Take part in the ‘Left In The Dark‘ album cover competition, create the cover artwork and win one day with Tarja on tour! ‘Left In The Dark‘ will feature different versions from songs included in the chart topping album ‘Colours In The Dark‘. Create a cover with the pictures provided below and get lucky! You can use one or more pictures as you wish.Tarja will pick one of your works as the final cover.WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?1st prize: Tarja will document herself one day on tour with a digital camera. She will take pictures, film bits and pieces and record a special message for you! The camera including its content will be send to you afterwards as well as a signed “Left In The Darkâ€-CD.If you can make it to attend one of her concerts, you will be able to meet her in person and spend the day having exclusive access to the backstage and sound check! Just like the members of Tarja’s band and crew.If you unfortunately cannot be present, you will receive the camera + What Lies Beneath tour backdrop!2nd prize: Exclusive, signed canvas which was used as a prop at the “Victim Of Ritual†video shoot as well as a signed “Left In The Darkâ€-CD including a personalized note.3rd - 5th prize: Exclusive poster signed by Tarja as well as a signed "Left In The Dark"-CD including a personalized note. SUMMARY & REQUIREMENTS:- Take part until March 6th, 2014- Send your artwork as well as your full address via e-Mail to win_earmusic@edel.com- Minimum resolution: 2000x2000px- 300dpi- Include the CD title ‘Left In The Dark‘- Send one version of your artwork with the Tarja logo and ‘Left In The Dark’ and one version without logo and text.Have fun & good luck!
Xander: Hej Tarja, an honour and pleasure to be talking with you! How are you today?Tarja: Thank you! I am really fine. Touring lot with my new album and working with other projects at the same time too.X: Nottingham was my first time seeing you perform solo and I must admit I was truly impressed, a fantastic performance and I think half of what made the show so enjoyable was because of how much fun you looked to be having, how was it for you and how has this tour been?Tarja: As you mentioned, I am really having a great fun in performing my songs nowadays. There is a positive energy around the people I work with and that helps me to keep my mood up. For me it was a pleasure to visit Nottingham for the first time alone and also to see the cute city you have. We had a beautiful, relaxing off day there the day before the show. X: It's actually been four years since you've been to the UK, where have you been?Tarja: Oh hehehehe. Everywhere! During the last four years I have been touring with my previous album 'What Lies Beneath', Beauty And The Beat classical project, Christmas project and I also became a mom meanwhile. There has been a lot of work, but also lot of fun and new challenges.X: Can we expect to see you again this summer for a festival?Tarja: I doubt that, but I hope for that in 2015.X: You've a great backing band, especially your drummer, Mike Terrana, his kit is awesome! Do you ever have a play on his drums?Tarja: Yes, I did! I have actually really played his drums during the project called 'Beauty And The Beat' where Mike was singing and I was playing the drums. You will see that pretty soon on a DVD that is going to be released through EarMusic in May. This project is based on classical music and it's a side project from Mike and I.X: And Is it right that you have your kid with you? How does being a mother on tour compare?Tarja: That's correct, yes. You might think that it is very hard to combine the motherhood and artistic life, but for me it hasn't been that since I have my husband with me always on tour. Our daughter has one of the parents always near by, so she feels safe and loved. Of course we have needed to organise things a bit differently during tours considering that there is a baby around, but it is only matter of taking care of the things in advance and when something happens. Our daughter is already a world traveller and I feel it is actually doing really good for her to see different kinds of things almost daily.X: I was surprised to read you live in Argentina! That must be a big change compared to Finland?Tarja: It is absolutely a different culture down here in Argentina than in Finland, but I enjoy it. People are more open minded, the food is excellent, the sun shines during every season and I feel that I have more space to breath here. I truly have found a new home in Argentina, even though of course I miss some things from Finland.X: But I guess the difference in climate, lifestyle and culture must be a great inspiration for song writing?Tarja: It has really affected me. I believe that the environment has a very big influence in arts in general. For me living in Buenos Aires has shown me the real colours of life. There is always something literally happening around here and the life is not taken for granted. People appreciate and celebrate life.X: Do you miss salmiakki?Tarja: Oh YES! Would you be so kind and send me some, please!X: I think its horrible, especially the liquors like Fisk, yukk, it makes me cry!Tarja: Oh NO! It is one of the best things that comes from my country X: What local delights have you found in Buenos Aires?Tarja: The meat! I am a carnivore! The Argentinean meat is just tasting so good that I hardly ever eat meat abroad because I always get disappointed about it. Other than meat is the wine. The Argentinean wine industry is rising up it's head.X: So lets talk about your latest album, 'Colours In The Dark'. Could you sum up the album for the MetalTalk readers?Tarja: It is my third solo rock album. As already in the title, the melodic rock music is coloured by soundtrack kind of moods.X: My favourite track off