your show was sold out at least a week ago. Is it the same with other countries or is it something special just between your band and the Russian audience?

Some places, yeah… But the Russian audience is very special for us, because we’ve always been very welcome here. Ever since we’ve done here our first show, I think that was even sold out. So pretty much all of the shows we’ve played here were sold out. So when we come on tour to Russia make sure that you get your ticket really early, because they won’t be there for a long time.

Let’s talk now about this compilation “Alchemy Vol. 1”, which you released recently…

Yeah, three weeks ago by now…

Could you explain your choice of the title for it? To me “alchemy” brings some associations with the magical secret of success, but what does this word mean to you?

Yeah, it can be that… Well, alchemy is the study of basic ingredients in order to make gold and in the old times the alchemists would use what you call the philosophers' stone to try to make gold and find eternal life. So that’s the idea. We have the songs that we’ve written and now we’re trying to do something to make them live forever. And also to a sort of circulate the stuff that we have. So it’s kind of alchemy, you know, when you write music it’s also like mixing these ingredients, these different ingredients to create something completely new. It’s also like music is alchemy, so for us it’s basically the realization of what we’re actually doing. And this is “volume 1”…

Yeah, so you’re going to release more compilations like that, right?

I hope so. At least one more, I hope so. We’re going to write more music…

It seems that when a band releases a compilation of their greatest hits, they are on the edge of something new, some great changes. Is it the same with you?

Yeah, there was actually a song on our last album “Twilight Theater” (2010) called “Change” and I think as I sang… I wrote in that song like “I feel the change coming on // Rolling out of blue like a storm…” – and that was actually what we were thinking back then. And now we might do something just a bit different, just a bit new. But, you know, we have a lot of ideas and we just have to do them, we have to work on them and see what comes out of them. So I’m hoping that we all will get some really good ideas and some new directions. Let’s wait and see.

You know, on the Fool’s Day you wrote on your Twitter account, “We want to try new things all the time, so we decided to make a jazz album next. The highlight will be Olli's (Olli Tukiainen, guitar) 30-minute improvised solo!” Well, all jokes aside, what changes style-wise can we expect from you?

(smiles) It’s a new album that we’re gonna work on and it’s coming out some time later, I hope. And when you start working on a new album, you get these ideas and maybe write, I don’t know, ten songs or twenty songs, and only then you start hearing what kind of music is coming out now. And it’s always like a mark of the time. Now we’re in the state of writing music like this. This is the kind of stuff we’re doing now. So usually it’s only later on that we see what the album really was all about. So when you’re in the moment when you’re sort of “in the zone”, writing your music, you just let out what comes out. You let out whatever comes naturally, and later on you go like “hmm, this is what we wrote”. And then you sort of put the album together and go like, “Yeah, this is our new direction now”. That’s how it works with us.

You write really special lyrics. Did you learn how to do it by reading other poets or whatever or does it just come out naturally, just like the best way to express your feelings?

I’m definitely into learning. If I can learn something new I really always wanna do that. And it’s also part of living - you learn, you get more perspective into things and you have something new to write about every time. Otherwise you won’t have anything to write about. But then after you have learnt something, you have to let it sit inside you and live with it for awhile, and then things start to pop out naturally.

So it’s just your life that teaches you and not some other people’s works and ideas?

I’m one of those people who are trying to learn about people in general. So I don’t really read other poets that much, you know… (smiles) I try to go to the source and… poetry is what comes out, but I try to go to the source like real life experience or person who teaches people about people or teaches you how to handle yourself better, you know, how to be a better person… And you meet these people and you try to get your inspiration from them and then you go and produce poetry. And that’s I think is the idea of what poetry is. If I were to read a lot of poetry, than I would basically just be copying other people’s ideas and not sort of giving my own thoughts.

All of your albums are gold or platinum in Finland. Don’t you feel pressure of your previous releases’ success every time you’re releasing something new?

Not anymore. But we used to, yeah, we used to be very stressed out before an album came out. But nowadays we accept that the world is changing and that change is something that comes along, whatever you do and wherever you go. So if things don’t stay the same, it’s okay, because that’s just the way the world is supposed to be. Don’t be afraid of change, whatever it is, if there’s something you wanna do, do it, and don’t dread, because it’s not gonna get you anywhere.

Being a designer by education do you think that the way a band presents itself visually is almost as important as its music? For example, is it essential for a band to have its own logo, like Poets of the Fall’s moth?

I think in this business it’s a good idea to work on all the stuff that you want to work on. If you wanna have a visual presentation, if you know how you wanna look and you have a logo or a sign like we have, the moth, the “morpho” as we call it… The way I dress up now and that sort of character I go into when I go on stage and stuff – it’s all a part of something that we want to do. It’s not absolutely necessary, but I think that it really enhances people's experience of your gig, if the audience comes in, they have a better time, they're really into it… And it works, and you should do it. Otherwise if you just wanna play your guitar, you just play your guitar. (laughs)

And where do these images you use come from?

From my head. I don’t know where they come from, just from my head.

Do they come to you a kind of subconsciously, in your sleep for example?

