We have never been so happy with a production

This month we have got an awesome opportunity to speak with the Jukka Koskinen, the bassist of Wintersun! Long expected by fans new album is finished…and we were so curious when we can listen to it, and what events and ideas were behind the new album…

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask you a few questions! I, as a die hard Wintersun fan, am very excited to hear some news from you.

Hello – it’s our pleasure! And thanks a lot for your support! Everything’s going fine at the moment since we have a new fresh album called THE FOREST SEASONS in our hands and ready to be released! No one expected this, right? At the moment we’re very busy preparing the crowdfunding launch and everything is ready for March 1st!

All your fans are very glad that you are working with the new album…How are things going? What stage are you at?

The album is 100% finished and recorded and from March 1st on, fans will be able to pre-order it in the highest possible sound quality! We are very proud of this concept release that is inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and have never been so happy with a production, so this will definitely blow your mind!

Can you tell us more about The Forest Seasons concept? What will be different from Wintersun and Time I? Musically, in lyrics? When will you share a teaser or a single (if you are planning, of course) with us?

The Forest Seasons is something different yet it has the epic Wintersun sound that you could already find on our last albums. However on this album we are focusing more on the feeling of each song and since we orientate it on the 4 seasons, each of the four songs has its own little story:

The spring song, Awaken from the Dark Slumber, is about when everything comes to life after winter’s dark times. It’s also how you yourself wake up from a coma that you have been in your whole life possibly. The song is split in two parts and is very uplifting though it has a dark first half, presenting the awakening.

The summer song, The Forest that Weeps, is an majestic male choir driven song that shows the harshness of the summer that can happen in the north, greyness and rain – hard for your mentality.

The autumn song, Eternal Darkeness, is by far the most brutal song by Wintersun and we have never done anything like this. That monster is about dying, dark dark times like in the autumn, almost unbearable hard for mentality.

The winter song, Loneliness, is a slower tempo song with beautiful clean vocals and melodies. A song about melancholia though somehow a peaceful feel in it and a song that is Jari’s favourite Wintersun track so far!

Jari has participated in making the cover artwork for the new album. What inspired him to switch to the artist’s job? What does this cover mean?

Yes, Jari participated in the creation of the artwork and of course this is great as he, as the songwriter, probably knows best what he envisions for the layout 😉 Gyula Havancsák, who put the idea into reality did an amazing job and it illustrates the awakening of a mystical forest where the 4 seasons are merging together.

You were looking for a guitarist for the band…What line-up changes should we expect?

As Jari noticed that he can only give 50% on the vocals while he’s playing the guitars, he decided to step down from  his duties as a guitar player and give 100% on the vocals. We are currently working with someone new at the moment. Of course nothing is official yet since we need to practice a lot together and see where everything goes. But we still have a few months to go before we play the first shows together and we’ll take our time to make sure he is the right guy.  We will announce his name later in spring.

Is Wintersun more a studio project? Are you planning to play live to support the new album?

Yes, so far we announced 7 festival shows that you can find on our Facebook page; and as soon as possible we also want to embark on a bigger tour and visit Europe again. But so far the dates are not fixed yet.

What happened to Time II? Are you using any material from it for the new album?

No, Time II and The Forest seasons are two completely different projects. We have been in this unfortunate situation that we weren’t able to fulfill our true vision to make our music sound the best possible, that’s why we haven’t released Time II. Wintersun albums are massive productions so they need immense resources.. Time I was a 60% compromise so we want to go further in this matter. 3rd party studios are too expensive, as we would need many months to record this massive project, so our own studio would be the best to save money and time, AND make the fans happier to release Wintersun albums more frequently in the future for sure.

Can’t wait to listen to your new material…What would you wish to all your fans and to our readers?

Thanks so much for your support! Please have a look at our Indiegogo campagn that starts March 1st and there you will be able to get THE FOREST PACKAGE that includes several great Wintersun items as well as The Forest Seasons album in its very best quality!

Looking forward to hearing from you and the band soon, as well as looking forward to listening to their new stuff! Have a great day!

Thanks, you too! 🙂