Mercury Circle - Interview

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Published on Saturday, 25 December 2021 16:15

The Finnish supergroup Mercury Circle brought some fresh chill among the fans of atmospheric and melancholic dark rock with their, in October via Noble Demon, released debut full-length, Killing Moons (you can read the review over HERE). Following their critically acclaimed, The Dawn Of Vitriol EP, released in 2020, they offer an even more subtle and captivating offering that will surely launch this band highly enough. I guess that you already know what kind of big calibre musicians we have here in Mercury Circle. The band was formed by Jaani Peuhu (Swallow The Sun, Iconcrash) in 2018, and is featuring renowned musicians like Jussi Hämäläinen (Hanging Garden, The Chant), Juppe Sutela (To/Die/For), Ande Kiiski (Sleep Of Monsters, Rytmihäiriö) and Jaska Raatikainen (Children Of Bodom). Mercury Circle on Killing Moons offers ten enthralling tracks, which differ wildly in expression, and sonic aesthetics. The music is a deeply powerful and majestic experience - representing a genre of its own - "new doom" - and one that will take the listener on an all-absorbing trip into yet unimaginable spheres. Mercury Circle's version of dark rock is a diverse one. It's infused with electrifying synth wave and slow, epic doom, but it doesn't sound artificial at all. I talked with the bands' mastermind Jaani Peuhu (vocals, guitars, synth) and bassist Ande Kiiski about many things regarding this "newcomer" to the scene. One thing is sure, we can expect a lot from this band, and if you haven't discovered them yet, now you have your chance.

Interview with: Jaani Peuhu and Ande Kiiski
Conducted by: Tomaz
Edited by: Jerneja and Tomaz

Tomaz: Hi Jaani and Ande! Let's begin this interview with an explanation of how it came to the formation of the Mercury Circle. I guess that it started as a solo project of you, Jaani? So, how did everything start, and how was the current formation, which can easily be considered as a supergroup, formed?
Jaani: Well, it was a kind of an accident, actually the beginning of this band was an accident. I wasn't planning to start a new band, I just started writing new music, and then I realized that this isn't something that I could release with Iconcrash or as a solo thing. I realized that I need to put a new band together, and then I started thinking about people that I like and admire as musicians, and these are the guys. Ande is a good friend of mine, and he's an amazing bass player. I already thought a couple of years ago that if I start a new band, then he would be the guy that I want to have in it. With our guitar player Juppe we had a band together around 25 years ago, it was called Mary-Ann, and that band later became To/Die/For. We've been good friends since then. Jussi and his band Hanging Garden were touring in Finland together with Swallow The Sun, we became friends there, and I asked him if he would like to join the band, and he did. We have Jaska on drums, who is an amazing drummer. You know, Children Of Bodom quitted, and I thought that maybe I should ask him because he might have some time. We also did a tour together with Swallow The Sun and Children Of Bodom in North America. I saw him on the stage more than 40 times, and he was amazing every time. So, yeah, I asked him, and he said, "fine". And now we have a band!

Tomaz: Sure, it's a fantastic yet professional line-up, what's heard in the music. I'm curious about the band's name Mercury Circle. What does it mean?
Jaani: I'll give you an honest answer and not some bullshit story, haha... The name is really boring - it's a combination of two words that I really like.
Ande: It's kind of difficult to come up with a band name now because all the good names are already used. But you know, this sounded cool, and I think it works very well for us.
Jaani: The "Mercury" word is actually a word from me because I wrote a song about my grandfather after he passed away. The song was called "Love Like Mercury". It is from where the first word comes. "Circle" comes from one of my favourite bands, there's a Finnish band called Circle, and it sounds really cool. Yeah, that's it, and maybe in the next interview, I could give you a different story, haha, but this is the boring truth.