Oh yes, they do. Like the song “Sleep”, for one thing, came to me when I was sleeping. I woke up at two o’clock in the morning and it was playing in my head and I had to go to the piano and start playing. Stuff like that does happen often. And I guess that the way I see things or I think of things is through visual images. And that’s how I get most of my ideas, even musical ideas are sometimes like images in my head.

Whenever you appear on stage or in your videos you play a kind of “dusky clown”. What does this character mean to you?

I think that guy is the poet of the fall. That mime, that clown, whatever you can call him… There’s a lot of this old theater in him and this new anarchy kind of thing because he’s (says in a harsh voice) kind of evil sometimes. So he’s got all this, he’s got the whole range of emotions inside him. And going into that character is kind of mis en scene and it’s really easy to start acting and bringing stuff out. As in comparison to if I would just go on stage as my very self, you know, the same guy that wakes up with my hair messed up in the morning and goes like “huh?”, you know, in front of the mirror… So it’s easier to be that guy, to be the poet of the fall and go on stage.

Is that guy a kind of your alter-ego?

Yeah, definitely.

So it’s like some hidden sides of your character are showing through, right?

Well, you can say that. I’m not saying it is, but you can say that. (smiles) Tomorrow I might change my mind. (laughs) That’s the change for you again, you know…

Poets of the Fall are always associated with romance. And are you a romantic person in your real life?

I guess when you write music in a professional way, you have to be romantic, a part of you has to be in touch with that (says in a rich voice) romantic side of yourself. So I guess I’m a romantic.

And how does it show? Outside of your music I mean…

Well, one tip is when you’re with someone - be with that person, if you are with someone then don’t be with yourself. When someone is there, take that person into consideration, really, be present. I think that’s the best. Don’t think about yourself.

Does it mean that you have to share everything with that person – all your feelings, all your emotions, everything?

I think when it comes to sharing everything, every person has something that is private. Even if you’re married, even if you’re in a relationship, even if you have children, you always need to have something that is completely yours. Don’t let everything go, you know. Be honest, but… still have something that you feel “this is mine and this is where I’m going in my head and meditate and I’m not sharing what happens inside me, because that’s personal”. You need to have these things. And that’s the same with every person in the world. There’s one way of taking care of yourself in order to take care of others. If you don’t take care of yourself, there won’t be much use to anyone else. Because if you’re broken, how can you mend anyone else? So keep something to yourself as well. Some treasure that you won’t even tell anyone about.

You run your own label. How can a musician be also a businessman? It feels like they are a kind of opposites to each other…

Yeah, it helps if you have an alter-ego. (laughs)

Do you think that it’s better for a band to have their own label than look for someone who will sign them?

Oh, it depends on who you are. I mean if you’re okay with doing that sort of office work and more alike work that you have to do to run your own business, than it’s for you. But if you’re someone who likes to just play your music and just tour or something and let someone else mind about the paperwork and finance and stuff, then maybe having business is not for you. Choose carefully, because it can really run you down if you have too much to do. People burn themselves up these days, because they think that they have to do everything and be the best in every field that they’re working in.

And do you feel like you can really cope with your business?

Oh yeah, definitely.

You’re quite famous for writing soundtracks for computer games, so I can’t help asking you what’s your attitude towards computer games and that kind of “second reality” they create?

Oh yeah, I like them, it’s a very good way to escape reality sometimes – just to play games. When we write music every song is an alternative reality in a way, because there’s always something that we make up and something that comes from my real life and we also create that kind of pseudo-world that you can go into. So we have a very close relationship with that world of games.

And you do play computer games…

Yeah, I do. At home mostly. I know that the other guys they usually keep their laptops and their game consoles with them and they play on tour. I usually just read or watch movies. But at home, I’d say, usually after Christmas, when I tend to get games for Christmas gifts… So a couple of months after Christmas I usually play, but then I get fed up for the rest of a year and then I’m playing next winter again.

Isn’t it a bit childish to play computer games?

No, every person should be a child enough to play games, whatever games they like. Some people like computer games, some people like other games. But people shouldn’t lose that inner child, because it’s much more fun to live if you can sometimes just be that kind of a person you were once.

In one of your songs you sing very passionately “I want more” – so what is it you want to get as a musician and maybe as a person in the nearest future?

Well, definitely more of what we had tonight. That was an awesome concert, the audience was completely crazy, which was so great, you know. It’s really fun to be up there and when you take your headset off and you think your head is gonna explode, because they scream so loud, and that’s real fun. So I want more of that, because it also means that I’ve been able to and we’ve been able to give them something that they will remember, something that can give them a lot of strength and something they can go back to and think that they’ve lived, they had a good time. And personally I want a house in the south of France.

Poets Of The Fall on the Internet: http://www.poetsofthefall.com/ 

Special thanks to Hanna Kaukoniemi (Poets Of The Fall management), Maxim Bylkin (Soyuz Music) and Alexei Kuzovlev (The Motley Concerts) for arranging this interview

Interview by Ksenia Artamonova
Photos by Natalia “Nuts” Reshetnikova
April 9, 2011
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