it is 'Victim Of Ritual', Maurice Ravels 'Bolíéro' is a piece I love - so to hear it fused with your vocals, drums and guitars is pretty cool! Why did you choose to write a song around it?Tarja: I always love to combine classical music with rock. As classical music is my background in music, it gives me the pleasure really to work on the songs like 'Victim Of Ritual'. If you listen to some other songs from me, you will discover other famous classical pieces I have used already in my previous records. Nevertheless these kinds of songs are always challenging to write, but I am having composer friends that are fully aware of my tastes in music and when we sit down together, magic happens. I wanted to have a grand opening track for the new album and the marching rhythm of Bolero really takes you to a journey, this time to my journey.X: The video for the track echo's the album title, but also looks inspired by the Indian Holi festival, is that so?Tarja: I saw some images from the Holi festival and they inspired me to go to India to shoot album cover photos with the photographer that took those impressive photos I saw on internet. The video and the whole album actually are speaking about the colours of life and how important the fact of enjoying my life has become in the last years.X: You have also covered Peter Gabriel! Is he an idol of yours?Tarja: You could say so, even though I have never really have idols. Peter Gabriel has been a great influence to me in many ways.X: What have been your favourite tracks to play live from the album?Tarja: 'Victim of Ritual' is great fun, 'Medusa' is another one of my favourites.X: Ok, now I want to give you a pop quiz! What was the first album you bought - and in what format?Tarja: It was a cassette, a collection of classical hits.X: What was the first gig you went to?Tarja: I loved Bonnie Tyler's voice when I was young, so I took a train alone (400km!) when I was 10 and travelled to Helsinki to listen to her with my local friends.X: Who is your musical guilty pleasure?Tarja: Lady Gaga.X: If you could be a man for a day, who would you be?Tarja: Paulo Coelho, the writer.X: If you were a superhero, what would your power be?Tarja: I would love to be able to read the minds of the people.X: Your house is on fire, what one item do you save?Tarja: My grand piano. I would run out with the piano on my shoulder X: Jack Daniel's or Jí¤germiester?Tarja: Jí¤germeister is good for the stomach if you have a stomach flu X: Do you like to party or take it easy whilst on tour?Tarja: I need to take it easy, otherwise I wouldn't have the voice I have.X: Favourite pizza topping?Tarja: MozzarellaX: And finally, (although cheesecake isn't hugely known in Scandinavia or south America) what is your favourite flavour of cheesecake? Tarja: Blueberry cheesecakeX: Yummy! Thank you so much for your time, I really hope to see you again very soon!Tarja: Thank you very much! It was a pleasure. Take care of yourself! Love, Tarja
I was very excited to prepare myself for the “Colours in the road†tour again. I had been training my voice and swimming almost daily for weeks, so I was ready to rock again with my band. This time I knew that my daughter would be running around and I would need to run behind her as well, but that fact didn’t make me worried. I was very happy to become the touring mama again.Before the tour kicked off, we had a beautiful resting day after a long flight in Lisbon. Like the last time I was there, we walked a lot and took nice pictures of the city. I really love Lisbon, the architecture and the feeling of the city. It was also smooth “landing†to the European chilly weather from where I came, Caribbean heat, because we had +15°C!The show was just a perfect beginning for the tour. Excited and very welcoming Portuguese audience made us feel loved. I was nervous before the show because we hadn’t been playing with the band since November, so we made a really long sound check where we played all the songs through once. This was needed for my mental health! It was really wonderful to rock in Lisbon again and I hope to see my fans there again some time soon.We travelled during night to Spain, Madrid where we had our second show. The venue was a real challenge for my crew since the place was small and limited with conditions, but again my people made me feel safe and sound. Spanish people were happy to hear me sing one of my new songs “Mystique Voyage†in Spanish. Afterwards the whole band felt like being in a Finnish sauna, it was that hot inside the venue during the show It had been a long time since my last visit in Bilbao, Spain. I remember from the last time that I had a nerve break down during the show day, since no one from my touring colleagues had taken care to organize me anything to eat, so I left the venue alone and cried my eyes out. Those were the days in around year 2000, luckily this time things were and are different.We had a nice day off in Bilbao. Slept long in the morning and had a beautiful dinner in the city. So this time I had indeed something to eat and the people from Bilbao were happy to see me again One of my favourite cities in Europe is Barcelona. It was a rainy day and we didn’t have a chance to see anything in the city, but it was anyway wonderful to be back in Barcelona and rock again with my fans over there.We left Spain behind and arrived to Toulouse, France next day. I remember this city very well from my last visit and expected to have a great, relaxing off day there. It was Sunday, but we found a really nice restaurant in the city centre and walked a lot during that day. I love to spend my off days outside, because during the concert days usually there is no time for more than work.Everybody in my crew enjoyed the venue, good food and crowd during the show. It was delightful