hat's up, Tuomas?- I'm fine. Yesterday we arrived from the tour in Russia and Ukraine and today we'll travel to Germany. It's the start of the festival period.How did the tour go in the east?- Incredibly well. The Russian and Ukrainian fans are extra sympathetic. The atmosphere has always been very warm and it was so once again.The fan documentary â€To Nightwish with Love†is about to finish. Where did the idea come from making it?- (The national broadcasting company) YLE suggested it a while ago and from the beginning it sounded interesting to me because several documentaries have been made about the band and the Internet is full of interviews, but focusing on the core of being a fan, revealing more about that, the band and I are very interested to hear. I recently saw the first ten minutes of the documentary and my jaw dropped while watching. It's incredibly interesting and fascinating.What made your jaw drop?- We've made music for 20 years and seen a lot of fans, but usually we see them from distance, from stage, in autograph sessions and meetings with fan clubs, but this documentary goes a bit deeper. People tell about their experiences and explain why they are so passionate about the band. What's the philosophy behind their behaviour. And it makes you think. It reminded me about the times 20 or 25 years ago when I was an equally passionate fan of certain things. In some way it's intriguing. So, where's the line between heroism and illusion? And when does it take more than it gives?Did you find similarities between you as a fan and your fans?- Well, I only saw the first ten minutes, so I can't comment it yet. Let's wait for the whole documentary first.What do you think about the fans you saw?- They seemed similar to what I've thought about the fans before. They are extremely frank, warm, loyal and crazy in a positive way. Everything or nothing, so they are fully committed fans. In a way it's nice because you have to be passionate about the things you love. For example, watching ice-hockey is boring unless take it at least bit seriously. If you don't care who's going to win, you don't get the kicks you get if you're fully in the game. In art, it's the same. If you find the music, movie or other form of art you really like, it gives you more. It inspires you, it heals you, it gives you comfort, possibly takes you to another place for a while. And you should be passionate about it.Are Nightwish fans somehow different than the fans of other bands?- I can't tell because I don't know the fans of other bands. At least I haven't met them as often as Nigthwish fans. So I can't answer, but I know that our fans, or more generally metal fans, are very loyal and oriented people. They analyze every line of the lyrics and every part of the album cover and wonder what's the meaning of it. In my opinion it's only a good thing.Since your fans are so analytic, are you afraid of their reaction when you make music?- At that point you have to ignore the listeners and perhaps the other band members too. It's the only way to keep the process of making music clean. You shouldn't worry about people's opinions.What kinds of memories do you have from fan meetings?- 99.9 % of the meetings have been either very warm, nice or comic in a good way. They almost always give more than take. In rare cases we've met harmless freaks among the fans and had a couple of not-so-harmless cases, but that's part of the spectrum, I think. â€Endless forms most beautifulâ€.What do you get from your fans?- Sometimes I have a weak moment. I don't necessarily question my work, but I wonder if it means anything. Of course anyone wants to have a meaningful life. Every now and then I meet fans who seem to say frankly that our music has saved their life or given a lot of comfort. I've met several self-destructive people who have sincerely said that our music has helped them pass the troubles. These stories create a warm wave in me. Wow. In other words, it motivates me. It gives me an extra boost to make music. And in a concert when you see the crowd, people singing in the front row and dancing eyes closed, it creates a feeling of a community, that we all are united, all peoples of the world. And all evilness vanishes for a while. That's what I get from fans.You mentioned that you also have fanatic fans. Are you ever afraid?- I've never been afraid of my fans. I've had very bizarre encounters and received a few very questionable letters from fans and I have had to take them seriously, but I've never been afraid.What kind of a reception do you expect the documentary to get when it's released?- Hopefully it makes people think, burst into laughter, and hopefully it explains the nature of the fan culture to other people and the band. Like I said, I haven't seen the documentary yet, so I can't comment it more, but at the moment everything looks good.How about the future plans of Nightwish? At least you're having a lot of gigs?- We will tour until the mid October. After that we'll have a little break. So, nothing happens in 2017. And in 2018 the new adventures begin.Don't you know yet what kinds of adventures they will be?- I don't know exactly and I won't reveal it yet, but we have rather clear plans up to 2021. So, everything seems good at the moment, but the previous album and its tour were so massive that the band decided to have a little break.How can you plan everything up to 2021?- Why not? I think it gives you comfort that everything will continue. We haven't closed any deals yet, but we live with those hopes and plans.Thank you.- Thank you.
Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen looks ahead to next month's Download FestivalDownload is just two weeks away and we're catching up with some of the biggest and best bands on the bill.We spoke with Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen to find out what the symphonic Finnish six-piece have in store and which bands she's prepared to cross the festival site to watch...Nightwish have played Download before, back in 2012, before you joined the band, but will this be a first trip to the festival for you?“Actually no, I played with After Forever many years ago, but this will be a rather different experience. Back then it was one of After Forever’s first shows in the UK, and certainly on a huge festival like that, so we had a tiny slot at like five o’clock in the morning playing to three people, but I remember later that night I saw the big stages and it gave me goosebumps thinking ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be great to do that one day?’ So when I think of that and then look at where we are today, I think it’s going to be a blast to reach so many people. We had such a great time at our show in London at Wembley Arena but this brings it to a different level again and we’re very excited.â€The December show at Wembley was obviously a huge occasion for the band, and got fantastic reviews, but what memories do you have of the night?“It was very special. It was obviously a huge step forward in terms of the amount of people we could hope to draw with our own show in England and so we were thinking ‘Are we going to get enough people in to make this cool?’ So then to sell out a 12,000 arena was very exciting. And then Richard Dawkins said yes to our invitation to come onstage with us – and the odds weren’t in our favour there! – so that was amazing. We’d been on tour for months and were a well-oiled machine at that point, and very prepared, and so we were into it entirely, and the audience were into it entirely, and that created the special kind of magic that you can only dream of. I will never forget that night.â€The obvious next question then is how are you going to top that?“There’s such a difference between a festival show and your own show that I don’t think we really see this in terms of ‘topping’ it. We will bring a similar show but of course with the festival vibe and the fact that we’ll be outside it will be completely different in feel. But I really hope that we can bring that magic again.â€You were filming for a DVD release at Wembley Arena: is there a scheduled date yet for when that might emerge?“Well, Wembley wasn’t the only show we filmed, we’ve been filming in different parts of the world on this tour, including our first stadium show in Tampere in Finland last summer, so we have a very rich amount of material to draw from. I’ve heard that the Wembley footage is really something else though, and I’m really happy that that magic was immortalised so it’ll definitely be a big part of the DVD. We’re looking at bringing it out later in the year and I think it’ll be pretty special.â€Back to Download, you’re playing beneath Iron Maiden on the Lemmy stage on June 12. Did Maiden mean much to you growing up?“Honestly, for me, no, but I have a huge respect for the guys, and I really appreciate what they’ve done. For me personally though I was never much into their music.â€Is there anyone else you'd be prepared to walk across the site to see on June 12 then?“I heard Ghost are playing, and they’re interesting, so it’d be nice to see them. I saw the list of bands and thought ‘Oh yeah, it’d be great to see that, that and that’, and then my brain goes somewhere else and I forget about it again! I know there’s a huge amount of great bands playing though, so I hope I have the time and energy to catch a few.â€Are you a big socialiser at festivals?“It really depends on the facilities and the amount of energy I have; it isn’t always the best idea for my voice to be screaming loudly over music outside all day. But I do like to meet other musicians – how often do you run into other people that do the same thing that you do if not at festivals? So if I can, I’ll get out there and hopefully meet some new people.â€What are you most looking forward to about the day?“The few seconds just before you walk on to a big stage like that are always really exciting, especially at a festival like Download where there’s going to be thousands of new people who probably haven’t seen us yet, or have only heard rumours about what we’re about. I remember from my previous visit with After Forever that there’s so much media at Download, so I know it’s a huge thing, and I’m just looking forward to seeing how people will enjoy us… or not! If we can take Download with us on our musical journey it’ll be another really memorable night.â€Nightwish play the Lemmy Stage at Download on June 12. For more information, see the festival's official site.
