Kantele & others

It`s been over a half a year since last update, and that`s because there was very little progress during summer months. We were building us a new studio room, so there was no time or good place to record anything for a few months. We still managed to recorded percussions, jouhikko, some kanteles, flutes etc. already in spring, but failed to update this blog or video diary. Now the last few weeks has saw some good progress, wheels are spinning again, so I felt that I had to update the progress officially to fans and alike.

Pekka "The Cameraman" Korhonen a.k.a. "Kitaraman" and Microphoneman" has turned to "The Constructionman".

Studio, almost ready, from outside...

...and from inside.

  So ALMOST all the kanteles are now recorded, and also 90% of the vocals. Some backing vocals are still missing, as well as very little flutes, and that`s about it. I think we can get everything done in one good recording sessions, hopefully in near future. Pekka Korhonen has been helping a lot, as you can witness from these photos and from the upcoming video. We also have so much video material, that I don`t know how I can manage to fit it to a single video. 

Happy little producer.

Janne playing flute.

Expect a new "Making of..."-video in December. Greetings to our fans, I really believe the new album is worth the wait!

-Janne

Throat singing session with Juha Jyrkäs.

It's always fun to do something with Auringon hauta. That's why I participated in their latest album - and that's the reason why I ended up into their forthcoming album also. 

First I entered the train, leaving from Helsinki to Imatra. The train was already late before leaving in Helsinki. I was a little bit tired after a workday, so I rushed into the restaurant car and had a quick beer and Fernet Branca shot. After that I fell a sleep and find myself in Imatra. Cool!

In Imatra, we went to eat some kebab with Janne. It was truely a good kebab, actually one of the best kebabs I've ever eaten. Surely the Turkish people know how to do a good kebab - this one of the finest foods ever invented. It's a secret how to manage and handle all those ingredients, derived from hundreds of years from the Anatolian mountains... 

As it was friday, we actually had nothing else to do than have a good sauna and drink some beer. We decided to do the all other work on saturday.

In saturday we went to shoot some very funny outtakes how I actually come into Imatra with a kick sledge! I even managed to fall with it with a power, knocked my head and hurt my back while shooting the material. It actually hurted like hell, but it was forth it; I do anything for art. And the last time I had so good time with a kick sledge, it was something about 20 years ago...

We used all blasphemous and evil spells, summoned all the magic from the depths of R'lyeh, using all unnormal satanic and unspeakable rites, did an evil mass, but nothing happened. But help came towards us; Janne had a bread -making machine from Japan, from the year 1990 or something, and finally we managed to do our black magic evil bread with that marvelous machine. We did it something about 5 times. We fucked up one version of it, but the rest was eaten well! GOOD!!

All the songs were put nicely together with a help of necessary preparations of good note-oil from Laitila Brewery. Good Western Finnish beer and home-made wine of Janne and Jenna did a good job. 

Now Auringon hauta can go to gigs and present all our songs with me in the massive shows in New Zealand, Egypt and in Edinborough! First I thought that I would rap their body beat and we would do a good massive hip-hop album with my excellent rhymes and beats. But in the end we decided to do it metal. We're gonna do it metal. We're gonna do it good ethnic metal for those people who really understand the music itself. 

And after all the vocals were finished, drinking was inevitable. GOOD!!! We listened good stuff, including the very first album of Megadeth, which is a masterpiece. Mustaine truely have a Finnish heart of creativity, after all, his real family name is Mustonen... 

But did you knew that in war there's no room for cowards? We didn't knew it either, since I don't see any war going on anywhere near us. So what the fuck?! But that's not the problew for me, since I don't use an armour, I'm just the talker... 

Sunday I was sleeping a good time, since drinking something stronger than a man does have an affect. I managed to go home via train, sleeping the all way along and finally saw the results for the first presidential votes of Finland. For the sake of all mankind, is good that no fossils from the 80's nor fat malicious bandits from Tatooine was NOT elected to the second presidential vote. So the world can spin around and I can drink some more beer. 

Did you knew that we actually don't have a democracy here in Finland? You have a separated area in festivals in Finland where you can drink - nowhere else it's not possible. Same thing in New York and in London. You call this democracy? No, no, no! It's not democracy, you have to have a right to drink beer in all places. In Africa - no democracy - but in Africa you can drink everywhere. If I drink ten beers, I drive well. If I'm tired, my friend drives the car... 

-Juha

Vocal recordings and solo guitars

Last few months were rather silent, but we managed to record guitar solos with a help of our pal Pekka Korhonen (more familiar as "the cameraman" in the Making of-videos). Pekka did an nice job, and we now have an excellent guitar solo on more than half of the songs!

Past weekend we spent in North Karelia, in Lari`s "summer" cottage, recording clean and also dirty vocals. We got a lot of good material, but there`s still plenty of work with vocal recordings in every department. This time we have such a great lyrics and arrangements, that we want to make the vocal tracks as good as possible.

In couple of weeks, on 20th of January, we will get a special visitor, when Juha Jyrkäs (familiar from Korpiklaani and also Poropetra and Tevana 3) comes to our studio to record his throat singing parts. On our last album Juha had a major role on many songs, and we want to continue the same pattern. Juha`s throat singing with it`s eerie, wild and ancient sound will make the finishing touch to many song, as you can hear & see on later videos.

No pictures this time, sorry, but the next video is being edited and uploaded soon.

-Janne