Graydance photo: Miika Storm
After releasing two singles, Wrong Step and Venture, the Finnish rock band Graydance shared a new video and the third single, The Shining. The songs are taken from the upcoming album “Closer to Nowhere”, which is scheduled for release in autumn, 2022. Frontman, Jarkko Virta, said that the new album is a mixture of different kinds of songs filled with a “strong atmosphere”.
With each new song, you confirm the fact that you are doing things differently. It is one of the best things when it comes to the music you create. What inspires you the most nowadays, and what vibe can people expect from your new album, “Closer to Nowhere”?
Jarkko: Yes, we always try to make something different than before. Still, there has to be that Graydance “vibe” in the songs. Some of the songs take a long time to find the right shape. Some of them we don´t ever finish. The new single “the Shining” is one of the newest songs we have written together. It was almost ready when our guitar player showed us the demos of the song. In the studio, we made 4-5 different verses of that song, and it was really difficult to choose the best one. The original version of the song is longer than the recorded one, and during the concerts, we will play a longer version. When we started to play the song, it came so fast that there had to be children singing at the end of the song. In my opinion, it was a good choice. In this song we used a producer outside of the band. He also did the mixing of half of the album. Normally, we do everything by ourselves.
It’s hard to say what’s inspiring us right now. Maybe it’s playing rock music with these great guys! It has always been like that. We have been working on 4-5 new songs. Some of them found their shape quickly. So I hope at the end of the year we’ll have almost enough songs to start making the next album. For us, it always took like 5 years, so it’s better to start quickly!
The new album, Closer to Nowhere, is a mixture of different kinds of songs. Most of them have a strong atmosphere, and not so much harder stuff. I really love the album, and it’s great that we will finally release it. In my opinion, Graydance is at its best when we make slower and “softer” songs, with great melodies.
Are you satisfied with the whole “story” and the production? Are there any special guests on the album?
Jarkko: We made this album in 2 pieces. The first 4 songs were recorded and mixed 3 or 5 years ago. The final songs were finished in the summer of 2021. It’s not the best way to make an album and I hope one day we’ll have enough money to take a producer with us for the whole period of making the album. We also used two different mixing guys. They worked in the same studio. They both did a fantastic job!
There are not many guests on this album. The children’s choir is made of our bass players’ daughters and our drummer’s daughters. There are 4 different voices in that choir. Also, our drummer, Esa’s wife, Elina, sings a lot in the song called “Arabian Nights”.
The video completes the main theme of the song in a very unique and beautiful way. Who did the artwork, and could you tell us more about the artist?
Jarkko: It was my friend, Juha “Borre” Borenius. He’s really talented at drawing. Last October, we were in London to watch “Marillion” concert. He was inspired to draw their singer Steve Hogarth. It was a really cool picture and I have a copy of it in my home. So, I had the idea that he could draw our album cover, and we make a video. Juha thought that one picture was not enough, and he drew 4 different pictures. When I saw the first version of the video, I got chills. It was so beautiful. I think he drew it for 2 weeks or something like that. Actually, the idea for the video was originally made by our bass player. He likes to watch these drawing videos.
Juha is an old friend. When I was a young boy, he taught me to play acoustic guitar. So, we have known each other for a really long time. I hope we can do something together in the future.
There is a festival scheduled for the 20th of August. What is it all about? Are you and the guys ready to hit the stage and rock?
Jarkko: Yes, we´ll have a festival in my home town. Something like the end of the summer, that kind of thing. There will be 6 different artists. We have gathered the bands and artists who will play there. The plan is to do this festival every summer if it goes well! There is one rap artist and the rest are rock and pop artists and bands. Graydance will be playing the first show outside in the festival area, and later that night we have an acoustic concert inside. There will also be Iida, daughter of Amorphis vocalist Tomi. She has a really nice voice. She will be playing her own songs and covers, like Adele etc. I think, Tomi is also coming to play guitar or percussion with Iida. I´m sure it will be a nice evening.
Connected to that matter, is there any plan for the live promotion of the new album?
Jarkko: We will have a release gig on that day in our home town, Lohja. I hope we can arrange a few more gigs, but we’ll see how things go. I really hope people will be interested in hearing us live. This autumn and at the beginning of the winter I have so many Opera and Operet shows, that it will be hard to find some free weekends. Next spring, there will be more free time. I really hope that we can make Graydance more active in the future, with more gigs!
Graydance is the Finnish rock band formed in Lohja in 1997. The music of the group is influenced by grunge, rock, and progressive genre. The sound is based on deep emotions, and varies from hard rock songs to ethereal ballads.
Graydance:
Jarkko Virta – vocals
Jukka Veiksola – guitar
Niklas Granö – guitar
Esa Alavillamo – drums
Ipi Kiiskinen – bass
Info: http://www.graydance.net/
Discography:
“All Under the Rose Above” LP 2015.
“Far Away From This Moment” EP 2012.
“WideAwake” LP 2009.
“Care Less, Hurt Less” EP 2005.
“Like A May Morning” EP 2004.
“Choose Any Road” EP 2003.
“Aubades After Dark” EP Compilation Album 2003.
“Drowning” EP 2002.
“Beautiful” EP 2001 (Saturnus Records SATCD04)
“Bruised” EP 2000.
“Tyypit” demo 1997.
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