Tomaz: Your debut album, Killing Moons, was recently released, and it's a fantastic one. It has versatile songs and got amazing reviews. How do you feel about it?
Ande: I'm very happy that the album was finally released because there were a lot of delays due to the Covid-19 situation. I'm really excited about it and happy that people can finally hear it. I hope that we will be able to play some shows to promote it further.
Jaani: Yeah, we were finished with the album already in November or December last year. In the meantime, we have already started working on our second album. We are at the same time rehearsing the live set and re-visiting the songs again after the recordings. It's interesting to see what feedback we are getting for the album. It is what it is, a special mixture of many different genres.

Tomaz: In a way, you've already got very good feedback to your debut EP, The Dawn Of Vitriol, so you knew that you are on the right way, right?
Ande: I was happy with the EP, it was a good start for the band, but the full-length has much more variety in the songs. Nevertheless, I still like the EP a lot. Some people said to like the EP even more because it's more melancholic.
Jaani: The EP is perfect as it is. It represents what we were during that time. We were a different band if compared to now, and the next album will be again different to this one.

Tomaz: You've said that you had over 20 songs ready and that most of them didn't make it into the album. Will you use those songs for the next album?
Jaani: I don't think so.
Ande: Jaani is writing a lot of music, all the time, so new songs are coming almost every day. We have a lot of stuff to choose from.
Jaani: And I feel pity for the guys because I'm sending to them quite a few songs every week. We have so much material, and it'll be difficult to come up with the right combination for the next album.

Tomaz: What were the criteria of which songs will be on the album?
Ande: I don't know - I guess it's a gut feeling which songs work well enough together. The album, as already said, has a lot of different kinds of songs. It's a good combination and well thought out set of songs. How they came together is some sort of a feeling, which songs are perfect for the album.
Jaani: You can't just decide which songs are the best. You need to select the songs that are good for this purpose, and this is how it will be with the next album as well. When we came up with the Killing Moons concept, it helped us to pick up the songs that work well with that concept. The same will be with the next one, even though we don't know yet what kind of an album will be, since we are in the writing process right now.

Tomaz: You guys are all very experienced in this matter so there's no fear that you won't figure out the best possible concept. Now a question about your record label, Noble Demon. How did you come in contact with them? I expected - regarding the band being formed by established musicians - bigger labels would have some interest to sign with Mercury Circle.
Jaani: Yes, but still, we are at the beginning of our journey, and we wanted to find a label that believes in us and will give us the total artistic freedom to do what we want. That's what Noble Demon gave us! It doesn't really matter who plays in a band, you know, the world is full of really crappy super-groups. Ok, you might have a bigger chance for wider exposure if you have some famous guys in your band, but after that, it doesn't really matter. You have to have good songs, no matter who plays them.

Tomaz: Yes, of course. About your musical style... It's hard to define, but you named it "new doom", and I wonder how you came up with such a description?
Ande: In the beginning, it was maybe a bit more doom oriented, but we didn't call it metal. So, "new doom" is kind of a thing that fits. Of course, that people think of metal when they hear the term, but in a way, it's just a mystical label for our music. We don't see it as related to doom metal; it's just new doom.
Jaani: We have influences from doom metal, but we also have influences from new wave, gothic rock, electronic music, and so on. It's really difficult to find a proper description for our music. It has been difficult for us, and it has been difficult for everybody. How would you call our music?

Tomaz: Ha, it is difficult indeed. There's a lot of goth, electronic, melancholic and atmospheric stuff. I don't know, maybe something like dark atmospheric electro-rock?
Jaani: Yeah, you see, it's so difficult. And the future albums will go into unknown places too. This "new doom" thing gives us the freedom to do whatever we want. In the beginning, there was the idea to do more real doom metal stuff, but these days we don't do much of that. The doom metal genre certainly influenced our first album, though it doesn't sound like one of the doom metal albums at all.

