· Hi! Tell me about IA. Why did you decide to name the band with such title? What kind of ideas do you explore?
IA is a magic word, and as such is an interesting anecdote, that it came to us like it was given. After the name IA was mentioned we didn’t ever think about any alternatives anymore. The visualisation of the band’s logo appeared to our bass player in its mathematical correctness, and that symbol became a driving force in its own rite and began unveiling its mystery. We’re still baffled by the seemingly endless angles and dimensions it reveals to us.
We are rooted in shamanism, as that was on our mind when the band was formed, but we also have a strong attraction towards other mystical and religious traditions and beliefs. We believe that music has power to transcend and heal people, and we aim to give people insightful experiences.
· "initIAtion" album to be released next days. How does that make you feel? Do you feel you have put album into masses without any wishes to change something now?
Proud and relieved. We’ve worked on this for a few years already so it’s like a proud father seeing his child being born. We’ve learned that forever trying to make your songs better in excess prolongs the process of letting go and leaving as it is. Besides, if we still come up with some hooks to the songs, we can still add those to our live set. Makes it more interesting. But moreover, we’re all happy the way it turned out and we wouldn’t change a thing!
· Tell me more about "initIAtion"? Album ideas etc…
If we had to choose just one idea, it’s the birth of the shaman. The protagonist of our album starts to ask questions about the world around as well as the world within. Starting to seek the truth they discover their personal power. This leads to confronting yourself. The protagonist needs help healing themselves in order to finally be able to heal others. This leads to the grand finale of the album, the initiation trilogy. During this trilogy the protagonist travels to the underworld to experience three deaths and finally becomes a medium between the two worlds: the ordinary and the spirit world.
The album is a concept album telling this story. At first, we didn’t realize we are doing a concept album - it occurred to us after most of the songs were ready. So in a way, the songs themselves lead us to this result. The whole concept of shamanic initiation is fundamental to many shamanic cultures, so it was very natural for us to make an album out of that concept. As the initiation is the mark of the beginning of the shaman's path, it was also natural to pick that topic for our debut album.
We produced the album by ourselves and recorded most of the tracks outside of a professional studio. Only the drums were recorded in a studio (Suomenlinnan studio). Antti acted as a recording and mixing engineer with Ukri being also involved in the mixing process.
· How was it like to cooperate with Ukri Suvilehto?
Ukri is a very spiritual drummer. He’s a funny guy with an awesome sense of humour, a sharp wit and he has a very good ear for not only for drumming, but music as a whole. When we first met him, he instantly felt like a part of the group and actually like we had known each other for a very long time. He was an integral part of the album’s spirit and energy, as he not only co-produced and performed the drums but also was heavily involved in the mixing and production processes. It all was very natural.
· Where do you take all inspiration from?
Inspiration flows to us from many fountains. We have read a lot about shamanic and mystical traditions, which have then inspired us to do art. Sometimes a good gig can excite us. We are also inspired by each other when we discuss and share our insights. But most of the time, we are actually inspired by the ideas we come up with, or better to say, that comes to us.
Antti: There’s a lot of musical ideas like riffs, rhythms and melodies going on in my head all the time, it’s a constant flow. Sometimes one of those ideas distinguishes from others. If the idea is strong, letting myself loose with this idea can take me to a certain ecstatic and inspiring state of flow during which I get more ideas. So the ideas themselves and the emotions they bring up become the source of inspiration.
· In your opinion, what is the best way to define IA’s sound?
Hypnotic but versatile groovy metal with string- and mind bending riffs!
· So, are you on hiatus now, just relaxed and looking for album feedbacks, or did you started to compose new stuff immediately?
We’re constantly making new music even though a project is going on at the same time. Of course now that the album is finished we can really focus on new material with less distractions. We have been so thrilled and inspired by the release of the album and all the feedback we have got that we have composed a lot of new materIAl lately. We have some plans for the next release on our mind and there’s some really nice stuff cooking that we can’t wait to release!
· What are your main musical influences? How huge is their influence in your sound?
We’re set to make new music that comes from our hearts, hands and head. Our influences are nature, human experience, dreams, thoughts and what is beyond. People tell us we resemble some other bands, but we’re really determined to sound like us and something interesting. Of course there are some bands like Meshuggah, Amorphis, Kingston Wall and Pink Floyd that have meant a lot to us, but we thrive to be something different. Not to be like them, but to be unique like they are. Some of these bands have an otherworldly and ecstatic quality in their music that has affected us deeply, and that’s what we’re after as well.
· Is there some well-known musician in particular that you would like to use in one of your upcoming albums?
Not really, but we are open-minded, who knows if we would do collaborative art with Heilung for example!
· What is your personal strategy for making your music heard by a larger audience?
Continuously growing in every aspect and learning a more efficient way of working. Bigger gigs, better and more frequent releases and finding people to work with. The baseline is that we believe good and original music will always find its way to souls who will help us spread the message, be it a listener who shares our music to their friends or someone working in the industry who hears the potentIAl for collaborative work. But of course it won’t happen without our constant input and hard work. So we will do our best to keep producing interesting art and push it to the collective consciousness.
· Do you have any other hobby beside music?
Together we don’t do that much besides music, but individually we enjoy working out, outdoors, sauna, open-ice swimming, gaming, photography and learning about esotericism, mythologies, health and psychology for example.
· Are you all supported by your relatives towards your devotion to music?
Yes, both living and dead relatives. The father of our singer is a huge fan of our work for example and it doesn’t end there. Our families are very interested in what we’re doing.
· How’s the metal scene in Finland right now during pandemic?
It’s fun to see bands making quarantine music videos and lighting up the torch for metal. I believe the fear and frustration will come into fruition soon as bands channel this insane epoch into good metal music.
· Thank you for answering my questions, see ya on the road!
Thanks for having us, see you!