ONE OF THE MOST
VISITED INTERVIEWS IN OUR SITE WAS THE FIRST ONE THAT WE DID WITH MATTI
OF ULTIMATIUM AND IAM ALSO SURE THAT THIS ONE ALSO WILL CLAIM YOUR INTEREST.
YOU SEE ULTIMATIUM HAVE IMPROVED AS MUSICIANS AND COMPOSITORS AND ARE READY
TO EARN THE HEART OF THOSE WHO LIKE MELODIC POWER METAL. DON'T MISS THIS
INTERVIEW, CAUSE ULTIMATIUM ARE DESTINED TO DO GREAT THINGS IN THIS GENRE
IN MY HUMBLE OPINION...
1.HELLO MATTI AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR
YOUR NEW DEMO! I NOTICED THAT YOU FINALLY HAVE A STABLE LINE-UP. HOW DIFFICULT
WAS IT FOR YOU TO FIND BAND MEMBERS? CAN YOU GIVE US THEIR NAMES AND TELL
US WHERE THEY HAVE PLAYED IN THE PAST? HAVE YOU FOUND A DRUMMER OR ARE
YOU STILL ON THE SEARCH?
Hi, and thanks... Actually the search
process was quite a battle at first. The guitarist and bassist were easy
ones, because I knew them already, so search for the vocalist was bit more
difficult, as we first had female singer, then gothic male singer after
that and two other guys before we found our current singer
JT Partanen. Also the drummer was and is still hard to find, but things
look more brighter now. SO the current line-up is: JT Partanen handeling
the vocals, Matti Pulkkinen (me) in keyboards, Harri Niskanen in guitars
and Tuomo Juntunen in bass. We are still bit unsure about the drummer,
but not for long, hopefully. These guys have been mostly playing in various
local bands previously and JT has one cover project currently...
2.YOU NAMED YOUR ALBUM "FOLLOW THE
STAR". WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH THIS TITLE?
I'm not sure, actually. I just thought
that it would be cool name for a demo and I had some good ideas for the
cover which fitted with the name.
3.THE COVER ARTWORK SHOWS A FAIRY I
THINK SITTING ON A TREE AND LOOKING AT THE STARS. I LIKED IT A LOT ALTHOUGH
IT'S VER Y SIMPLE. WHAT IS SHE EXPECTING TO HAPPEN? WHO IS RESPONSBILE
FOR THE COVER?
It's not a fairy, although she looks
like one. She's just a regular woman. She's supposed to look like she would
be waiting for someone to follow her and she is actually following a star
in the sky. Cover picture is drawn by Liu Jing, my sister's boyfriend.
4.AS I KNOW FROM YOUR PREVIOUS RELEASE,
YOU ARE THE MAIN COMPOSER AND LYRICIST. NOW THAT YOU HAVE NEW MEMBERS WILL
YOU ALLOW THEM TO ADD THEIR IDEAS TO ULTIMATIUM? CAN YOU TELL US WHAT EACH
SONG IS ALL ABOUT? WHY 2 OF THE SONGS SPEAK ABOUT WINTER?
Of course, especially our guitarst
and vocalist have alternated my songs quite much and that's ok to me, they
have done good work. I'm always happy to hear my songs developing... Main
reason for the winter lyrics is that I happen to like winter. I'm not happy
until it's -20 degrees outside. :)
5.MANY HEAVY METAL BANDS LIKE YOU USE
IN THEIR MUSIC KEYBOARDS. WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THIS HAPPENS? DOES IT HAVE
TO DO WITH YOUR MUSICAL TRADITION?
My songs would be quite boring without
keyboards, keyboards are good for creating emotions to songs. And I don't
know how to play any other instrument...
6.I HAVE DISCOVERED IN YOUR NEW DEMO
EXCEPT FOR THE STRATOVARIUS INFLUENCES, ALSO SOME ELEMENTS FROM RHAPSODY
AND EDGUY. AM I RIGHT? ARE ULTIMATIUM STILL AT THE PROCESS OF FINDING THEIR
OWN SOUND OR ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR EVOLUTION SO FAR?
