Nightwish kick off the Imaginarium World Tour in Los Angeles. The very first show for the IMAGINARIUM WORLD TOUR will take place at the GIBSON AMPHITHEATRE, Universal City, CA, U.S.A, on Saturday the 21st of January 2012.This will be the biggest NIGHTWISH show production ever on the North American soil and strictly a one-off -- there will be no US tour until later in 2012.The ticket sales will begin soon.
A week or so ago I felt the Curse of the Mummy was cast upon us. The vocal recordings were set to begin on Monday March 7th but Anette fell at her home just a few days before that and broke her rib. Thinking positive, luckily just that, from the sound of it it could`ve been much worse. So now she just needs to rest and heal well before we continue, the new vocal recording date set to the beginning of April. We`ll take our time and do nothing half-way at this point.So we called Marco to enter the studio for a couple of days before he left for winter holidays with his family. We figured we need to make the best of the booked studio time anyway. The first thing he told me on Tuesday was that he`d slipped on his front porch and hurt his rib, not sure if he`ll be able to sing. At the same time Mikko (Karmila, the recording engineer) was lying in bed, sick to the core.On Wednesday Marco was still hurting, Anette hadn`t improved at all, Mikko was still sick in bed and Tero (Kinnunen, the other recording engineer) was run over by a horse and a cart (!)There was 3 more weeks of studio time left and I was alone sipping some Shiraz by the studio`s mixing console trying to come up with a counter - spell to put the poor mummy`s soul to rest.Now, a week later things are looking much brighter. Marco was actually able to sing a couple of tracks thanks to Mr. Burana, Tero hurt his pride worse than his body, Mikko is back from the dead, and I just heard Anette was able to go outside for the first time in two weeks. Wonderful news! I also got all my keyboard, piano & hammond - parts recorded, we got majority of the soundscapes a`la Mr. Jussi Tegelman put in place and Mikko already started the editing process. So no studio time wasted after all.Now it`s all about waiting for Anette to get well, getting Marco to record the rest of his vocals, and flying Troy over to record his pipes and show us some of his legendary magic.In the meanwhile, a beautiful springtime to everyone. I`ll write more soon.Tuomas
Petrax Studio, March 2011, part 2Hello dear people and fans!I've been here at the studio for a couple of days trying to sing. Amateur that I am seems to get nothing done right. I've been crying and laughing. I've been jumping down from the roof into the snowpiles. The guys have been whipping me on but the only thing left to show the world are the scars on my butt. Mikko shot a very nice picture of them.To be honest I'm actually almost done. I've been spewing out words and notes like a radiostation. Just one song left, an overall check if I need to fill in some places, and my work is over for now. The mummy's curse Tuomas mentioned seems to have lifted a bit. I sailed under it to Thailand and back and got better. Stand back please, I'm spitting over my shoulder! Trying to hit the undead curselaying old fart of course.At the moment my responsibilities are writing this report and getting the sauna warm for the evening. So... Is there something else I should tell you about before we get all naked and sweaty? Ah-ha! No more questions! Hold that image!Cheers!Marco.
Imaginarium updatede Tuomas Holopainen, el jueves, 24 de marzo de 2011 a las 14:18If you were to witness an unprecedented magic trick that could not be explained rationally, would you want to know how it is done?A child experiences something new and unique each day. Something that is often impossible for the child to put into words without the guidance or explanation of an adult. Often the explanation has disappointed us. Sometimes it’s better not to know the truth.If you had the chance to return to your childhood -- just for a split second -- when witnessing a magic trick, would you forfeit that chance and seek for a rational explanation?Imaginarium is all about such questions. They have been answered by many people who have worked with the album and the movie already in the planning stages. As the final storyboard is being created, the producers, the director, the band, the production designer, the concept artists, and the casting director all work together to perfect their various arts for the movie. Contradictorily, they often have to ask the question: “How can we weave that kind of magic?â€The script has seen many improvements, more than ever before. The truth about movie production is that the script is often polished right until the first day of shooting, sometimes even during the shooting. At the moment, a lot of loose ends are being tied together, and a lot of characters are changed substantively to act as either a negative or a positive force in the story.The SFX and prop design is underway, as well as the casting for the main roles. Storyboard drawing is interrupted momentarily, as concept art is needed to outline the characters and the environments.We’ve experimented with arranging the background score with the actual songs off the album, and the best indicator of success is the amount of goose bumps the combination has raised.These are exciting times, because the decisions being made now largely shape the finished movie. We can only say that we’re already immensely proud of it.We’ve travelled a long road, but not until the next crossroads can we distinguish a sign “Imaginarium, X milesâ€
