I wrote an article for Deccan Herald on the Great Indian Octoberfest which took place in Bangalore in November this year. I also happened to get a 6 minute long interview with Marko Saaresto, the Poets of the Fall vocalist (They were headlining the 3 day music festival). =)
The published article on Octoberfest: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/204994/when-rained-bands.html
The published article on Marko: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/204998/our-love-music-keeps-us.html
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| Marko Saaresto |
Me: How does it feel to be back in India?
Marko: It feels really great. I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's a really great place to come and play. The people are really enthusiastic. They love us. We love them, obviously. My mind was really blown. You have people singing the songs and you're like 'whoa!' The audiences really received.
Me: Did you enjoy Bangalore so far?
Marko: Yeah, we drove around the town today and we went shopping for a while. There's some great handicrafts. I bought some silver bracelets, which are really cool. I really liked it
Me: Did you try out the local food?
Marko: Yeah, we had great lunches and dinners at our hotel with 40 different dishes there to choose from as well as the desserts. I ate everything! I am a spice fan and if anything's spicy, I tend to like that.
Me: POTF did an online release of Alchemy Volume 1, a compilation album in January this year. What is the next album that you're working on?
Marko: There are two new songs for Alchemy and we're also working on the next album, which should be out next year sometime. I'm not going to tell you what it's called.
Me: Do you feel that the music industry is commercially viable and self-sustaining?
Marko: Oh yes, definitely. There is money if you get to that certain level. I hope we're there.
Me: In the official videos of your tracks, does the band have any creative liberty or do you just finish a song and give it to the director to interpret?
Marko: No, we've always thought that the videos are a very important part of our music. And so, everytime we pick a song for a video, we all write down our ideas, sit and discuss them, and then talk to the director about it. So it's always a colloboration with the director.
Me: What is the one thing that keeps the band together?
Marko: I think it's the love for the music. It's a need to express yourself in a way and then, we're all really good friends. The chemistry works in the studio and while we write the song. Everyone has their artistic views and there are clashes sometimes and that's the educational part. If we had clashes all the time, we wouldn't be a band.
Me: What's the inspiration to the songs?
Marko: It comes from everywhere and anywhere-from music and also from daily occurences like when we're touring or what happens to us when we're live. They have an emotional background and that's something that usually brings out the music as well.
Me: The band uses the violin sometimes and the minor key very often, which is not conventionally 'rock.' Why is that?
Marko: Because it speaks to us. We've tried the major key many many times but all those songs have ended up for someone else and not for us. We wrote them but we gave them to a different artiste. We love the minor key.
Me: In one line, what would you tell your fans in Bangalore?
Marko: Enjoy your life!
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