Among the numerous female-fronted metal bands of our times, there are a few that show potential to stand out of the mass even from their debut release. This time enkElination caught my attention and all I can say is that they are indeed a very talented band. We had a chat with the singer & songwriter Elina Siirala about the band, the debut and their future plans…
Hi Elina… it’s always a pleasure to present new promising bands like yours on Grande Rock…
E: Hi! The pleasure is certainly mine…
First of all, do give us a brief bio of the band… when it all started out etc…
E: It all started 2011 when I was struggling in my life and decided to write some music for my voice for once. One thing led to another and the band was officially formed in November 2011.
And what about the band name? I read that “enkeli” means “angel” in Finnish but there could also be a “tricky” link to your name or what!? Whose idea has it been?
E: Yeah that’s correct! I wanted to combine a Finnish and English word and have a band name that would mean something to me. So I decided to go with enkElination (in which enkeli is a Finnish word for angel and of course it has my name Elina in the middle)...
You have a “classical” background as a musician and singer, right? I think you can be best described as mezzo or lyrical soprano or what?
E: Yes, I have a degree in classical singing. I’m a lyrical soprano, mezzo would have slightly darker tone to their voice than me…
How has your classical background affected your band’s music? It’s not that you are another symphonic metal band… your music has a more melodic, gothic & atmospheric orientation – if you agree with me on that.
E: I agree with you on that completely. Probably my classical background will have some effect but probably more subconsciously. The way the whole band started wasn’t me deciding “I will start a band”. It was more me wanting to write music for myself and my influences and inspiration comes from all over the place. So hopefully the sound will be a bit different. Even thought I don’t really use my classical voice in enkElination, my classical training is still present and obvious so it will result to comparisons with other more symphonic bands.
Did you discuss what music direction you would follow as a band when you started working on your songs or it all came out naturally?
E: Well as I said in the previous question, I’m mainly writing the songs, so I had the conversation with myself! Sometimes I worry that my songs sound too different to each other because I like to try different things, so there’s no strict direction. And of course Shadow helps me with the guitars and he’s come up with some great stuff in lots of the songs too.
So coming to your debut album… what are the “Tears of Lust”?
E: Hmmm, well sometimes when you do something you’re very passionate about (like music for me), it can also bring you quite a lot of grief and it’s really hard sometimes. And of course this album was our first and it was a very tough year recording it. So the title reflects that balance between the passion and struggle.
Do tell us a few things about each track…
E: “Tears of Lust”: It’s the title track of the album and brings together the enjoyment and struggle it has been making it.
“Higher Ground”: Lyrically quite cryptic track. Shadow helped a lot with the guitars on this one.
“Never Ending”: This is about someone who’s very egocentric and doesn’t ever stop to see what’s important in life…
“Lullaby”: I wrote this song to my Mum as she’s always been so supportive of what I do, she’s a musician herself and knows how hard it is.
“Insane”: All insomniacs can relate to this song… the feeling of laying on the bed and not being able to sleep…
“What Have You Become”: This is about body dysmorphia, when mirror and yourself are your worst enemies.
“Reborn”: Song inspired by Terminator 2!
“Chimeras”: This one is about my fear of spiders…
“Changeling”: This is probably one of the angriest songs I’ve written even though it’s quite mellow and beautiful.
“Abyss”: This song is a funny combination of quite pounding rhythms and a message about embracing the inner silence… as now days our lives are so hectic that it’s difficult so sometimes hear your own thoughts…
“Last Time Together”: I really love this track, I wasn’t in a good place when I wrote it and the lyrics are very clear on that but I just love ballads and I feel like this song truly comes straight from my heart…
Tell us also about the album’s recordings. Who helped you, who did the production, the mastering etc.?
E: The vocals were recorded by Mark Williams who also mixed the album. We didn’t have a drummer at that time so we hired a session player, John Watt who also plays in October File. Shadow recorded all the guitars in his own room! Mastering was done by Mika Jussila who amongst others masters all the Nightwish records.
