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.deThanks to Pekka Rahkonen with whom I have regular mail correspondation ever since I had the opportunity to interview Kärtsy Hatakka. This was in the early days of Planet Waltari, shortly after the site has been launched. This was a really great start for the site.
All the questions have been send with email to Pekka who forwarded them to Kärtsy.
Althoug the interview is 6 years old by now, it is still up to date in some points and also gives answers to some FAQs.
Timo - 2005
On my homepage I've got a web poll asking who is the best Finnish Metal band. The majority of people who voted voted for Waltari. What do you think of it?
I`m very happy to hear it, and I totally agree! Except that you can leave the word metal out, we just have metal influences, that`s all! Greetings to everybody who gave their vote for us!
Are you satisfied with the success of Waltari or would you like to be more successful?
I would like to be the most successful person in this universe.
In Finland Bands like Children of Bodom or Nightwish enter high positions even in the Top 10 Single Charts. Do you think the majorities' attitude towards hard (or lets say "extreme" in some way) music changed?
In Finland music sung in English has become more and more popular in every way during last few years, and sure especially metal scene here has always been huge compared to the size of the population.
You did not play much gigs in Germany during the last years as you did some years before und you don't play much festivals over here - I think the last one was Wacken Open Air 1997 Are there any special reasons why?
To be honest we´ve had some difficulties in finding a decent and active
booking agency for us in Central Europe during these last years. Waltari as
a band is always willing to play live, in fact we love it, we love to play
for real people.
What Waltari album do you rate best?
Decade.
Why did you never release your often praised cover of "No Limit" on an album?
It just wasn´t recorded during the Big Bang sessions, at that time we put twenty songs of our own on tape, enough for one album... and later we just didn´t have interest to do it anymore.
What can we expect of the forthcoming album? Will the songs be like the new ones on "Decade"?
Yo, a little bit like that, but the soundworld is softer and more poppy, this time we really wanted to do an "easy record" to listen to. Songs are very very melodic!
Will there be any guest appearances like on "Space Avenue"?
Sure, a female discosinger from Stockholm, another girl playd Indian kind of bamboo flute, third girl sang some more, yes, this is an album with a lot of beauty in it. If you like only the hardest side of W you won`t like this. But I have to add that at the same time with this project we have been creating our heaviest and strangest work ever, a new Death Metal Symphony. So, the new album has nothing to do with the stupid and meaningless cliché, that you start to lose tempo when you "grow up". It´s just a fact that we are a band with many faces, like David Bowie, or whoever who wants to play... let me say, different songs.
Why don't you record songs in Finnish language any more?
In fact we still do. On Decade album I sing more Finnish than ever before in a cool song called "Junglerats" and on the new album we also have Finnish influences in a song called "Pajala".
Do you plan to release the new symphony on CD/LP?
Yes.
With "Space Avenue" you recorded an album that differentiates much from the others. What reasons did you have for that new style? And will you record an album like "Space Avenue" again?
We want to be a modern rock band, not any retro shit. I want to see rock music as Music Of The Future, not as boring stuff I´ve heard thousands times
>from my father´s record collection! I really do hope we´ll have a chance to go on with our style forever. I´ve heard it has gone over some people´s heads; sure went Sergeant Pepper as well over my father´s head, or Sex Pistols.
On the "Die-Krupps-Remix-Compilaition" you did something more like a cover version of "Dawning of Doom" with finnish vocals - What is the idea behind it and how did you work with the original Krupps-Material??
There was no idea. Only a good joint and the Krrrrupppps tapes.
How much did DanceRock- or TechnoMetal-acts like Think about Mutation or Prodigy influence you? (Some people say "Feel!" from Big Bang is nearly a copy of TAM's "Housebastards")
I like them both very much!!! About Feel, maybe this particular guitar riffis pretty standard techno riff, er? At least I have heard it by 2 Unlimited and the others maybe 10 times.
Do you have contact to other Finnish bands? If yes to which?
All of them, today I was supposed to meet Eicca from Apocalyptica, but our timetables didn´t fit, last weekend I was hanging around with Koippari from Amorphis and Ville from HIM at Tavastia Club where Amorfishes played. Last Friday I also met Tarja, the singer of Nightwish... in Finland we are all
more or less the same people.
I have heard Waltari also have several side projects like "Cat and mouse" and "Alaska Evil". Can you tell a bit about them?
Therapy projects!
Why did Sami leave the band? How was the acceptance of Roope by the fans?
Sami moved to Germany, too far from our rehearsal room. Roope is a guitarhero amongst the metalheads, he is one of the most famous and best guitarists in Finland ever.
How is your relationship and contact to the former Members Sale and Sami?
Sami was here in Helsinki a few weeks ago, we always meet when we are in a same (i!?) town, Sale has been sharing the same rehearsal room with us with Am I Blood.
Which other finnish Bands do you personally like?
A lot of them, almost all of them have very professional skills in what they are doing. HIM I like a lot.
Thank you very much, for this Interview.