Petrax Studio, March 2011, part IIITime to add the final touches for Imaginarium while waiting for Anette to get well. This means the celtic magic of Mr. Troy Donockley with his pipes & bodhran, the smoking fingers of Mr. Pekka Kuusisto with his violin and some additional percussion & tribal drums. I picked up Troy at the airport on Saturday night while Jukka and Kai (Hahto) were generating some new percussive ideas and boozing at Petrax. When we returned they had already nailed all tambourines, shaman drums etc. Satisfied with the day`s work we celebrated the Cumbrian - Carelian Dead Poets` reunion by entering the realm of the ultimate alchemic magic potion called Salmari. Jari (Sinkkonen of "Kotiteollisuus") also joined us during the night to do a new tattoo for Jukka. It took one and a half days for Troy to record his pipes and bodhran. He even ended up doing some singing in one of the songs, which was a killer of a last-minute-idea. This particular tune has grown up to be one of the highlights of the whole album. Saturday evening was filled with the much anticipated Troy`s magic show, sauna & a youtube medley consisting some of our all-time faves like the ultimate tenor fail, cat vs. printer w / translation, Sony releasing a stupid piece of shit that doesn`t f...ing work, etc. Pekka`s violin virtuosity stunned us once again when he joined us on Monday night to play a couple of leads. His hand-written notes make medical doctors` prescriptions look like Rembrandt`s art. A true genius of a musician with a big heart. A huge thanks and eternal gratitude to all of you fellow imagineers contributing to this album! A special appreciation goes to Tiina & Petri, our studio hosts, caretakers and dear friends at Petrax. At the moment we are recording Anette`s vocals, 7 songs done so far. She hasn`t quite cured from her broken ribs yet but fortunately it doesn`t affect her singing at all. She`s never sounded better. Time to enter the lair of Mr. Karmila now and start devouring song # 8. Greetings from the rainiest & grayest Helsinki, Tuomas
Anette ya ha actualizado su blog diciendo que ha terminado de grabar, que la grabación de Imaginarium está completa y que sólo queda hacer las mezclas
Anette ha escrito en el blog que ha decidido no sacar su disco en solitario. La razón es que el productor que se suponía que iba a producir el disco tuvo que decirle que no a Anette por motivos personales. Y cuando le han vuelto a hacer una buena oferta a Anette ya era demasiado tarde (por los preparativos de Imaginarium). Y Anette ha dicho que mientras estíén con la producción y la gira de Nightwish no hará nada de eso. Si en un futuro tiene tiempo y ganas lo sacará. Y tambiíén ha dicho que si en algún momento puede preparar alguna canción entera la publicará.
Anette vende el vestido blanco que lleva en el vídeo de The Rasmus del tema "October & April". El dinero irá destinado a Japón.
Anette escribe despues de mucho tiempo en el diario sobre las grabaciones :Finnvox Studios / Helsinki, April 2011Last time I wrote a studio diary was back in 2007 after 3 weeks of recording my vocals, hiding out in the deep forests of Finland. No one knew my name as the new singer of Nightwish. Today I read through it for the first time since then, and well, I must say that I recognize a lot and laughed even more while reading it. Things were naturally a bit different in 2007 compared to today. I went into the studio with a radically different starting position. I am not a secret anymore, I know the songs really well and have already recorded them in a demo session in Rí¶skí¶. The songs were made for my voice and this time I could sing them with much more confidence. This also made my time in the studio much shorter than last time and we all worked really fast and efficient, like a racing team - we all knew our positions ;=)We started out on Monday and I took a cab from the hotel, knowing that I had visited Finnvox Studios only once before. Then it was for a listening session for Dark Passion Play. What I didn`t remember was that it was far out in a factory area hidden between lots of other grey buildings. This famous studio looks kinda greyish and not so special when you first get closer, but when you get inside and see all the gold records hanging in the hallway, all the photos of famous musicians in the stairs you know this is the place for big things and big recordings. Of course Imaginarium needs to pass through this pit stop, too!After hugging and having a short brief with Tuomas about practical things with Imaginarium tour and future plans, he took me to "my room" and when I entered I was so surprised! The room looked like my own little "Shangri-la". Lots of candles burning, pink and red carpets and fabrics that were hung to make it comfortable. Candy, teas, coffees, nuts, fashion magazines, a cosy lounging chair, a big framed poster with us all, and lots of other little things to make me feel at home. Teemu, our dear pyro tech had been there to make me feel welcome and get into a nice singing mood. So thanks to Teemu & the guys, my days at Finnvox got even nicer!We took a great song to start with and even if my rib still gave me some pain my singing