SOURCE – The band’s last album, New Haven, got a well-received response. Was the band surprised at the publicity that album got?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Yeah, we’ve been somewhat surprised by the sheer amount of positive feedback New Haven is getting. Feels good, of course, that the audience seems to embrace our music.
SOURCE – If you should choose one song, which represents the essence of The Chant on the album, which one would that be and why…
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – I think i would have to go with Minotaur, since I think it has it all – it’s a rather lengthy song with beautiful melodies and a haunting storyline in the lyrics. Even before joining the band, i always had a thing for The Chant’s lyrics. Mari and Ilpo really do have a way with words.
SOURCE – Are there any plans to shoot any more videos for this album?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Actually, yes. There has been talk about shooting another video. Right now some of us are quite busy with our other projects, but I think we will find time to make it this fall. I am not going to spoil the surprise and tell you which song it’s going to be.
SOURCE – Now that everybody has a Facebook page and a Spotify, have you been taking the opportunity to communicate with the band’s growing fan base?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – We do that as much as we can, of course, since our largest fan base seems to be outside Finland, in countries like Portugal, France and USA.
We don’t get to meet those people face to face much. So if there’s anything you would like to know, head on to our facebook page and ask away. We’ll answer.
SOURCE – What do you think about the Brazilian metal scene? Do you know much about our bands?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – I can only speak for myself, and I’m terribly sorry to say that i don’t know so many metal bands from Brazil. I don’t follow the metal scene in general that much these days.
SOURCE – You’re involved in many aspects of the music business. What’s your opinion on things like the decrease in sales and illegal downloading? Things like these must leave a negative effect on the budget to record, artwork and promotion?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Of course there is a downside to illegal downloading and the streaming services that don’t really pay the artists that much. Making records is never cheap and if the band has little to none income, it at least slows up the recording cycle. We have been trying to figure out a way to turn downloading and free music services to our favour, but haven’t really come up with a solid plan yet. I think it’s sad that people have gotten so used to all the music being available for free, that some might not even think about buying records. Personally I think that an album is a work of art as a whole, and it misses some crucial aspects if you only have the songs on your computer as mp3s.
SOURCE – A little bit about your music taste. What kind of stuff are you currently listening to?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Well, all of us have their own taste in music, of course. As I said before, I don’t listen that much to metal these days, but when I do I listen to bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, Baroness, Deftones, Opeth, Faith No More and Mastodon, to name a few.
Stuff that doesn’t much resemble The Chant’s music now that i think about it, heh. Outside metal i listen to bands like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Bon Iver and Elbow. I think all of us in the Chant listen to bands like Katatonia, Anathema and Nine Inch Nails, so there are bands of mutual interest as well.
SOURCE – Living in Finland, which has a very large metal scene, which bands out here do you think will make an impression in metal/rock?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – The scene here is very large, and there are so many good bands bubbling under the big crowd’s radar, that I find it impossible to foretell which ones are going to make it. There seems to be a huge interest in finnish bands abroad, which i find very interesting because it’s very hard for a finnish band to get to the surface in Finland. There are smallish bands like For The Imperium and Omnium Gatherum that have already started to gain fame abroad. It’s a good thing, since it feeds the interest for finnish music even more and opens up possibilities for other bands as well.
SOURCE – Is there anything else that keeps all of you busy aside from music?
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Apart from family lives and common hobbies some of us have other bands to keep us busy as well. I play in Minutian (www.minutian.com), Jussi plays in Hanging Garden (www.hanging-garden.net) and Kimmo in Diablerie (www.diablerie.fi). All of them differ very much from The Chant’s music, but you should check them out anyway for some good quality music.
SOURCE – Thank you again for your time, and if you would like to add something more, please do.
Pekka Loponen (Guitars/Vocals) – Thank you, keep buying all the awesome records you like.
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