Working hard on songs for the new album!
Live DVD Act I audio has been mixed and sounds killer! Working on the videos and artwork right now. Forthcoming studio album is in preproduction stage. I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me.
Former NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen had her March 30 and March 31 performances at Teatro El Círculo in Rosario, Argentina professionally filmed for her upcoming concert DVD, "Act I", tentatively due before the end of the year. Each of the two shows featured a different setlist with the exception of five songs, including three tracks from Tarja's time with her previous band ("Nemo", "The Phantom Of The Opera" and "Over The Hills And Far Away").In other news, Tarja is in pre-production for her third solo album, which is expected to be released sometime next year. She says, "I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me."Turunen's latest project, HARUS, in December released a CD/DVD/Blu-ray, entitled "In Concert - Live At Sibelius Hall".The first output of HARUS features traditional and emotional music from Finland presented together with more international repertoire.Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200."What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.
The serious rehearsals for the first live DVD of my solo career started in Cordoba, Argentina, though the preparations for it had started much longer in advance. I had been performing several different set lists in my concerts throughout all my final tour, because I wanted to have all the songs ready and kicking when the time of the recordings would come. The reason I chose these particular set of songs was that I wanted to show the wide aspect of my solo career representing both of my albums.On the day of the first Argentinean show in Cordoba I welcomed the guest musicians singer Diego Valdez, guitarist Julian Barrett and bassist Doug Wimbish on board. I thought it would be a nice addition to have the musicians that have been alternating on my last tours for my first DVD. The challenging part was to make the new arrangements for 2 guitar and 2 bass players, but we managed together very well since many of my songs already have those existing elements in the studio versions. I had been exchanging many emails and calls with my musicians before the actual show and everybody had been working on their own until then.Only on the show day we had a terrible delay caused by some technical problems with lights and other stuff, so the actual rehearsals could last only for a couple of hours! Everybody was nervous about it, but in the end, the show itself was the best rehearsal one can ask for. It was very much needed to play one complete show before playing in front of the cameras in Rosario. This way I could assure that the show is functional and the musicians and my crew could learn and still fix their parts for Act I.It was a great show and lot of fun for everybody. The exciting part for me was to see how we managed to fit to the stage all of us together without stumbling into cables or running against each other. All in all everything went fine and my first visit in Cordoba showed me that I have to return one day, since the local people were really welcoming.After Cordoba’s show we traveled by bus to Rosario over night. Next day was a set up day for the stage in Teatro el Circulo. While we were building the stage with all the lights, raisers and instruments an orchestra and soloists of the city of Rosario were practicing their program. This kind of arrangement continued also in the following days so it was a hard task for us to keep our schedule running whilst the theatre had its own.Teatro el Circulo is an old opera theatre and one of the most important theatres in Argentina. I have had a chance to perform the year before in this theatre and it was love at the first sight. I knew at that time already that if one day I would be filming my DVD, it should be filmed there. The atmosphere, the acoustics of the place and the magical beauty of the theatre made that decision very easy.Also classical music is my passion and a very important part of my artistic life. I wanted my fans to experience something different from the ordinary rock shows and I think I could capture that feeling together with them on my DVD.As the location was highly inspiring it was quite easy to come with the name “Act I†for this video. Like a part of an opera, the first chapter of a play that is still on the writing.I had a great two days photo session between the band rehearsals with Eugenio who has been taking photos from me before. We could use the beautiful theatre locations for these photos, so all the photos you’ll see in the artwork of Act I are taken in Teatro el Circulo. I loved all the architectural details of this theatre!And finally, it was Show time!I was, as everyone else involved, nervous on the first concert and recording day on Friday. I remember I had to do my breathing exercises and warming up a lot longer than I normally do. I tried hard to keep my focus to rock that night’s audience, but it is always different feeling to perform not only for the audience, but also for the cameras. There was a lot of pressure in the air that night, but during the show little by little I got more and more relaxed and forgot the whole filming situation. The excellent audience in the sold out hall helped me with it for sure! They seemed to be really excited to take part in my DVD so there was lot of love and magic around. On the Saturday’s concert we performed a very different set list and after having done the first day a tight and clean performance, the band rocked freely on that night. I was many times ready to burst in tears only by looking at the lights on the stage; they looked so beautiful to me. I could say those two nights in Rosario were a huge emotional drive to me personally. Everybody involved put a lot of effort into those shows, so I am sure all of my guys in the band and crew are happy to see the final result on “Act Iâ€.With love,Tarja
"We are happy to announce that Tarja Turunen's new Live Album "Act1" will be released on CD / DVD / Blu-Ray on August 27th 2012. Stay tuned and keep an eye on www.tarja-act1.com to get all the latest news!"