Where can someone buy the digital and the physical album?
E: All the links can be found on our website http://enkelination.com on the “store” page. It’s available in bandcamp, iTunes, amazon etc.
And we come to the actual release of the album. Why did you decide to do it by yourselves? Didn’t you make any label fishing firstly?
E: Since it was our first album we wanted it to be our own album and what we wanted to do, without a label telling us how we should sound. After we finished recording there was some offers from small labels but at that point we had already done so much ourselves we thought we’d take the last step on our own as well.
What are the pros and cons when you release the album independently?
E: Pros are complete freedom musically and we could take as much time as we wanted to get it to sound the way we envisioned it. Cons are that we have to pay for everything ourselves without any guarantee that we can make the money back. And of course bigger labels have more connections in media and can help you with support/festival slots.
Would you consider cooperating with any PR label or music label in the future? Is such a thing included in your future plans?
E: When we feel we’ve gone as far as we can on our own, cooperating with a label would make a lot of sense, so yes…
What about any live show or even a tour?
E: We’ve just done our album launch show at The Underworld London and are playing Bloodstock festival soon. After that we have some plans for a small tour and we’re playing another festival towards the end of the year.
How do you see the band’s further steps and what do you have in mind to accomplish in the next 2-3 years from now?
E: We would like to record a second album and hopefully gain a bigger fanbase in Finland and rest of the Europe. We’d love to play festivals like Graspop and Wacken one day!
E: Hi! The pleasure is certainly mine…
First of all, do give us a brief bio of the band… when it all started out etc…
E: It all started 2011 when I was struggling in my life and decided to write some music for my voice for once. One thing led to another and the band was officially formed in November 2011.
And what about the band name? I read that “enkeli” means “angel” in Finnish but there could also be a “tricky” link to your name or what!? Whose idea has it been?
E: Yeah that’s correct! I wanted to combine a Finnish and English word and have a band name that would mean something to me. So I decided to go with enkElination (in which enkeli is a Finnish word for angel and of course it has my name Elina in the middle)...
You have a “classical” background as a musician and singer, right? I think you can be best described as mezzo or lyrical soprano or what?
E: Yes, I have a degree in classical singing. I’m a lyrical soprano, mezzo would have slightly darker tone to their voice than me…
How has your classical background affected your band’s music? It’s not that you are another symphonic metal band… your music has a more melodic, gothic & atmospheric orientation – if you agree with me on that.
E: I agree with you on that completely. Probably my classical background will have some effect but probably more subconsciously. The way the whole band started wasn’t me deciding “I will start a band”. It was more me wanting to write music for myself and my influences and inspiration comes from all over the place. So hopefully the sound will be a bit different. Even thought I don’t really use my classical voice in enkElination, my classical training is still present and obvious so it will result to comparisons with other more symphonic bands.
Did you discuss what music direction you would follow as a band when you started working on your songs or it all came out naturally?
E: Well as I said in the previous question, I’m mainly writing the songs, so I had the conversation with myself! Sometimes I worry that my songs sound too different to each other because I like to try different things, so there’s no strict direction. And of course Shadow helps me with the guitars and he’s come up with some great stuff in lots of the songs too.
So coming to your debut album… what are the “Tears of Lust”?
E: Hmmm, well sometimes when you do something you’re very passionate about (like music for me), it can also bring you quite a lot of grief and it’s really hard sometimes. And of course this album was our first and it was a very tough year recording it. So the title reflects that balance between the passion and struggle.
Do tell us a few things about each track…
E: “Tears of Lust”: It’s the title track of the album and brings together the enjoyment and struggle it has been making it.
“Higher Ground”: Lyrically quite cryptic track. Shadow helped a lot with the guitars on this one.
“Never Ending”: This is about someone who’s very egocentric and doesn’t ever stop to see what’s important in life…
“Lullaby”: I wrote this song to my Mum as she’s always been so supportive of what I do, she’s a musician herself and knows how hard it is.
