SOURCE – The sixth Hanging Garden EP is Neither Moth nor Rust. Can you discuss the development of this material, the recording/production process, and how the changes with the current rhythm section plus COVID-19 shaped the output in comparison to your previous discography?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – Before hitting the studio for Skeleton Lake, we found ourselves in the situation where we had a lot more songs we wanted to record than would fit on
a single album. We went on to pick out the songs that would benefit from a more “modern” metal sound, and saved them to be mixed at a later date. Our rhythm section has not changed for 7 years now, so no changes there. Covid seems to have given us a lot more spare time to compose material, and now we are in a situation where we have very promising material for at least two albums,
and we have to do some thinking on what to do with it all? We shall see!
SOURCE – What can you tell us regarding the video shoot for Neither Moth nor Rust? Was this an obvious choice from the EP to make a visual clip for, and were there any specific surprises, challenges, or funny stories that took place during the making of the video?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – We decided to do 3 videos for the EP, and Neither Moth nor Rust was the first. We were hiking in the Patvinsuo national park with Riikka, and took a minimum set of recording gear with us to do some hiking videos. The marshes there were so damn beautiful. During the trip I got an idea of a concept for a music video, and we thought we’d do it on the road. After the 4-day hike, we met up with a few friends at their cabin, and shot the rest of the material there. My usual setup for video work is a Canon EOS R body with a DJI Ronin gimbal and a Atomos Ninja II external monitor/recorder and a small drone, and this is about the gear we took with us. It wasn’t easy to hike with all that, so in the future I have to make some adjustments…
A funny story! I had destroyed my drone while shooting the video for Field of Reeds, and just got a replacement for the hike. We met a fellow photographer at a lean-to in the park, and I showed him how the drone works. While I was bringing the drobe back, he said: “Isn’t there a risk that a falcon would snatch the drone frome the air?”, and five seconds later a falcon was trying to take the drone down, but luckily was diverted by the loud buzzing!
SOURCE – I wanted to talk about Skeleton Lake a bit. What stands out to you about Skeleton Lake?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – I think it’s the more cold and simplistic atmosphere, where there is more room for craftier vocal arrangements, and a kind of breathing space. I think it’s a small step away from our more usual melodic doom sound. For me the production by Jarno Hänninen is what stands out together with the songwriting and the fact that I got some of my own compositions to get recorded on the album. Usually there are many things I am not happy about a new album’s production, but this time I simply had no choice but to be completely and overly happy with how it turned out.
The wintry theme is also something that I am very fond of. Me and Riikka did our honeymoon by driving throughout northern Finland, and many of the lyrics and vocal ideas were created while on the road. We even had a mini-studio with us, and did some vocal takes too!
SOURCE – Do you normally read and care about what the critics writes about you in the papers and on the Internet?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – Yes, I read them, and of course I care! One of the most intriguing things of creating art is to see how it resonates with other people. Reviews where the listener has found some kind of meaning in our creations are always a mesmerizing read, and even bad reviews can be good. The ones that annoy me are when the listener is so hung up on their own expectations that they can’t find anything other to say than “this is not what I expected so it is shit”. Or when it’s like “I hate this genre of music so this is a bad album.” Well, why the hell did you review it then? Bad reviews that actually make good points about the content of the album are fun to read.
SOURCE – How do you think as an older band you’ve been able to handle the changes in the promotional landscape with social media, streaming, and the internet compared to the older days of tape trading and physical fanzines?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – I have to be honest, it took quite a while. Some things that are now a must for every band felt to us so superficial and forced, but as this kind of more open and energetic communication on social media became the norm, we did in the end embrace it, and now I think it’s a great way to interact with our listeners.
When Hanging Garden was formed, the decline of physical media was already around the corner, so in that effect we have been in this tumultuous evolution most of our existence.
SOURCE – What do you consider some of the biggest challenges the band faces to date? Do you believe being from Finland can be a difference maker to the good, or is it harder to prove your value and worth compared to power metal acts from say Europe or North America?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – I think the biggest challenge is to get found and be heard among the thousands of bands in the market. Being from Finland is good internationally, but
on our domestic market the crowdedness and oversaturation of metal is even more palpable.
SOURCE – How has your life changed over the past couple of years that we’ve been dealing with this global pandemic? Where do you see humanity’s biggest challenges coming out of this?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – The biggest challenge is to actually coordinate and make the needed decisions to avert these kinds of situations. Reducing the consumption of animal products, battling climate change, making plans for future pandemics, and not letting finances dictate what can and can’t be done.
The time of the pandemic has been murderous, and mental fatigue has been so intense. I lost my mother, and work has been hideous. Still, my own life has changed, in the end, for the better. I have a more clear vision of what I want from life, I got married, and I now know what matters the most, and what to be thankful for.
SOURCE – Who do you use as a benchmark that would you like to see your career possibly parallel in terms of creativity, success, and respect? Do you set short term and long-term goals for the group – and if so, where would you like to see the band growing over the next few years?
Toni Hatakka (Vocals) – Well, I would hope for us to get enough recognition that we wouldn’t be so limited in our creative process, so that we could spend more time in the studio and actually have some kind of budget for the videos. It would be awesome to get to a place where we could play bigger shows ánd for it to become financially possible for the whole band to take leave from work to be able to tour. The bands I look up to are the likes of Cult of Luna and Katatonia, and would wish to get to where they are now some day.
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