This will be the first
exposure to Tenhi for probably all the readers, because
your debut album "Kauan" recently got released
by Prophecy Productions. Therefore I suggest that we take
of from the beginning. Can you start telling us something
more about your first release, demo "Kertomuksia"?
What does the name mean and what is the main concept or
thought behind its music?
We recorded the demo "Kertomuksia"
("stories") in early 1997. It contains three
songs and one of them ("Näkin laulu") is re-recorded
for the full-length "Kauan". I really enjoy the
atmosphere on the demo, and the demo means a lot to me.
Musically our demo contained
very much the same elements than we have now, except
distortion-guitar, which we didn’t use on the two
albums "Hallavedet" (MCD) & "Kauan"
(CD) anymore. Maybe we’ll consider the use of it in
the future again. We added nature’s sounds in every
song on the demo to bring forth certain moods,
unfortunately this is not the case for our other releases.
The most difficult problem
for me is to describe your style of music to the readers/listeners,
maybe you can give us a proper description?
We have been very careful not
to label our music in to a certain category because our
music has elements from a variety of music styles, it is
dark and emotional music to put it simple. Some describe
our music as Melancholic Folkloric Rock, I don’t
know, is that any nearer the truth than something else…?
Who came up with the idea
to start Tenhi, what were your intentions to do so? What’s
the significance of the name Tenhi?
I started Tenhi in late 1996/early
1997. Ilkka and me had played together for a while so I
asked him to play drums, for some songs I had made for
the demo. He played other instruments on the demo also. I
want to achieve a touch with mystical side of life
through Tenhi. The word "Tenhi" means a shaman/witch,
it is ancient Finnish, which it is not used anymore. The
content of the word is more abstract though. Tenhi is the
essence of our sound and it carries our musical goal: we
want to create mystical atmospheres that will ensnare a
listener for a long time.
All your lyrics are in
Finnish, so it’s hard to understand what it’s
all about. What’s your main source to write about
and which subjects do you handle within the lyrics? What
inspires you?
I can say things in Finnish,
which are indescribable in English. Finnish language fits
much better to our music. It is natural for us to sing in
mother tongue as some of our songs deal with Finnish
mythology/themes. I write the lyrics in a kind of poetic
form, so it’s hard to translate them. The English
lyrics are a slightly altered story about the same theme,
not direct translations. Finnish fits also better to the
compositions concerning intonation and melody. The lyrics
are descriptions of some atmosphere or the dark side of
the nature. Some are stories based upon old Finnish
traditions or myths. The Lyrics are very important to me,
we use poems with every song even instrumentals.
Prophecy Productions also
released a Single CD entitled "Hallavedet",
what can your reveal about the music and name? Is it
somehow different from your previous and new work, how?
Every release so far has been
different from eachother, even though one can recognize
them all as Tenhi’s music. On our mini there are two
acoustic epics: The Glacial Waters and The Pond Stays
still. Both songs represent the more conventional side of
Tenhi. Production is good although it was recorded in a
hectic two-day session. For our tastes the sound was even
a bit too dry, modern and clear. Anyway, Mcd "Hallavedet"
is a good way to get a hint of what Tenhi is all about.
On the new album "Kauan" we managed to catch a
more mystic sound(landscape), which fits us much better.
On the demo we also had a very atmospheric sound.
The myths and folklore of
Suomi Finland are not that known to me, can you give us a
small and interesting view on this subject (something
that you keep yourself busy with)? Is it related to the
Northern myths and legends or to those of the Baltic
States?
Finnish myths/legends are
related to both Northern and Baltic culture, and like
everywhere, cultures have no strict borders like
countries have. I am interested in myths and how motions
and feelings are dealt within them. Like in our music/lyrics
motions are often comprehended as real persons/personalities.
How important is it for
you to preserve your forefather’s culture? On which
level does it influence your
life?
In the biggest sense it
affects my creativity and art but also my everyday life.
I am fed up with modern world and an enormous urge just
for consumption.
Are many Finnish people
aware of their culture, how do they handle it? Is there
still something like pagan feasts and celebrations maybe?
Many celebrations have roots
in pagan feasts but they have now Christian meaning, like
everywhere I guess.
Luckily Christianity isn’t
so strong in Finland, it’s more like a formality
here compared to Norway.
Can you tell how beautiful
Suomi Finland actually is, regarding nature?
Finland is a quite big/long
country if you look at it geographically, so there is
much variation in different parts of Finland. Southern
part of Finland is covered with lakes and huge forests
while in north the landscape is very vast and plain.
Back to the musical part
of Tenhi. Let’s start with your brand new debut
album "Kauan". How important is it for you to
sign a label like Prophecy Prod.? How did this happen in
the first place?
We sent "Kertomuksia"
to Martin in summer 1997 and he liked it and wanted to
hear some more. Then we recorded a promo tape with two
songs (both included on "Kauan") and we sent it
to Martin, he liked what he heard and offered us a record
deal in winter/spring 1998. It a good thing that we
singed to a smaller more unique label like Prophecy
Productions, because we want to do almost everything
ourselves: composing, recording, mixing (no monotonous/mindless
producers needed), the CD-booklet art etc. Many bigger
record labels tell bands what to do and that is a thing
that doesn’t work with us.
Was the band in some way
influenced by other bands in particular to start making
such music? Can you name a few?
No. I try to avoid direct
influences from other bands. I started Tenhi because
there wasn’t a band making this kind of music.
What does "Kauan"
exactly means, does it have a more profound meaning? What’s
the concept, background or ideology behind this album?
Kauan means a long period of
time. After the recordings were finished, the word came
up as we were talking one evening with our dear friend
about our music and the things related to it. "Kauan"
more difficult and it has more dimensions compared to our
mcd "Hallavedet". It requires also more
attention and time to open up for the listener. I’m
very pleased about how Kauan formed a whole, although the
arrangements where quite massive, there are some 20
instruments played on Kauan. The style varies from
melancholic ambient to folk and even to classical music.
I selected one track,
which I personally like the most, "The Glacial
Waters", what’s the story hidden within it?
"Hallavedet/The Glacial
Waters" is an obscure poem about the timelessness of
nature and the mysticism in it.
Is there a certain feeling
you want to create within the listeners with your
melancholic and tragic sounding music? What kind of
feeling?
As I stated in the beginning,
we want to create mystical atmospheres that will ensnare
a listener for a long time. For me our music stands for a
touch with mystical side of life/a atmospheric journey
through music.
Suomi Finland has quite a
specific style of playing music, there’s a lot of
variation. Which bands are worth to be heard?
I am not that much to Finnish
"metal" music. There are some good bands with
originality, but on the other hand there are loads of
crappy bands. In fact, I dislike most of the bigger bans
like Stratovarius, HIM, Nightwish, etc…
We have to end here, what
can we expect from Tenhi in the future? What are your
expectations concerning life on this earth? Any last
words?
We have recorded some new
songs that carry on our musical journey. They bring forth
some new aspects of Tenhi but on the other hand they can
be easily related to our earlier material. For
atmospheric experiences, get in touch with "Kauan"