“Insane”: All insomniacs can relate to this song… the feeling of laying on the bed and not being able to sleep…
“What Have You Become”: This is about body dysmorphia, when mirror and yourself are your worst enemies.
“Reborn”: Song inspired by Terminator 2!
“Chimeras”: This one is about my fear of spiders…
“Changeling”: This is probably one of the angriest songs I’ve written even though it’s quite mellow and beautiful.
“Abyss”: This song is a funny combination of quite pounding rhythms and a message about embracing the inner silence… as now days our lives are so hectic that it’s difficult so sometimes hear your own thoughts…
“Last Time Together”: I really love this track, I wasn’t in a good place when I wrote it and the lyrics are very clear on that but I just love ballads and I feel like this song truly comes straight from my heart…
Tell us also about the album’s recordings. Who helped you, who did the production, the mastering etc.?
E: The vocals were recorded by Mark Williams who also mixed the album. We didn’t have a drummer at that time so we hired a session player, John Watt who also plays in October File. Shadow recorded all the guitars in his own room! Mastering was done by Mika Jussila who amongst others masters all the Nightwish records.
Where can someone buy the digital and the physical album?
E: All the links can be found on our website http://enkelination.com on the “store” page. It’s available in bandcamp, iTunes, amazon etc.
And we come to the actual release of the album. Why did you decide to do it by yourselves? Didn’t you make any label fishing firstly?
E: Since it was our first album we wanted it to be our own album and what we wanted to do, without a label telling us how we should sound. After we finished recording there was some offers from small labels but at that point we had already done so much ourselves we thought we’d take the last step on our own as well.
What are the pros and cons when you release the album independently?
E: Pros are complete freedom musically and we could take as much time as we wanted to get it to sound the way we envisioned it. Cons are that we have to pay for everything ourselves without any guarantee that we can make the money back. And of course bigger labels have more connections in media and can help you with support/festival slots.
Would you consider cooperating with any PR label or music label in the future? Is such a thing included in your future plans?
E: When we feel we’ve gone as far as we can on our own, cooperating with a label would make a lot of sense, so yes…
What about any live show or even a tour?
E: We’ve just done our album launch show at The Underworld London and are playing Bloodstock festival soon. After that we have some plans for a small tour and we’re playing another festival towards the end of the year.
How do you see the band’s further steps and what do you have in mind to accomplish in the next 2-3 years from now?
E: We would like to record a second album and hopefully gain a bigger fanbase in Finland and rest of the Europe. We’d love to play festivals like Graspop and Wacken one day!
Time for our “weird questions!!! Is it better for a vocalist to have the looks & the voice too, like yourself, or all that matters is the voice?
E: Personally I care about the voice and charisma more than the looks. Visual performance is important but not necessarily in terms of beauty, it’s about something more.
Best female metal band at the moment?
E: I saw Within Temptation at the Wembley recently and even though their recent album has got some mixed reviews, their performance still keeps them on the top.
Most overrated band at the moment?
E: Every band has their fans, some fans are more passionate than others, so they create the illusion that certain bands are overrated so I don’t feel like I’m in the position to judge them on that.
Best female vocalist?
E: To me the best vocalist is not always the one with the best technique. I really like Sharon den Adel’s voice, it’s very soulful, unique and has a beautiful tone. Someone said in a review that he thought my voice had the power of Charlotte Wessels and the two tenacity and emotion of Sharon den Adel and that was a very big compliment to me!
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
E: In some cases it can be good exposure but obviously you’d hope those people would support the band in some way, by buying other merch or coming to a show. And maybe buying future releases if they become proper fans. There’s really nothing you can do about it. You just have to hope that people who really like your music will actually buy it and there’s also other streaming options like Spotify that will still generate some money for the band/artist.
Are funding platforms like Kicksatrter, Indiegogo etc. the answer to the “free downloading culture” of the 21st century? What’s your say?
E: It’s not the whole answer but it helps a lot.