Tomaz: I was impressed by those epic songs of yours like it's for example "The Gates Wide Open", "You Open Up The Earth", "Death Poem", "Killing Moons", and some others, all beautiful. They come mixed with some groovier ones, "Black Mirrors" or "Like Matches", to form a very dynamic album. Like you've mentioned, the influences must be very versatile, so I'm interested in what kind of music do you guys listen to in your free time?
Jaani: Well, that's a difficult one. We all have our favourite bands. But for me, very important influence comes from The Sisters Of Mercy, Depeche Mode, New Order, Björk, Massive Attack, Type O Negative,...
Ande: Of course, that one you can probably hear from the music.
Jaani: And the old The Gathering, as well a big influence to me.
Ande: Yeah, as Jaani said, we all have our favourites, we have a different taste in music, and we also have a wide opus of music we listen to.

Tomaz: Mentioning The Gathering - I actually find some guitar lines of yours quite similar to those on the album How To Measure A Planet...
Jaani: Well, yes, you're correct. That album is a very important one.
Ande: Absolutely, I listen to that album still to this day. Their next one, If Then Else, is also one of my favourites.
Jaani: And they have that kind of a spacey atmosphere on that album.

Tomaz: Now about the lyrics. It seems that they are very important to you. Where do you get the inspiration, and what's the meaning behind them?
Jaani: All of the lyrics that are there are all true. I can't write fiction. I'm stealing stories, mainly from my life, but if my friends are going through some difficult times, I could write a song about that. They are all true. I try to write them in a way they have two or three different levels. I don't say the things straight - so you can come up with your own idea, your own world around the song. The same thing as we want to do with the band also. We try to boost people's imagination. I don't want to go fully into stories; I don't want, for example, to tell you about my life because it doesn't really matter. I want you that when you listen to the songs, you think about your own life. Yet there could be names of real people behind every one of them since they are all based on real-life events.

Tomaz: The videos you've done so far are somehow meaningful also. I was very much impressed by the video for "New Dawn" - a song from your debut EP, and by all others also. So, how do you approach the making of a video? How does the screenplay comes up, acting, and all the other stuff? How much do you try to keep it connected with the lyrics?
Jaani: I think that the video for "New Dawn" is a really weird one in a way because nothing is really happening, and at the same time, there's a lot. That's the story behind the song. It's a sad one. Of course, different songs have different stories. With newer videos like it's "You Open Up The Earth" and "Black Mirrors", there is this helmet, maybe you've noticed it, and when you put this helmet on, you can escape from this reality into the other world that you've created. That's the way we want to give the gateway to a runaway place, to your own hide-away somewhere else. That's also how our music should work, like when listening to our music, you can go to some other world or place.

Tomaz: This is also connected with the front cover artwork of Killing Moons album...
Jaani: Yes, you are right. There's this boy who - when he wears the helmet - can travel into space. In the "Black Mirrors" video, there's this woman who puts on the helmet and what you see in the video that's her fantasy, the place where she wants to go.

Tomaz: I was impressed by both cover artworks - for the EP and the album. Who did them?
Jaani: They were created by two great graphic designers. The guy in the main cover artwork for the album was drawn by Jorma Korhonen, the singer of the Finnish band Sara. He's also an amazing painter, and then the rest of the cover was done by the other artist. It's not that urban.
Ande: Yeah, but the cover for the EP was urban - done by Kalle Pyyhtinen. During that time - the beginning of the covid time - I got into collage art. I needed to do something else besides music, and that's why this came out. I've shown some sketches to Kalle, and he created this cover out of those.

Tomaz: I didn't find any information on the female back vocalists in the promotional info...
Ande: There are different persons.
Jaani: In "Like Matches" sings Cammie Gilbert from the Oceans Of Slumber, and she's amazing. Other singers are Sarah, who I write a lot of lyrics for, and Gogo Melone from Aeonian Sorrow, who on this album usually does more ethnic/world music vocals. There's also the amazing Finnish singer Helena.

Tomaz: In October, you've had your first live show. Are the things with concerts now ok in Finland, due to Covid-19 restrictions everywhere?
Ande: It's a little bit better, but they are not back to normal. You can actually have some shows, but the audience is still very limited. At least we can do a show which is a great thing. We have been practising a lot lately for that. Our first show was just one day before the album came out.

