ULTIMATIUM
ULTIMATIUM
IS A SOLO PROJECT BAND OF THE KEYBORDIST MATTI, WHO REALLY IS QUIET KNOWN
IN THE FINNISH UNDERGROUND METAL SCENE. WITH THIS PROJECT HE WANTS TO SHOW
HIS SKILLS AND TO INTRODUCE TO THE METAL FANS NEW TALENTS OF FINNISH METAL
SCENE. ... AS MATTI SAYS :"Don't dream you live, live your dream".
1.GIVE US A SHORT BIO OF YOUR MUSICAL
EXPERIENCE TILL NOW.
Well,I touched keyboards
first time when I was something about seven years old, but I didn't start
to play them much, because I wasn't interested of music that time. At the
age of 15 my world chanced dramatically when I heard Stratovarius' BLack
Diamond for the first time and that was so big thing that I had to bought
all the records of Stratovarius and the Visions-Scorebook. So at the age
of 16 I started to play some Stratovarius songs by myself and one of my
friend asked me to play keyboards in their band. So I started my music
career and after a while I started to compose my own stuff and here I am
now... This whole UltiMatium thing actually started when my friend Timo
wanted me to make a "Silver Fang" ringtone and I actually made a full song
out of it and recorded it. It became quite a hit in Oulu and Suomussalmi
and so I got the spakle for UltiMatium
2.HOW MANY DEMOS DO YOU HAVE TILL NOW?
TELL US SOME THINGS ABOUT THEM AND ABOUT THE PREVIOUS BANDS YOU USED TO
PLAY IN. ARE YOU STILL SATSIFED BY THOSE OLD DEMOS OR ARE THERE THINGS
YOU'D LIKE TO CHANGE?
First demo I was playing in was
Triolity's demo "WolfHunter". I composed half of the material for the demo.
Naturally we weren't satisfied for the demo, bad quality and bad singing,
but it still was good and popular in our town for a while. Next demo I
played was my first solo-demo "call of the Twilight". I'm not satisfied
for that either, allthough I got the great singer Vellu for my ballad.
After releasing that and listening it afterwards I have noticed some bad
keyboard errors there and the mixing and mastering could be better. But
I'm glad I made it, it reached many listeners and made me a known person
in underground scenes. Now I'm making the second demo and it will be better
in all parts. I have a feeling that this time I will be satisfied mostly.
First band I played in was cover-song project "Twilight Warriors" with
my friend Timo on the bass, Henkka on the guitar, Ville (littlebrother
of Henkka) on the drums and a female singer. We didn't play long, because
our singer moved to another city as well as bass player. So the guys started
another band and just before their first gig they asked me to play keyboards
in one song. At that time we were known as "Mephisto" allthough we didn't
play blackmetal. So after three gigs we split up, and formed new band,
because Henkka and me wanted to play powermetal. First we named the band
and "Ancient Clerics" but we chanced the name to "Triolity" soon. After
playing three months together, we started to record our first demo. Naturally
we split up after our last gig, everybody went to their own directions
and I started doing my solo-demo, because I had so much new songs and ideas
that I had to do something with them. And now I'm playing with band named
Santhyr. So that's my band history
3.YOU ARE ABOUT TO RELEASE VERY SOON
YOUR NEW DEMO, WHICH WILL BE A SOLO WORK, HAVING SOME SESSION MUSICIANS.
CAN YOU TELL US SOME THINGS ABOUT IT? WHO ARE THE GUYS HELPING YOU? CAN
YOU INTRODUCE THEM?
Well, it's been allmost a year
since I released my first demo and couple of friends started to asking
me when I'll do next demo, so I started to compose new material and writing
lyrics. I decieded to continue the story I started on my first demo. I
also decided that I will make this one better and try to get some new,
good singers and guitarists to play on my cd and that has worked quite
fine. I have two guitarists on this new demo, Henkka (singer/keyboardist
of Eldera) and Tuomo (guitarist of Eldera). Tuomo plays all the guitars,
exept Henkka plays in "I Search the Light" and Soldier of Light (only solo).
J.Ahola sings in "Soldier of Light", he's really good independent solo
artist also and he has bright and really good voice. Singer of "Angel"
will be announced later due last minute cancelling, the singer who was
supposed to sing hurt his voice badly while trying to sing my song in bad
flue. In the "I Search the Light" is singing the singer of Merging Flare,
also new uprising metal act form Finland. And then there's one instrumental
song and last song will be sang by female singer, Mirella from Kajaani
will sing that song. At this point everything seems to be working fine,
although two good singers have cancelled, but luckily I have managed to
get better ones to sing in my demo. Future will show what happens. All
my songs will be (older ones are) available at mp3.com (www.mp3.com/ultimatium1)
and also in finnish site Mikseri.net ( www.mikseri.net/ultimatium
)
4.HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSICAL
STYLE? WHICH IS YOUR MOST BELOVED BRANCH? WHICH ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
My musical style is fast and beautiful
powermetal. Bit too heavily influenced by Stratovarius, but I have finally
found my own style to make music. Normally when I'm composing I'm focusing
really much to melodies and after I have finished making song, I start
to add some background riffs and stuff like that.
5.WHAT ARE YOUR LYRICS TALKING ABOUT?
REAL LIFE OR FANTASY THEMES? WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN WRITING LYRICS AND WHAT
CAN TAKE AWAY THE INSPIRATION FROM YOU?
The lyrics on my solo demo are
mainly fantasy, because lyrics tell about fight between day and night and
there's just one man who can fight the darkness. But my story ends in this
demo so propably next lyrics will be more real life. I have written quite
much lyrics, mainly my lyrics have been real life, some lyrics even political.