What has changed in today’s music industry and how do you see the “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?!!
E: It’s a lot more about superficial things and gimmicks unfortunately. You can create the illusion of being a lot bigger band than you are with views & likes… as if I understand right, you can now even buy them from somewhere?! I’ve heard from a lot of musicians that it’s a lot harder to make a living in music now than it was before. But I think metal fans especially are known to be very loyal and supportive and they appreciate good music and musicians, so not all hope is lost!
Imagine that you’re living in a post-apocalyptic world – like the one in “Walking Dead” What would you choose to be? A survivor – who fights every day for his life or a zombie who seeks out survivors to eat them and why?
E: I’d be a survivor because fighting every day sounds very familiar to what I’m doing at the moment, so I’d be good at it!
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
E: I think I’d be Sansa, vulnerable, sensitive yet strong with a clear sense of justice.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
E: Definitely gluttony… I love eating so much!!!
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
E: Sometimes it would be nice to be able to see what the future holds. But I might still go back to the 80s as it was the decade of some of the greatest music I know!!
That’s all for now Elina! Wish you the best for the future! Say anything you like to our readers and to your band’s fans… take care!
E: Thank you so much for this interview, it was great fun! And like I always say: no fans, no band… so we owe everything to the fans! Thank you so much for all the support and for buying our album. Hope to see you all soon at a gig somewhere! X
E: Personally I care about the voice and charisma more than the looks. Visual performance is important but not necessarily in terms of beauty, it’s about something more.
Best female metal band at the moment?
E: I saw Within Temptation at the Wembley recently and even though their recent album has got some mixed reviews, their performance still keeps them on the top.
Most overrated band at the moment?
E: Every band has their fans, some fans are more passionate than others, so they create the illusion that certain bands are overrated so I don’t feel like I’m in the position to judge them on that.
Best female vocalist?
E: To me the best vocalist is not always the one with the best technique. I really like Sharon den Adel’s voice, it’s very soulful, unique and has a beautiful tone. Someone said in a review that he thought my voice had the power of Charlotte Wessels and the two tenacity and emotion of Sharon den Adel and that was a very big compliment to me!
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
E: In some cases it can be good exposure but obviously you’d hope those people would support the band in some way, by buying other merch or coming to a show. And maybe buying future releases if they become proper fans. There’s really nothing you can do about it. You just have to hope that people who really like your music will actually buy it and there’s also other streaming options like Spotify that will still generate some money for the band/artist.
Are funding platforms like Kicksatrter, Indiegogo etc. the answer to the “free downloading culture” of the 21st century? What’s your say?
E: It’s not the whole answer but it helps a lot.
What has changed in today’s music industry and how do you see the “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?!!
E: It’s a lot more about superficial things and gimmicks unfortunately. You can create the illusion of being a lot bigger band than you are with views & likes… as if I understand right, you can now even buy them from somewhere?! I’ve heard from a lot of musicians that it’s a lot harder to make a living in music now than it was before. But I think metal fans especially are known to be very loyal and supportive and they appreciate good music and musicians, so not all hope is lost!
Imagine that you’re living in a post-apocalyptic world – like the one in “Walking Dead” What would you choose to be? A survivor – who fights every day for his life or a zombie who seeks out survivors to eat them and why?
E: I’d be a survivor because fighting every day sounds very familiar to what I’m doing at the moment, so I’d be good at it!
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms?
E: I think I’d be Sansa, vulnerable, sensitive yet strong with a clear sense of justice.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
E: Definitely gluttony… I love eating so much!!!
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
E: Sometimes it would be nice to be able to see what the future holds. But I might still go back to the 80s as it was the decade of some of the greatest music I know!!
That’s all for now Elina! Wish you the best for the future! Say anything you like to our readers and to your band’s fans… take care!
E: Thank you so much for this interview, it was great fun! And like I always say: no fans, no band… so we owe everything to the fans! Thank you so much for all the support and for buying our album. Hope to see you all soon at a gig somewhere! X