worked well. A little bit of tiredness from flying two days in a row, but still the whole day floated well and it was simply a great start for me.Our goal was to do one song per day but we actually made something like 1,5 per day and were done in 8 days. We started at 10 and ended around 15 or 16 every day. Took shorter breaks but mainly we just worked and worked. I like to be efficient and when I start to sing I get into the mood and then stopping and taking a long break can just make me loose the feeling and cadence. And Imaginarium has a lot of different feelings in it, different ways for me to interpret the songs. Tuomas, Tero and Mikko were there to guide me to sing even better and to create those little things in every song that make it "historical", as Tero always says, haha!Every time we were about to start recording a song, I first just sat down and listened to the songs with the orchestra, choir, solos and everything else I hadn`t heard yet, and I must say that I got the shivers every time. From recording the demo to getting the whole package with everything added is just a thrill! And I can hear that Pip and Tuomas just get better and better in using the orchestras, different instruments and voices.After having listened to a song and heard the new things, I went to "my studio", did some warm-ups and then we started with the recordings. We took it in parts and mainly did the verses first. I sang the part over and over for a couple of times until we felt we had it. Then I doubled and tripled the whole thing if we wanted a fuller sound, as we did mainly in the faster songs. Then it varied if we did the harmonies for that specific part directly or if we continued and recorded the lead parts for the whole song before doing the harmonies. It also depended on my mood and how good my voice felt. I got food poisoning one day and threw up for 9 hours straight, affecting some parts of my voice. I was tired and weak so the day after I didn`t feel my high soft voice was perfect and therefore we didn`t take those high harmonies until the next day. After 8 days of recording all the songs were recorded and all we had left were some harmonies here and there to fix, and then we just jumped from song to song and added what Tuomas felt was missing. Tuomas is great to work with and he is really clear with what he wants in every song. He is so devoted to the album, to getting every little piece perfect and I know he won`t sleep or rest well until the whole album is mixed and mastered and put into a safe somewhere. When I was done, I felt that little "empty" feeling I get when I have completed something. A little bit sad `cause I had so much fun and I just love to sing in the studio, this album being such a thrill for me. So many songs, all of them very different and I just gotta love the challenge. To get more out of my voice than before and to be part of this massive music where all of us, every musician that plays on it, is the key to make it work. To make Imaginarium come alive! And believe me - it will be one hell of a ride for us all;=)On we go! Next step for me is to do some acting in the movie, but let´s take it one step at a time. Now I´ll enjoy the summer before all that happens! All best to everybody!AnetteWritten by Anette on April 22, 2011
Según la web oficial de Nightwish:"Nightwish: Dark Passion Gallery es un diario fotográfico por el renombrado fotógrafo rock Ville Akseli Juurikkala (HIM, Apocalyptica, The 69 Eyes); una historia de el primer tour mundial de la banda de rock más grande de Finlandia con su nueva cantante, contada en imágenes impresionantes..."Información adicional en una página especial:"Tamaño: 210x280 cmTapas duras, 200 páginas, ilustrado, a colorEn inglíésFotografías por Ville Akseli JuurikkalaPie de fotos por los miembros de NightwishPrólogo por Tuomas HolopainenPublicación: 10/2008Otoño 2007: tras un paríéntesis de casi dos años, la nueva cnatante de Nightwish ha sido elegida, el nuevo album está listo, yun nuevo tour mundial se avecina delante. la presión es inmensa, pero Anette Olzon satisface las expectativas como la nueva front woman, encantando los estadios agotados alrededor del mundo, y elevando a la banda a una clase completamente suya en la historia del Hard Rock finlandíés.Nightwish: Dark Passion Gallery es un diario fotográfico por el renombrado fotógrafo rock Ville Akseli Juurikkala (HIM, Apocalyptica, The 69 Eyes); una historia de el primer tour mundial de la banda de rock más grande de Finlandia con su nueva cantante, contada en imágenes impresionantes.Juurikkala siguió a la banda durante casi un año, desde el primer concierto hasta el pasado verano. mientras el foco está en Europa, hay tambiíén muchas escenas de alrededor del mundo, desde asia hasta las Amíéricas. El íénfasis está naturalmente en los miembros de la banda y sus vidas, tanto en el escenario como en el backstage, pero el lector tambiíén consigue seguir los largos días de los 50 mimebros del equipo. Durante el tour, Juurikkala compartió su vida con los miembros de la banda, viajando en el mismo bus, durmiento en los mismos hoteles (a veces en la misma habitación), y pasando el tiempo en las mismas habitaciones del backstage. í‰l ha sido testigo de la vida diaria de la banda muy de cerca, y ahora tu tienes la oportunidad de experimentarlo, tambiíén, a travíés de las gloriosas imágenes de este precioso libro."Imágenes:Portada