It's the nature that inspires me, sometimes I just watch out of the window
and suddenly I get inspiration and start writing. Sometimes it's the thunder,
northern fires or the dawn or twilight. Sometimes I get inspiration while
watching that stars. Inspiration rarely goes away in one second, but sometimes
I just lose the idea I'm chasing and then I just have to wait for new one.
If someone comes to disturb me I just say to him to wait for couple of
minutes, so that I am able to finnish writing the inspiration to paper.
Lyrics for the "I search the Light" came when I was in military service,
standing (actually lying) on the guard on beautiful day and watching clouds
moving. We were on wilderness, so I had some time write up the lyrics.
6.YOU USED TO HAVE A BAND UNDER THE
NAME TRIOLITY. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THEM? IS THERE A CHANCE TO REFORM THEM
OR HAVE YOU SPLIT UP?
The Triolity is now "deep freezed",
waiting for better times. I won't bury it yet, maybe we someday come back.
The reason we split up, bacuse we didn't find any good singer and
Henkka moved to another city and I wen't to army, so the only solution
was to take a ling break.
7.WHICH ARE YOUR DREAMS GOALS? WHAT
MADE YOU FORM A BAND OF YOUR OWN?
Of course my dream goal is international
succes, But I don't aim to be a superstar, I just wan't to make my living
playing and composing metal. It actually doesn't matter if it is my own
band which breaks through, but I wouldn't join for a band just because
I would get money. I formed my own band just because there wasn't any bands
in my home town, so it was the only solution to continue. I needed some
stuff that could be used for promotional use, I wanted to show to all the
bands that I am here and I can play and compose. Seems like my music did
the job it was ment for... There's a really good proverb for me "Don't
dream your life, Live your dream". And that's what I am doing...
8.NOWADAYS YOU ARE PLAYING WITH A PROMISING
AS YOU SAY 80'S METAL BAND CALLED SANTHYR. TELL US SOME MORE THINGS ABOUT
THEM.
9.FINLAND BECAME VERY FAMOUS THESE
PAST FEW YEARS, CAUSE OF THE GREAT BANDS THAT POPPED OUT FROM THERE. HOWEVER,
MOST OF THEM FROM A POINT ON ALL (OR AT LEAST MOST OF THEM) SEEM TO TEND
TO SOUND LIKE STRATOVARIUS. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS HAPPENS?
Well, in my opinion this happened
bacuse Stratovarius went on a break. There was a huge gap in powermetal-scene
in Finland and it was good time for record companies to sing deals with
young groups. Main filler of this gap in scene was Sonata Arctica, which
released their cd before Stratovarius went on break and they gained a huge
succes with their second cd "Silence", because there was no one else releasing
cd's, because of Stratovarius's "half-time, intermission :)". Of course
the new bands are good, mostly, but they do sound too much like Stratovarius
and I hope that they succeed with their music. But I fear that there are
too many bands like Stratovarius now and younger groups won't be able to
sell their cd's so much. That could hurt the undergroung scene also. Powermetal
is quite popular in Finland and that's why there are so many powermetal
bands. I think that the succes of Stratovarius has encouraged all younger
bands to promote themselves more and more. It's good that we have some
new blood in the scene, maybe this is the new rising of metal...
10.NAME YOUR 5 ALL TIME CLASSIC ALBUMS.
HAVE YOU LISTENED TO ANYTHING NEW LATELY YOU FOUND REALLY INTERESTING?
Visions and Episode (Stratovarius)
are really classics for me, some old Helloween and Iron maiden rocks
too. Timo Tolkki's first solo cd "Classical variations and themes" is one
of my favourites as well as allmost all the Nightwish releases... Some
new bands that I have found? Well, I think that Heavenly is really great
and I like Thunderstone and Twilighting a lot too... There are really good
bands in Finland... And more yet to come.
11.ARE YOU THINKING OF SENDING YOUR
DEMO TO LABELS OR THIS THING DOESN'T INTEREST YOU MUCH? WILL YOU DISTRIBUTE
IT IN THE PRESS TO RECEIVE REVIEWS AS WELL OR IS IT SOMETHING PERSONAL
FOR YOU?
Mainly this solo thing is personal,
to increase my talents as keyboardist/composer, but of course I will send
my cd to some press to review, how could I learn otherwise what to do better
next time. I have also though that I would send my cd to some label, but
I'm still unsure why should I do so, what would record company benefit
from my music. If some label wants to release it somehow or use it for
some special thing (for a price, of course). Mainly the idea is to introduce
new finnish talents and to give them chance to try and test their skills.
And of course chance for me to progress and introduce myself to finnish
music scene and to gain importants connections with different artists and
bands. I have also thought that I could sell the copyrights for some or
all songs if somebody is willing to pay me.... I don't know... This whole
solo thing is just to promote me as keyboardist and entertain my friends...
And of course a good reason to celebrate :)
12.WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY THE KEYBOARDS
AND NOT ANOTHER INSTRUMENT? WHAT'S THIS YOU FIND "MAGICAL" AND APPEALIN
TO YOU IN THIS INSTRUMENT?
Must be because I only had keyboards
in my home... And I wasn't actually interested of playing guitar at any
time... I'm mentally a keyboardist (=crazy). But I can play drums also...
Bit poorly, but I can...
13.WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN'T
ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC?
I would do some computer stuff
(I am studying ADP now, just to secure my future if music fails). I would
be total jerk :) Music has influended my mind so much that I am not the
one I used to be six years ago...
14.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU
LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?
Something like "Don't dream your
live, live your dream" would be cool... "Interview of UltiMatium, the finnish
independet solo-artist" or something like that, or then something about
wilderness: "From the deepest forest to live my dream" It's up to you to
decide
15.THANK YOU!HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
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