earMUSIC is happy to announce the release of TARJA’s first ever solo live album as a rock singer. “ACT 1†will hit stores August 24th across the globe, featuring breathtaking theatre performances from Argentina in sound and vision. The release will come in various formats: as a 2CD, a 2DVD and a Blu-Ray version. ACT I†is Tarja’s first solo live audio and video product in her rock outfit. The main content was filmed and recorded on two show nights this March 2012 in Rosario, Argentina, at the Teatro El Círculo. The video products include plenty of extras – video and photo material. With the elaborate track listing and its extras, “ACT I†provides the full-fledged bill of fare to either Tarja fan. The track listing consists of Tarja’s greatest solo tracks, Nightwish classics as well as some cover versions, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera†and marvellous Gary Moore’s “Over The Hills and Far Away†– or to make it short: a unique blend of music selection. The set up of these HD filmed concerts meant an incredible extra work and effort in the live production - with an impressive result, but also an emotional rollercoaster-ride. Says Turunen: “those two nights in Rosario were a huge emotional drive to me personally.†The artist herself admits, she “was many times ready to burst into tears.†ACT Iâ€, as the title already suggests, is the vanguard in a sequence of live products at a yet to be determined point of time. Fans and media can actively follow Tarja at www.tarja-act1.com on the road to release day of “ACT Iâ€. While releasing “ACT Iâ€, Tarja is already working on her next solo studio album. “ACT I†already features two brand new tracks by the Finnish Soprano: “Into The Sun†is the lead single for the live album, to be released up-front August 24th.
“ACT I†is Tarja’s first solo live audio and video product in her rock outfit. The main content was filmed and recorded on two show nights this March 2012 in Rosario, Argentina, at the Teatro El Círculo. The video products include plenty of extras – video and photo material.>br>With the elaborate track listing and its extras, “ACT I†provides the full-fledged bill of fare to either Tarja fan. The track listing consists of Tarja’s greatest solo tracks, Nightwish classics as well as some cover versions, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’ and marvellous Gary Moore’s ‘Over The Hills and Far Away’ – or to make it short: a unique blend of music selection. The set up of these HD filmed concerts meant an incredible extra work and effort in the live production – with an impressive result, but also an emotional rollercoaster-ride. Says Turunen: “Those two nights in Rosario were a huge emotional drive to me personally.†The artist herself admits, she “was many times ready to burst into tears.â€â€œACT Iâ€, as the title already suggests, is the vanguard in a sequence of live products at a yet to be determined point of time. Fans and media can actively follow Tarja at www.tarja-act1.com on the road to release day of “ACT Iâ€.While releasing “ACT Iâ€, Tarja is already working on her next solo studio album. “ACT I†already features two brand new tracks by the Finnish Soprano: ‘Into The Sun’ is the lead single for the live album, to be released up-front August 24th.On the artist Tarja: No other voice and artist influenced and basically created the female fronted symphonic metal genre as much as Tarja Turunen. A pioneer in Goth- and Symphonic Metal, the classically trained Finn rose to fame with the metal outfit Nightwish, whose face and voice she had been for 9 years. With a vocal range of a lyrical soprano, Turunen started her solo career in 2004. Releasing two very successful metal rock solo albums (2007 and 2010), awarded gold and platinum in multiple countries, Tarja Turunen has been constantly touring the world with her live band.Adored by many fans as their “Goddessâ€, the Finnish Soprano has the skill to take her fans just by her presence – probably more than any other female artist in this very genre. When classic meets Rock and Heavy Metal, this inevitably leads to Tarja.