Tomaz: What can the audience expect from your live shows? Anything special?
Ande: Well, it's a high energy show...
Jaani: With a lot of male strippers, haha... The audience can expect a pretty visual show. We want to create a real show, not just playing rock'n'roll, but we want it to be experienced in fullness when you come to see our game.

Tomaz: Do you have any plans for a full tour in Europe or anywhere else?
Ande: We have big hopes for that at some point, but this Covid situation is ongoing in many areas, and it's difficult to make any plans at the moment. We will see what's going to happen, and as soon as it's possible, we will do one for sure.
Jaani: Probably we will play at some festivals in central Europe next summer, but it's really difficult to book any gigs. Nevertheless, we have booked our first Finnish tour, and we hope that it won't be cancelled. You know, when the clubs will open to normal again, everybody will be touring. It will be filled with bands, and it's a tricky situation. Of course, we want to tour as much as possible because we are really hungry for it.

Tomaz: You Jaani are since 2018 also a member of Swallow The Sun, who have a new album recently released...
Jaani: Yeah, I just played my last gig with them, and I won't be touring with them, at least for this new album. I'm still singing on the new album, but officially I'm not a member of Swallow The Sun anymore. For me, it is impossible because Swallow The Sun tour so much, and I need to focus more on Mercury Circle. The guys of Swallow The Sun understood me, and they are very supportive of my new band, and hopefully, we can play together later on again.

Tomaz: I found out that you are also a member of Hallatar. I saw this information in the promo material of yours and nowhere else. Is this true?
Jaani: Yes, it's true, I'm a member, and I play bass for them. I also produced and mixed their album.

Tomaz: And what about your other bands, Ande, Sleep Of Monsters and Rytmihäiriö? Anything new in the making?
Ande: With Sleep Of Monsters we have made our third record and are now looking for a label to release it, and also for some shows after that. Rytmihäiriö is working on some new songs as well, just like everybody in these Covid times.

Tomaz: Mercury Circle has in the line-up one of the best metal drummers, Jaska Raatikainen of Children Of Bodom. How it's working with such a musician worldwide recognized as one of the best?
Jaani: He is decent, haha...
Ande: It's great to work with him; he's pretty amazing.

Tomaz: You mentioned before that you are already working on your next album. Is it too soon to ask when we can expect it?
Ande: I guess it depends on whether we get any tours or shows. I don't know; time will tell.
Jaani: We worked so hard on our debut album Killing Moons, so we want to tour as much as possible with it, and only then we will hit the studio. In reality, we don't have any plans or schedules for when it should be released. We are enjoying the writing process of the new material, and to be honest, I want to do the second album as soon as possible. We want to have a moment of going, and we want to be ready when we go into the studio to record it. We want to put on it as much music as we can because we have so much material. Also, our guitar player Jussi has lately been sending me a lot of songs. I get some ideas from Ande, Juppe and Jaska, as well. You know, Mercury Circle is a real band; it has become what I hoped it would happen, all of us writing more music together.

Tomaz: Tell me, which is your favourite song on Killing Moons?
Ande: Ah, that's a tough one. It depends on the day. I like them all, and I can't expose one as my favourite, but I like very much "You Open Up The Earth" for example.
Jaani: For me, it's maybe "Killing Moons". It's a very personal song about my father's battle with Alzheimer disease. It's a special one.

Tomaz: Thank you very much for taking your time, and what would you like to say to your fans and our readers at the end?
Ande: Check out the album we just released, and come to see us play live whenever it's possible. Stay safe.
Jaani: Thank you for the interview. Love yourself and stay well.

Mercury Circle links: Official website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp, Noble Demon

Mercury Circle line-up:
Jaani Peuhu - vocals, guitars, synths (Iconcrash, Swallow The Sun, Hallatar)
Jussi Hämäläinen - guitars, synths, backing vocals (Hanging Garden, The Chant)
Juppe Sutela - guitars (To/Die/For)
Ande Kiiski - bass (Sleep Of Monsters, Rytmihäiriö)
Jaska Raatikainen - drums (ex-Children Of Bodom)

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