Interview with Perttu Kivilaakso for Apocello.ru

Piano-Trio, Nuclear explosions, and New Apocalyptica Album

We met Perttu Kivilaakso after the Piano-Trio concert in Kallio Church, Helsinki, 19.09.2019. Perttu was playing classical music with his friends Linda Brava Lampenius and Laura Mikkola. The concert was a part of Aino Ackté Chamber Music Festival.

Aino Ackté Chamber Music Festival offers classical and modern music, poetry, dance and exhibitions in Kallio Church.

Perttu Kivilaakso: This is Perttu, Finnish cellist from your favorite metal band, Apocalyptica. I am also a classically trained cellist, and I hope you enjoyed the concert we just played here in Helsinki Church. A beautiful place, lovely piano-trio, very good friends of mine, and I enjoy playing classical music every now and then whenever I have enough time for it!

How this Trio project was born, how did you found each other for this project?

Perttu Kivilaakso: Actually, the Trio things was my idea, because I wanted to find a suitable cool combination. I felt in last year I need to play more chamber classical music meanwhile in between the tours of Apocalyptica. So we started to talk with Linda, because, in my opinion, we are similar kind of musicians. We both have a strong classical background, but we went out own ways.

She has been playing quite a lot of pop and stuff like this, that electric violin, in her career. So it was interesting to put us together. And I had played quite a lot of Beethoven's sonatas with Laura in previews years, so she felt like the correct pianist for this project.

I am lucky enough that everybody always wants to play with me if I ask. (laughs). They are lovely ladies! Great feelings! That's the main idea.

Does this project help you to find a balance with Apo's music?

Perttu Kivilaakso: I feel that it's necessary that I need to keep my classical roots and classical technique because it always kinda easier to play even in a rock group. I of course concentrate little bit more in classical music, while in rock you can be more free improvise, do crazy stuff with the instrument. But in classical music you have to honor the original composer's idea and be very strict with the style.

But I love, I have a kinda perversion for Beethoven, I love to play it. It's kinda philosophical music, I do love it.

About your previews project of this year - Apocalypse Oratorio. You composed the oratorio for the Ilmajoki Music Festival.

Perttu Kivilaakso:I wrote the lyrics, it is whole my story. I was asked to do something for that concert and got "free hands", and hopefully create something new. I thought to compose a little song or something new for me and Linda. Actually, that was an original idea.

But when I started to do the music, it just got bigger and bigger, and I realized "Oh shit, I need nuclear explosions and a choir. It turned out to be a big symphony orchestral thing, and in Ilmajoki we have to do kindy little bit stipped down version because of so many logistics and stuff and so on.

Would you play it again someday?

I do hope it should be redone in Helsinki area in Spring, I think so. I would love to do those performances like live CDs! I am crazy with ideas!

Can you open some secrets about the upcoming Apo album? Like do you already have the name for it? How many songs on the album?

Perttu Kivilaakso:Oooh, yes! We do have the name. I won't reveal it yet. There are 9 songs. The album is approximately 55 minutes — quite long songs - progressive stuff.

Have you already found singers for the vocal editions of the songs?

Perttu Kivilaakso: Actually, there won't be vocal editions out of these songs, it's a fully instrumental album. We don't do vocal versions of those songs. We might do collaborations with cool artists for different songs, great once. But I won't reveal them even yet because otherwise the management would be extremely angry with me. (laughts)

You already made the video with Ville Juurikkala for one song. What is it?

Perttu Kivilaakso: Yes, we already made the video with Ville, that's for sure. It's the opening track of the album. It's very very... I would say, powerful heavy metal, bringing us again in a kind of traditional but untypical way of Apocalyptica. I would feel it has kind of a lot of inspiration of doom or even black metal music. It feels like Behemoth type, you know, epic. It for sure will be the show opener for us. It's a strong, cool song, Ville is always is great with the ideas and pictures. So, I HOPE it shocks you all! But it comes soon out, probably next week - two weeks, something like that. It's always exciting to get the first song out!

I am proud of the album. Very happy. It sounds amazing.

Fans were waiting for a long time instrumental album from Apocalyptica.

Perttu Kivilaakso: Yeah, me too! It just felt actually... the idea for instrumental was that we really love to play now, and the Plays Metallica thing, which bought us back to kinda what we always were. That's the main idea behind it.

Thank you very much for the interview and the concert! It was so nice to meet you again.

We are thankful to Aino Acktén kamarifestivaali management and Kallio church for accreditation and making this interview possible.

© Apocello.ru, 2019