arrival to France where we were going to spend a lot of time on this tour.What a pity that I didn’t see the coastline of Marseille. I had a little walk around the venue before the sound check, but it was not enough to get a proper idea of the city, so I need to wait patiently for the next time. Since it was my first visit in Marseille, I was happy to see that local people received me so warmly there.Lyon! Oh what a beautiful city. When we arrived, the sun appeared for us. So this time I didn’t bring a winter storm with me like usually happens. I love the old city of Lyon and we spend amazing day off there. We stayed in a Renaissance hotel, very romantic and charming and had 7-course meal dinner! That dinner took us around 4 hours, but didn’t matter…. it was just incredible! Only our little daughter got a bit frustrated waiting for the food for such a long time, but she behaved really well considering the situation J! I was happy to be able to do some shopping and get some fresh air.The show was very nice, lots of screaming French people. We enjoyed the visit in Lyon a lot.Next city, Bordeaux was a new place for me again and couldn’t see much, but the show was really great! And we could enjoy the local famous Bordeaux wines…I have seen beautiful pictures of the city, so next time I wish to have an off day there to be able to see more.Some people told me that Lille is a very charming, little town with beautiful architecture, but since I had never been there, I didn’t know what to expect. Really! It was so lovely town. We walked and walked, took many pictures, made some shopping and ate well. I really enjoyed my day off in Lille.Also the show was really fantastic. The French people gave us a lot of love and they made me feel that I must return soon. It was amazing to see some of my “crazy†French fans following me in every concert in France. Thank you for the support, kindness and care France!We travelled over night to London via ferry, but as always you have to stop on the boarder for the passport check, so did we. It was around 04:00 am when I needed to put winter clothes on to my sleeping baby and get out myself in pyjamas to make a line for the passport control. You should have seen all that. There were lots of kids yelling and screaming and I just wanted to get back to my bunk in the bus. Well, Naomi didn’t realize anything from the whole procedure, so I was lucky.I was truly excited to have a show in London. It had been a long time since the last time. I also knew that there would be many international fans in the audience, which really made the show exceptional. London was really wonderful experience to my band and everybody enjoyed the show. Thank you for the patience and thank you for being there for me UK.We woke up in Nottingham as usual after midday, enjoyed the morning coffee in the bus before we moved to your hotel. I wanted to see a bit of the city, since again I didn’t remember if I had been in Nottingham before or not. If you wonder how on earth I cannot remember, let me tell you…I have been in “some places†in the last 15 years so I loose the track easily! It was chilly weather in Nottingham, the wind was killing us.The city centre is really cute, tiny. We walked a bit around and enjoyed a tasty coffee there.There were not too many people in the venue during the show, but nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves. I want to thank Rock City Nottingham for the opportunity to play there for the first time on my own.It was raining in Amsterdam when we arrived there finally after a long journey. We needed to have a double driver in the last show days, since the distances between the cities were really long and for one driver too much. I was looking forward to have a great time with my Dutch fans and I got what I expected. It was amazing to rock with you people again. Nice country with many important female fronted metal bands, so I felt really welcomed.If I should need to choose where to live in Europe, it might well be Switzerland. I love the mountains, the lakes and the fact that there are not too many people around. Vevey was a wonderful new place for us to discover. The lake Geneva surroundings are just stunning and I got a chance to enjoy that with my family. Really a wonderful place, peaceful and beautiful. But it was really cold….hrrr.The show happened in a really small venue, but packed with people to the limits. I had a good time with my Swiss fans and friends. I feel good when I can sweat during my shows; it makes me feel that I have had a good workout During tours I usually don’t have enough energy to go for a run, because to maintain all that I have to do, is stressful.After only two hours drive at night and still in Switzerland, we encountered with snowstorm in the mountains. I got awake during the night, because I felt like we were not getting anymore ahead, but we were instead sliding backwards with the bus…it was for a while quite a scary feeling, because the drop down was deep. L Our driver Mino needed to put chains to the wheels and after some hours of work we could continue our journey again. So again, the winter storm was back with me ! Ha!We arrived a bit late to Udine, Italy, but my crew got everything ready in time for the show. What a beautiful theatre, the venue! I love performing in theatres. They hold a very special atmosphere. I have also realized that my fans enjoy the fact that they can see my show without any disturbances.To end this leg in Udine was the best ending ever. I almost cried at the end of the show for happiness. Italian fans were incredible and made me feel so loved. I am happy that soon in May will be other shows in Italy.IMG_6990Thank you all for this tour, thank you for the love and care.I will see you soon, this time in Russia. Only few days left!
