Blacknurse interview

 Hello! Blacknurse has been around since 2016, but Light Across the Void is only the third full-length. What changed most for you between Homeless and this album?

In Blacknurse’s case almost everything is different now. This answer really requires some background story, but I try to squeeze this into a some form of a nutshell.

Homeless was released in 2016, but we did find Blacknurse back in 2007-ish. At the beginning the band was all about making some alternative versions of the intriguing songs Johanna had made with only acoustic guitar as a singer-songwriter style. So we spent a lot of time at our band camp figuring out our style and performed some gigs but some major obstacles were brewing aside. I quess most of it was us all having our share of mental health problems. Besides Teemu’s bad depression, Johanna went through some long serious psychotic episodes that demanded stays in a close ward. So the band was repeatedly forced to hiatus. And after every break we came back; slowly refined the arrangements and played a few gigs here and there. Ultimately the debut took the band almost a decade to finish. I guess with enough time even the chaotic snail gets across the finish line.

What we have today is completely different. Johanna has had her meds right for years and Teemu writes the new songs. Being more of a metalhead, the new songs are naturally sliding into the heavier tones. Nowadays, both of them write lyrics, unlike in the beginning, when only Johanna did. There is newfound passion, ambition, and almost delusions of making this partly some sort of a ‘life's work’. So yes, Light Across The Void was written and recorded from start to finish in two or three of years. Unfortunately most of the former bandmates had dropped out along the way. But as long as the two original songwriters remain in fold, Blacknurse proceeds. And seeks to regroup.

You describe the band as alternative metal with goth and punk influences. When you started Blacknurse, did you already have that mix in mind, or did it just happen through the songs?

Due to the early-period material - Johanna’s acoustic songs - the band versions didn’t sound very gritty or heavy. I like to think the possibility of heavier tones kind of grew on us over the years. On the second album Night Lands, Teemu began participating in the songwriting as Johanna started to focus more on the lyrics and singing. Both Johanna and Teemu have always had a sweet tooth for metal, so maybe the progression into metal was always on the way?

Finnish melancholy is almost a genre of its own. Do you ever get tired of that description being attached to Finnish music?

No. I think it’s really a fitting description. It’s seen in our art and heard in your music. It’s a feature, not a genre you choose from a shelf and drop into your basket of choices.

A lot of the lyrics deal with mental health, loneliness and people struggling to fit into society. Are these subjects you usually start writing about deliberately, or do they come out when you're working on a song?

Well, as poetic or as typical-for-the-genre these themes may seem, these are also the things we cope with in our every day lives. Songs like Doctors or Hospital trip are not at all fictional as one might imagine. Some may find these themes a bit bleak, but we think it’s important to speak out and raise awareness about these experiences.

You also mention the darker side of love. What kind of stories end up in Blacknurse songs that probably wouldn't make it into a more conventional love song?

We just meant that sometimes love hurts very deeply and we find it more interesting to write about. Unlucky or one sided love can drive us deep into sea of madness. Make us do some really weird shit we would never even consider before. Isn’t that fascinating? No song about ponies in a meadow for us.

Some of the subjects on Light Across the Void are pretty bleak. Is there anything you wouldn't write about because it would feel too personal?

Difficult question. Music is a powerful and important tool for addressing difficult topics, so we haven’t yet encountered an angle that felt too personal. And it also feels important to bring up difficult matters; it can be a great help to someone grappling with similar problems. Provide some sort of peer support. Understanding.

You've been dealing with these themes since the first album. Do you find yourself writing about the same problems from a different angle now, or have the subjects themselves changed?

Perhaps we need at least one more album to see whether we are still going around in the same circles. Hah! And if that seems to still be the case, at least I hope we’ll learn to disguise the themes in even more striking and poetic appearances.

Goth and punk both seem to be important parts of Blacknurse, but they bring very different attitudes with them. Which one has had the bigger influence on the way you actually write songs?

Teemu has some experience playing punk in another projects, so perhaps it’s something you never quite shake off. Or even want to. After all, doesn’t all good music have a touch of punk –a pinch of danger - in it?

There is a long tradition of Finnish bands turning sadness into something beautiful. Do you think that can sometimes go too far and make misery look attractive?

I think its beauty lies in the way it creates an unexpected sense of connection. Of course, some people view grief as a weakness or something that should be hidden. So perhaps it isn’t something everyone can understand or appreciate. For us that makes it all the more beautiful, in a delicate sort of way.

Homeless came out ten years ago. When you hear that album now, what is the first thing that makes you think, “we wouldn't do that today”?

Oh dear, I haven’t listened it for a long time. Hah, still having some headache from arranging those songs over and over all the way from 2007 to 2016. So, no. I’d say I wouldn’t listen to them too willingly from that angle.

The new album is called Light Across the Void. Where did that title come from?

In a way, it’s a note to self. While the distance between people might feel at times like an endless void, even a tiny ray of light can illuminate and raise great hopes. I think this album itself is a beam of light. A living proof of getting something really unexpectedly good done in spite of the dark and depressed state.

Hiili Hiilesmaa handled the mixing and mastering. How did he become involved with the album?

He has worked on some of our favorite bands and albums. For example, HIM and Swallow the Sun. We wanted to hear what Blacknurse—with our growing leaning towards metal—would sound like in the hands of a metal legend. So we sent him some demos, and it was a deal done.

What did you want him to do with the record once the songs were finished? Did he suggest any changes that surprised you?

No, he didn't really suggest any changes to the songs. Said he enjoyed the demos we sent him and thought they were sounding already pro. He got the clear idea what we were going for. So we gave him much freedom to do what he does best. And he did give some good advices on the recording stuff as the plan was we recorded everything by ourselves at our home studio. Tips for the vocals, cymbals etc.

Was there anything you were particularly stubborn about during the production?

I think a perfectionist seems always a bit stubborn to others. It depends. For the most parts, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Says the perfectionist.

You have Homeless, Night Lands and now Light Across the Void. Is there an older Blacknurse song you still enjoy playing even though you would probably write it differently today?

Since we're dropping the tuning from E to B for Light Across The Void – and we’re gonna keep it that way in the future - performing some of the older songs live will demand some new arranging and fixes in the future. If I must name some, Graveyard song and Drink this blood could be fun bangers in the future gigs. Shame that we’re a bit short-handed on players right now for climbing on the stage.

And after three albums, what still feels unfinished with Blacknurse?

We have a few songs written already for our next album. We don’t want to make the same record twice, so Blacknurse is bound to keep evolving and exploring. It feels like we are only just now discovering our own thing. And in the end – with these kinds of mental health issues–can anything ever be truly finished?

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