CONTESTWe would love you to be a part of Tarja’s next DVD/Blu-Ray “ACT I†with your photos.If you have been one of the fans that took some photos in any of the concerts from the year 2012, this message is for you! You will have time to take part in the “ DVD/Blu-Ray Photo Gallery Contest†starting now and until 25th of June.Rules are very easy: Please email your photos to webmaster@nems.com.ar Photos should be originals without signatures or watermarks. If you are sending more than one photo, please use a file sharing program like yousendit or similar.Add your name, address (postal zip code too) and email address.Be sure to include the date and location of the show in which you took the photos. The photos will be delivered to Tarja who will personally select the ones that will be used for “ACT I†DVD/Blu-Ray Photo Gallery.Every photographer / fan whose photo (or maybe more than one photo) is chosen, will receive a free “ACT I†DVD.The photo chosen by Tarja as the best picture will have a special prize courtesy of earMUSIC:Transportation and hotel accommodation in his/her country or the nearby country Tarja will perform in (in case she wont perform in your home country) until 2015 for the winner plus a friend!And, of course, also free tickets for the concert and the chance to meet Tarja backstage where she will give you a free CD and DVD of “ACT Iâ€.The 2nd and 3rd best photos winners will get 2 tickets for any Tarja concert until 2015 plus a free DVD and CD of “ACT Iâ€.Please print the following text, sign it, scan it and email it together with your photos towebmaster@nems.com.arParticipation conditions: Participation is not dependent on product purchase. Contact information will be used exclusively for contest purposes and future newsletter mailings and will not be given to a third party. The prize will not be substituted with cash. Persons must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible. Employees of earMUSIC, Edel, Tarja and their relatives are forbidden from taking part in the contest. The contest ends on 25th of June 2012. The contest can be terminated or changed at any time without prior notification. Legal recourse is prohibited and no legal correspondence regarding the contest is possible. By taking part in the sweepstake the participant bindingly accepts the participation conditions.If you decide to take part in the contest, don’t forget to send also photos of the band members, complete band or anything you consider of interest for the photo gallery.Once all the photos have been chosen we will inform the winners in www.tarja-act1.com and will be also notified via email.Let the contest begin and good luck!TRANSFER OF PHOTO RIGHTI hereby authorize earMUSIC to use my photographs (as a whole or portions thereof in unchanged or adapted form, e.g. changed photographically or on the computer, colored, touched up, etc. in any possible way and in any technical form) that I took during a show of Tarja Turunen without any fee or compensation of any kind for the purpose of using in a Photo Gallery to be included in “ACT I†DVD and Blu-Ray. Therefore, I transfer all exploitation rights concerning the photographs chosen for the Photo Gallery, exclusive and transferable, with no restrictions in content, time or place to earMUSIC.I warrant that I am the sole holder of all rights transferred by this declaration and that I have not transferred them to a third party before the release of the DVD. I warrant that I have not adapted the work of third parties for the photo, or if I have that I have acquired all of the rights hereto and that I am entitled to transfer these to earMUSIC. I release earMUSIC from all third-party or co-author claims. EarMUSIC will credit me as the photographer in the DVD and Blu-Ray.Place/Date …………………………..……………………………………………………………….Photographer
Tracklisting: CD101. Anteroom Of Death02. My Little Phoenix03. Dark Star04. Naiad05. Falling Awake06. I Walk Alone07. Little Lies08. Into The Sun09. Nemo 10. Never Enough11. Still Of The Night12. In For A KillCD201. Boy And The Ghost02. Lost Northern Star03. Ciaran‘s Well04. Tired Of Being Alone05. Where Were You Last Night / Heaven Is A Place On Earth / Livin’ On A Prayer06. Underneath 07. Oasis / The Archive Of Lost Dreams08. Crimson Deep09. The Phantom Of The Opera10. Die Alive 11. Until My Last Breath12. Over The Hills And Far Away
DVD101. If You Believe02. Anteroom Of Death03. My Little Phoenix04. Dark Star05. Naiad06. Falling Awake07. I Walk Alone08. Orpheus Hallucination / Orpheus In The Underworld09. Little Lies (band jam)10. Little Lies11. Into The Sun12. Nemo13. Acoustic Set:Rivers Of LustMinor HeavenMontañas De SilencioSing For MeI Feel Immortal14. Never Enough15. In For A Kill16. Toccata And Fugue D-minor (BWV 565) / The Phantom Of The Opera19. Die Alive20. Until My Last Breath21. Over The Hills And Far AwayDVD 201. Boy And The Ghost02. Lost Northern Star03. Ciaran‘s Well04. Tired Of Being Alone05. Where Were You Last Night / Heaven Is A Place On Earth / Livin’ On A Prayer06. Underneath07. The Reign08. Oasis / The Archive Of Lost Dreams09. Still Of The Night10. Crimson Deep+ Bonus: Photogallery, video clip, EPK