arja Turunen & Mike Terrana to release the classic/rock cross-over live project “Beauty & The Beat†on May 30th, 2014 on earMUSICIncluding interpretations of classic music pieces ranging from Bach to Mozart to Rossini as well as rock classics from Queen, Led Zeppelin and Tarja“Beauty & The Beat†is something very different than your ordinary rock show, let alone your ordinary classic concert. It’s music played in an unorthodox manner, it’s the performance of a wide range of classical pieces and rock songs together with an orchestra and choir. It strikes you with awe.Originally planned as a one-time event – the first performance was already held in 2011, the show was too successful with fans and critics to simply never happen again. In spring 2013, Tarja Turunen and drummer Mike Terrana again toured throughout the world, from Poland to Russia to Mexico.“Beauty & The Beat†will be released as 2CD, DVD, Blu-ray and download on May 30th, 2014 on earMUSIC.The music of “Beauty & The Beat†ranges from immortal classic pieces by Bach, Strauss and Mozart to Rossini, but doesn’t neglect pure rock music like songs from Led Zeppelin, Queen as well as Tarja’s own pieces. All combined with orchestra and choir with more than 100 musicians on stage, an enormous sound, energetic drums and Tarja’s angelic voiceTarja and Mike complement each other musically. Whereas Mike bangs his drums with rock attitude, Tarja shines with her crystal clear voice and incredible stage presence; all lulled with the warm, full sound of an orchestra.Tarja Turunen explains:“The idea of having a symphonic orchestra, choir and Mr. Terrana on drums was originally mine. Mike has done a recording with drums over classical pieces that I think it is great. I immediately imagined it performed live on a stage with a real orchestra as a part of a bigger concept. I believe this kind of combination of instruments, particularly playing mainly classical music, is very unique. I have been making collaborations with orchestras before and I could foresee a great outcome. Our main goal with these kind of concerts is that the younger audience experiences the beauty and power of a symphonic orchestra and choir. Hopefully it will serve as an introduction to classical music for some of our fans.â€Mike Terrana jokingly adds: “It’s obvious that I provide the BEAT & Tarja provides the BEAUTY.â€TracklistCD11. Mike - Concert For Violin & Oboe (Bach)2. Tarja - Blute Nur (Bach)3. Tarja - Zueignung - Op. 10, No. 1 (Strauss)4. Mike - Barber of Seville (Rossini)5. Mike - New World Symphony (Dvorák)6. Tarja - Song To The Moon (Dvorák)7. Tarja - Vilja Lied (Lehár)8. Tarja - O mio babbino caro (Puccini)9. Mike - Can-can (Offenbach)10. Tarja - I Feel Pretty (Leonard Bernstein)11. Mike - William Tell Overture (Rossini)12. Tarja - Mein Herr Marquis (Strauss)13. Mike - Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)CD21. Tarja - You Take My Breath Away (Queen)2. Tarja & Mike - The Reign (Tarja)3. Tarja & Mike - Witch-hunt (Tarja)4. Tarja & Mike - Led Zeppelin Medley5. Tarja & Mike - Swanheart (Nightwish)6. Mike & Tarja - Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra)7. Tarja & Mike - Into The Sun (Tarja)8. Tarja & Mike - I Walk Alone (Tarja) DVD/Blu-rayFirst part1. Orchestra - Carmen Overture2. Mike - Concert For Violin & Oboe (Bach)3. Tarja - Blute Nur (Bach)4. Tarja - Zueignung - Op. 10, No. 1 (Strauss)5. Mike - Barber of Seville (Rossini)6. Mike - New World Symphony (Dvorák)7. Tarja - Song To The Moon (Dvorák)8. Tarja - Vilja Lied (Lehár)9. Tarja - O mio babbino caro (Puccini)10. Tarja & Mike - The Reign (Tarja) Second part 11. Tarja - You Take My Breath Away (Queen)12. Tarja & Mike - Witch-hunt (Tarja)13. Tarja & Mike - Led Zeppelin Medley14. Tarja & Mike – Swanheart (Nightwish)15. Mike - Can-can (Offenbach)16. Tarja - Mein Herr Marquis (Strauss)17. Mike & Tarja - Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra)18. Tarja & Mike - Into The Sun (Tarja)Encore 23. Mike - William Tell Overture (Rossini) 24. Tarja - I Feel Pretty (Leonard Bernstein) 25. Mike - Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)26. Tarja & Mike - I Walk Alone (Tarja)Bonus materialPhoto Gallery
