Soon I’ll be gone for some time… I shall head Northbound, where it snows, and I may learn something amidst the wintery falls.
What is it that the North (of Europe) can teach me, about what I am and my state of mind? How much will I see some of the human condition in nature’s indifference to our existence?
Perhaps someone can give me an idea of this… someone wise, and meditative.
Someone like Ilmari Issakainen, from Tenhi.
The clock is ticking before my journey, but not fast enough that I can’t ask him some questions about the North, as well as the Finnish neofolk maestros’ latest effort “Saivo”. But first things first, eh?
Looking back to the band’s name, ‘tenhi’ means “wise old sage” or “seer”. In what way does this reflect on how you all view the modern world?
In the beginning, we were angry teenagers with a lot of misanthropic feelings. I think that in those days, one meaning for the word was to somehow seek purity and find reason for everything from our own roots.
We felt like outsiders to the surrounding society – we needed a way out, and music was the ticket!
You’ve mentioned in past interviews, that you grew up with and were influenced by metal music. In what way does this actually translate over to the sound and atmosphere of Tenhi, which is signifcantly more subdued and less reliant on guitars by comparison, than the likes of Slayer and Metallica?
Well, I think that there is a certain weight and attitude that comes from our metal background. Some people even regard our music as acoustic doom!
To me, it is no surprise that we’re the most appreciated in the metal world, as compared to other music scenes.
At this point, I have to ask – what does ‘Saivo’ mean in the Finnish language, and how does it fit your new album?
“Saivo” is a kind of Finnish myth which is equivalent in someways to Hades or Elysion, and is located under a certain lake where the ancestors live in an inverted “upside down” world. To us, the title doesn’t necessarily mean the world of the undead – “Saivo” can also be seen as a portal to a different state of mind, or even a reflective counterpart to this existence.
One concrete meaning for me however, was that “Saivo” formed an idea where inspiration flowed like a current with the memories and heritage of our forefathers.
The past flows and echoes through us constantly, and our state of being is based on the choices and works of our forefathers. That is, the same water that flowed through our ancestors flows in us now.
It’s been mentioned that part of why you choose to write your lyrics in Finnish, is because the language has a melancholic intonation that works with the words.
For us, the language has always been a crucial part of our thing. It has never even been discussed whether we should sing in something other than Finnish! We could have never achieved the mood we want by using, for example, English. So many things are connected to the Finnish tongue: rhythm, mood, tone and character. Even the lyrical content is derived from this language.
So how else would you say that Tenhi is a characteristically Finnish band?
Our music reflects the landscape and mentality of Finland: slow, somber and no humour, hehe.
You often hear that melancholy is a key asset to understanding the Nordic mindset. In what way do you consider the music of Tenhi to be offering something different to this view?
Well, melancholy is usually mentioned when our music is been analyzed, which is an integral component to us as persons for sure.
About the Nordic mindset, I can’t answer – Finland actually has a unique blend of Nordic influences and Slavic ones. Our mentality is perhaps connected to the ruthless seasonal cycles that we experience each year, which leave us with a degree of humility, silence and reverence for nature.
Listening to your newest release ‘Saivo‘, there seems to be more focus on the vocal performance here than on ‘Airut…’ where the piano was the main instrument.
This time, we focused very deeply on the vocals. All the people involved in the band has a good voice, so we thought to use more of them in general.
‘Airut: Aamujen‘ was part of the “Airut” saga which has a somewhat different approach to “normal” Tenhi releases in that it’s perhaps more experimental – it was piano-driven, it didn’t have huge arrangements, and so on.
In what way does Saivo connect to the themes of loneliness and rebirth that were present with ‘Airut…’ and ‘Maaäet’; your last albums?
Loneliness and rebirth have followed us thematically in every release. One of the main concepts about the myth of Saivo is continuing your life in the “hereafter” by entering a new state of existence. So in this respect, that same theme continues!
Though you don’t follow too much of a folk music formula, there is still a nature-based vibe throughout your work that sits close to a “neofolk” atmosphere.
Obviously, nature is a major theme for us and we do draw a lot of inspiration from it. When it comes to genres though. I think that I will leave the categorizations to journalists and critics!
Knowing that even the name of your previous compilation record was ‘Folk Aesthetic‘, what does folk music mean to you personally, and what values do you believe it has which most modern music genres (including rock) could learn from?
To me, folk as a term refers to a certain population with something in common that ties them together. This kind of binding root element is quite distinct in our music.
Of course, we have a lot of musical elements from our national background, but for me, the “folk aesthetic” refers to a group of people who agree with our musical principles.
When it comes to musical genres and their values, I don’t have an opinion – we tend to keep things on a intuitive level.
K. Ann Sulaiman would like to thank Tenhi and Prophecy Productions for this interview.
Tags: interview: tenhi, label: prophecy productions, non-metal
