Tarja Kerrang!

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TARJA TURUNEN, former vocalist with Finnish epic metallers, Nightwish, is set to release her debut solo album, "My Winter Storm" on November 12. Recording the album in Ibiza, Ireland and Los Angeles with producer Daniel Presley (Faith No More, The Breeders), the album has been the culmination of three years of ideas since her dramatic ousting from her former band, when she was issued with an open letter outlining reasons for her dismissal shortly after their show at Helsinki's Hartwall Arena on October 21, 2005.

K! caught up with her while she took a break from filming the video for her first single "I Walk Alone", in Germany.

WHAT DOES THE NEW RECORD SOUND LIKE?
I had a very clear picture in my head of it in my head as long as 3 years ago, but it was very hard for me to convey it to the record company, the producer and the musicians. It's a combination of things- heavy metal guitars, and of course, my voice, which I'm using as much as I can in a classical way. I'm also making songs with very catchy melodies, and there's a lot of inspiration drawn from film soundtracks. In LA, we worked at Remote Control Studios, which is owned by Hans Zimmer. I'm a big fan of cinema, and love how the music in films sounds so huge! I wanted to know what it is that these film guys are doing that makes it sound so big, even if it's just a cello and one voice. I had the idea to create that sound in 3 or 4 minute songs for my solo album.

DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS IS A BETTER MUSICAL EXPRESSION OF WHO YOU ARE THAN WHAT YOU'VE DONE PREVIOUSLY?
Yeah, when I'm singing, I'm very much into the moods and feelings behind what I'm doing. Now that I can use the whole range of my voice it feels very nice. I have never sung so low as I did on one of the songs on this record, and there's a song on which I sang my highest notes ever! I really have used a huge range on this album- around 3 octaves- because the moods are changing in every song, and this reflects that.

AND YOU RECORDED THE ALBUM IN SEVERAL PLACES, DIDN'T YOU?
Yeah, I collaborated with Thorsten Stenzel- who comes from a dance music background- after he sent me some songs at the beginning. He lives in Ibiza, and we went and recorded some of the vocals there. You should have seen the scenery I saw when I was standing there recording my vocals! We rented a house, and I put up a studio in the living room and watched the sea when I was singing. It was so beautiful, unbelievable and really inspiring. And as I said, we recorded some stuff in LA, and the bass, guitar and drums were recorded in Ireland.

WHAT KIND OF AREAS ARE YOU GOING INTO LYRICALLY?
Well, you can't call this a concept album but there are songs that are tied up with a certain story and I am the storyteller in them. I'm painting a picture for the listeners like in a movie- which is partly why we integrated the film music feel. I think each song is like a little movie, it's wonderful. Every aspect of the album is tied together, like the artwork, the video for the first single, and also the photosessions for the record. Everything is connected together in a movie kind of way.

WITH THE NIGHTWISH SPLIT BEING REALLY PUBLIC, HOW DO YOU FEEL LOOKING BACK ON YOUR TIME WITH THEM NOW?
Great! I have to say that I'm really proud of everything, I have no regrets. I grew up as a woman in that band for almost 9 years and also I found myself as a singer in that time. It was a struggle for several years, learning how to use my classical voice in a heavy metal band. But I feel really great that I got to do everything I did with them and I got to learn so many things and be a part of making beautiful music. I really do love the music of Nightwish.

DO YOU FIND IT STRANGE NOW THAT THEY HAVE A NEW RECORD OUT AND YOU'RE NOT ON IT?
No, I'm really OK with that. I was in Finland and I heard a new song on the radio from Nightwish and thought it was really good. I wish them all the best for the future, I really do!

TARJA'S NEW ALBUM IS OUT ON NOVEMBER 12 THROUGH SPINEFARM. FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]