Yes, we are still on progress and hopefully
we won't ever stop being. I believe that we're not ever happy. We still
need to find our identity and our sound and develop that.
7.AS I KNOW YOU ALSO PLAY OR HELP OTHER
FINNISH BANDS AS WELL. NOW THAT YOU HAVE A STABLE LINE-UP, WILL YOU STAY
FOCUSED ON ULTIMATIUM ONLY OR WILL YOU CONTINUE HELPING THEM?
I'll propably focus on ultimatium right
now, because my time is limited as I do all the promoting and almost everything
related to the band. And I have to practise and compose new songs all the
time, so my time is now limited. Of course I'm willing to help if anyone
needs, but I don't have time for longer projects.
8.WHAT KIND OF PROCEDURE DO YOU FOLLOW
WHILST COMPOSING SONGS? DO YOU TRY TO FOCUS ON AN EVENT, A SITUATION OR
A FEELING IN ORDER TO KEEP A SPECIFIC FEELING? AFTER ALL DON'T WE SAY THAT
AN ARTIST CAN BETTER EXPRESS HIMSELF THROUGH BITTER AND HARD TIMES? DID
IT WORK WITH ULTIMATIUM?
My compositions come straight from
emotion and sometimes an idea for song can come up in a second. And when
I start composing, it feels like the song starts to compose itself. I'm
not sure about the bitter and hard times, I've been lately composing
songs when I've happy and that's quite a fun. I compose with my heart and
use my mind later to make the song playable and good.
9.DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE APPEARANCES
OR TOURING?
Of course, as we get this drummer problem
solved, we start intensive rehearsals and try to play some live gigs. Only
problem is that we're quite expensive, since our vocalst lives quite far.
10.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THAT
IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOUR MUSIC TO ATTRACT HIS ATTENTION? WHICH IS THE
MOST RECOGNIZABLE ELEMENT IN YOUR MUSIC?
We live to do this, we do this with
our heart. We don't make compromises and we always try to develop something
new.
11.IF YOU COULD PICK OUT ONE SONG ONLY
FROM YOUR RELEASE, WHICH WOULD THAT BE AND IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO MAKE
AN EXPENSIVE VIDEO CLIP, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?
Perhaps it's "In Winter Nights". It's
fast and furious and fun to play, thus hard for the drummer. That song
describes our style best. If I'd have the money, I'd make somekind of winter
theme (obviously). Something with lots of snow...
12.DO YOU THINK THAT PERHAPS GOD GOT
SO FRIGHTENED FROM WHAT HE CREATED THAT HE MOVED TO HEAVEN IN ORDER TO
KEEP DISTANCE FROM HIS CREATURES?
??? :) I don't know. Who would that
be? Perhaps a human is the only evil in this world.
13.IF YOU WERE A FLY, WHERE WOULD YOU
LIKE TO BE AND WHY?
As a fly on the ceiling... Perhaps
I would be somewhere hiding that no one would kill me... I would be a real
pain in the ass as a fly...
14.IF WE LIVED IN A WORLD WITHOUT ANY
MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? HOW WOULD YOU PIPE ALL YOUR FEELINGS AND NEGATIVE
ENERGY?
I've never gived a thought for that,
actually... Perhaps I would be creating complex software or something like
that...
15.YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD
YOU DO WITH IT?
I'd wish that stupidity and greed would
no more rule the world...
16.IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET AN
IMPORTANT PERSONALITY OR MUSICIAN (DEAD OR ALIVE) WHO WOULD THAT BE AND
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?
I'd like to meet some dead young "teen
idol" and ask him "Was it worth to live fast and die young, you dumass!?!"
17.THANK YOU! LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE...
Stay tuned, you'll hear us more in
the near furure, I promise...