Interview with Blind Channel

«Finnish darkness is already in our DNA»

Blind Channel is a Finnish rock band, formed in 2013 in the city of Oulu, better known to the public as a participant in Eurovision 2021 from Finland. The musicians themselves call their direction in creativity "Violent Pop". Since their existence, Blind Channel has released four full-length albums and is currently preparing another gift for their fans in the form of another fresh record. On September 27, 2023, the band announced a European tour called "EXIT EMOTIONS", timed to coincide with the release of the album of the same name. It will take place in the spring of 2024. German metal singer GH0STKID and Finnish rock band Rock Band From Hell are announced as special guests. Niko and Joel kindly took the time to answer our questions about the new record, interaction with haters, and the long Finnish cold night. 

Hi guys! So, do you have a lot of interviews today? 

Joel: Yeah, we have a couple of interviews today. But this is the first actually. 

So you have had a lot of interviews already. What is the most annoying question from journalists? 

Joel: Yeah, it depends a lot (laughing)! I guess every time they ask about ESC. Its kind of annoying for us because it's so long in the history that we don't want to talk about it anymore. 

You guys look like such fun, positive guys. Are there times when people don't take you seriously enough? Do you ever feel like you're being underestimated? 

Niko: People underestimated us a lot. Because of what and how we do in our work. I think they underestimated us a lot in the past, but things are better now. 

What is the biggest and most important message in your songs and art? 

Joel: I guess in general, we are kind of a band that sings his songs for outsiders and people who feel bad. For those who are feeling lonely or suffering. We wouldn't want to get involved in any political things or stuff like that. We'd like to be more a part of some personal experience, if you know what I mean. 

Niko: We like to view our art more from our personal perspective and our personal experience. And what's amazing is that the more of our personal experiences we put into the songs, the more people they resonate with. 

Can you name five things you hate about today's music industry and why? 

Joel: I guess number one for me is that when you come to play a gig, everyone around you is filming everything going on with their phones. It feels like they're not in the real moment; it's more like an episode of "Black Mirror". It's like no one else is living in the present moment anymore. It's like everyone around is trying to get more likes or attention on TikTok. It's like iPhones have taken over the world. 

Niko: Sometimes it shocks me that people forget that the musicians are here to give a good show this evening, to give people music. They expect something more or something else. People sometimes just forget that we are also just people who just make music and good shows. Sometimes, it's frustrating. 

What helps you make album after album and avoid self-copying and repeating your previous work? 

Joel: Hmm, so it's a hard one question...I think with each album we make, we evolve and get better as musicians, as writers, and as artists in general. On our last album we did pretty much all the work ourselves. Just the band in the studio. And then we just had new members in the band, and we used that chemistry. On the new album, we wanted to be a little different and be better, so we brought in producers from Germany, Berlin and from England. We still want to evolve further, and we like to work with different producers and songwriters to make each of our next albums, if not the best, at least different from the others.

In today's world, musicians get a lot of hate in comments on social media. How do you deal with the haters? 

Joel: I think our band has been through a lot of shit since the previous albums and since Eurovision, and our skin is really thick now, and we don't worry about who's going to say what anymore. Of course, I don't like to hear shit about myself in my home country, but like I said, our skin just got thicker with time. Unless it's something personal or family-related, I just don't pay attention to it. I alsao try to avoid social media as much as possible. 

Niko: I think everything we do—our music, our art is really honest stuff created from the flames of our hearts. So if you have hate, fine, bring it here, and we'll burn it. 

Nowadays, many people feel depressed because the world has become very dangerous and complicated. What keeps you feeling alive? 

Joel: Our shows help keep us going. There are lots of live shows. That's the reason we do the tour. It's a chance to get together with people. If you look at it from our point of view, we're just simple artists, and there aren't many things we can do in this terrible situation for the world. But what we can do is create these little good moments. like moments of happiness or helping people feel like they're still alive. When people come to Blind Channel live shows, those are moments where it's just us and our audience, and we can live those moments together and forget about all the shit that's going on around us for a while. And I think that's what our job is.

Finland is often thought of as a very dark place. Has it influenced your music in any way? 

Joel: Of course, it is absolutely impossible to ignore Finland's influence on music. We were born in this Arctic darkness, where there is no sun, it is dark and cold, and you need to survive every day, be warm, and not despair. Of course, it affects you a lot. I think that metal music is very natural for you if you were born in a place like Finland. Metal music is like the soundtrack to the life we have here in the north.

Niko: I think that Finnish darkness is already in our DNA. On our upcoming album, there is a song called "Wolves of California". This is a song about our experience in the USA. Of course, there is a lot of hype around Finland around the world, and sometimes it is very funny. 

Joel: The song has one of my favorite lines in the whole album "We are from where sun don't rises at all" and I think it perfectly shows the whole mood of the album.

But Finland is such a beautiful country!

Joel: Sometimes. 

Niko: Sometimes. I mean, it's very clean, and there's a lot of fresh air. But sometimes it's so cold here that you just can't go outside. These are simply too cold for humans.

Do comparisons to other musicians and bands offend you? 

Joel: I think it depends on many factors. Like when people compare us to Linkin Park. It seems like our work is based on old albums like "Meteora".  We certainly never wanted to be just another copy of them. We like to do similar things, but in our own time. They once made a big breakthrough for the alternative scene and music, and now we want to do the same in our era. So all these comparisons don’t really trigger me.

Niko: Yes, Linkin Park is cool. I also think one of the coolest comparisons was when we were compared to the Backstreet Boys of the metal scene. Now this is our feature. I think that they wanted to insult us in this way, but we liked this idea so much that we did not take it as an insult. Fuck e! Backstreet Boys are cool. And we are cool too!

I think you should make some kind of new merch with this phrase.

Niko: Yes, we think we should get some of these t-shirts.

What moment in your past would you like to return to? 

Joel: I think there are quite a lot of such moments. One of those moments, which would be cool to go back to when we just started, was the first year of our band. The first festivals, Wacken Openair in Germany in 2014, or our shows when they were not so big yet and live it all again like the first time.

Niko: Yes, I think Wacken would be my main choice.

I have one question that I ask different musicians from time to time. What seven things would make the world a better place, in your opinion? 

Joel: Perhaps I would say the era before iPhones, when there were only regular phones from which you could only make calls or send messages. We should go back to a time when the Internet was just a place for emails and random websites. Now it all seems like a different reality. We could go back to a world where music videos were on TV, people waited for them, and people were less glued to their phones. Here are my two points. You can name three more.

Niko: I think that it would be cool to go back to the early 2000s. Also, if we had a magic button, we would like to remove all weapons from the world so that people would be more polite to each other and try to understand each other. I feel like things are out of control now, and it's kind of depressing. I think things would be better if we went back to the old days or if we just didn't understand things enough when we were kids.

What unusual guests and collaborations can we expect on the new album? And how did you choose the musicians with whom to collaborate?

Joel: We just released a new single called "Die Another Day" with a great artist from England called R0RY. I think that in our case, cooperation occurs naturally. You know, a lot of times when you have a plan for the perfect song for the perfect artist, it never works. Very often, some circumstances or management stand between great collaborations. So we prefer to keep things natural and not plan too much in advance. Also on the upcoming album, there is a cool song "XOXO" with band From Ashes To New, which, I think, is very close to our sound, but they were able to give this song some American vibe, which sounds super cool.

And a word or two for our readers and music fans...

Thank you very much for your support and for listening to our albums. Don't forget to check if there are any cities you know near you on our tour schedule, and don't forget to buy your tickets. We look forward to living these moments and sharing our experiences with you this spring. Stay safe!

Jenet Bonishi