Interview with SAMI ANTTILA: “Dare to dream. Take a chance, no regrets!”

Sami Anttila is a finnish solo artist and a producer. He has been releasing music as a solo artist since 2002. First demos were guitar instrumentals following the footsteps of known solo guitarists. Learning different vocal techiques made it possible to expand his range beyond instrumental music. After releasing several singles, demos and EPs Sami released his debut album “See Through the Lies”. The album consists of five new tracks and remakes of the previosly released songs. Some days ago I talked with Sami about his debut album and about the things in his life…

Hi Sami, welcome to Metal Shock Finland! What was your first thought of this morning?

Oh god! Its monday morning again!

To start with some default information, please tell me briefly who you are and how you got into the music?

I’m just a normal guy who likes to spend his spare time writing songs. I got introduced into band playing as a teen. At first I tried out the drums but soon moved to the guitar. Played a few years in a band but after that it took nearly a decade before I tried playing in a band again.

What are your musical roots and influences?

I used to listen a lot of instrumental music. Guitar heroes like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malsteen etc. In the early days I wrote a lot of instrumental tracks, but after doing that for a few years it got a bit old.

You’re a solo artist, why this choice? and what are the pro’s and con’s in doing all by yourself?

I’ve been doing solo stuff since the early days. I’ve gotten used to it already. Of course the bad thing is that the workload is quite heavy when writing and recording. But on the other hand there is no second opinion and I can write the kind of songs I want. If something sounds used but I like, I can use it without hearing any objections. Also the creation process is usually quick and painless. I just grab my guitar and let it rip.

How would you describe your sound technically?

I guess the overall sound is pretty much what you hear on the albums these days. Drums heavily triggered and everything compressed tight. I would say that my sound is a more synthetic than the most since I’m using amp modelers and drum samples.

What are your favorite guitars (and other equipments)?

I’m using ESP LTD MH400-NT as the main instrument. Handles nicely and has a great sound for tight metal riffs. Its usually connected to my laptop. I haven’t been using a real amp in a while. It’s all digital and amp models these days…I can record anywhere I want and I do.

You started as guitar instrumentalist, but after learning different vocal techiques, you were able to expand your range. Tell me about this change…

I felt that doing only instrumentals really limited my creativity. I kept my mouth shut until I was like 25 or so. I was inspired by the Zen of screaming DVD I saw by Melissa Cross. I’m sure all the screamers out there who have seen have been influenced by it in a way or another. Learning to scream wasn’t the only thing I had to do. Writing lyrics was a totally new world to me.

You released your first EP “End of the World” in 2008 and the newest full-lenght “See Through the Lies” this year. What are the main differences between these two?

I really wanted to create something bigger and better than just short demos and EPs. People liked some of the previosly released tracks so I bundeled them with some new material to form an album. The overall sound has progressed since the early releases. Even thou the equipment is pretty much the same. It has taken a lot of trial and error to get the existing sound. I’m no studio wizard but still I do all the recording, mixing and mastering by myself.

So, let’s talk about your new baby… tell me about the songwriting prosess of “See Through the Lies”…

I had some riffs and ideas for a few new songs and I was about to release an EP or so. But I really wanted to make a full length album. Songwriting starts usually with a guitar riff and a theme. Then the whole song is just build around it. When I have a theme and some riffs pre-recorded I start to work on the lyrics. I usually record some early instrumental demos, write lyrics and record and then listen what needs to be changed. So every song has a pre-demo version recorded. Also I’m working in a studio mode where I spend most of my time just recording riffs and writing songs.

Is it a concept album, as the first track is “It begins” and the last one “Final Curtain”?

I had some instrumentals I wanted to include in the album. Also the last track kinda closes the circle by returning back to the instrumental age. I guess the beginning and end tracks have been quite popular in the albums I’ve been listening lately.

Tell me about the studio sessions…

The guitar and bass tracks were recorded mostly at home. It was done with no hurry. Riff after riff…retake after retake. Vocals were recorded in spaces what I could find. At one point I was recording in an old storage room. It was pretty cold during the winter time. I had to use some blankets to kill the room reverb or else the recording quality would had been really bad. Here is actually a video showing how it was done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi9aRpPeJ_4

It has received some attention due to the fact that you can hear how the screaming sounds acapella and how it fits to the backing track. Here is also a music video I made out of some studio session material. This is pretty much how it looks like when I’m recording a track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRo-MBolyCo. Too bad my video editing skills are rather poor. It would be cool to make a real music video.

How are you going to support this album?

Now I have been just doing some promotional stuff online. Getting connected with people abroad and trying to spread the word. I’m trying to push the album abroad since there seems to be the most demand for this kind of stuff. Germany and US seem to be the main audience. Of course there are limited things that I can do. There is no organization supporting the promotion of the album. I have to do all the promotional material as well. Thank god I found a great finnish photographer to shoot the album cover and promo-pictures. You should check out his site www.mikesirenphoto.com. He has shot Before the Dawn for example.

Do you have a band to support you on live shows?

Not at the moment. After I finished recording the album I’ve been just balancing between my dayjob and family. I had an idea that if I would perform I could do it solo as well. It could look a bid weird but eventually people might get used to that. I could have my drum and bass tracks playing from my laptop while I play the guitar parts and do the vocals. I have seen some artist doing that. It would take some effort not to look completely awkward. I would need to hook up with some famous finnish band to get some audience to the live shows.

How do you see the metal scenes in Finland?

Even if metal is fairly accepted in Finland we are still living in the backwoods. The only good gigs are in the few major cities. There are so many bands around here so it’s a bid hard to get the name out. I think the finnish scene is a bit saturated of metal bands…there’s just too many. Most of them are also really talented but there is simply no room in small country like this.

What are, so far, the highlight of your carreer?

I would say that releasing this debut album. I’m satisfied with the production and finally I have a full length album to show off. With demos and EPs you can only go this far. It’s not really worth putting a lot of effort in promotion if you have only few tracks to share. People love full length albums…at least in the metal genre.

And what about the future plans, where would you see yourself in 5 years from now?

I guess I’ll just go where my nose points. Hopefully I’ll find an apartment later on where I can do all the recordings so I don’t have to travel to a cold storage room to do vocal training…haha

What are your greeting to our readers?

Dare to dream. Take a chance, no regrets!

Interview by Tarja Virmakari

Links:
youtube: www.youtube.com/samianttila, myspace: www.myspace.com/samianttila