Q+A / Story (1/2): TARJA: “I wasn’t sure where I belonged…”
Tarja celebrates her 15th solo anniversary with the compilation “Living the Dream”. 15 years ago Tarja saw herself after leaving Nightwish at a crossroads: “I didn’t know which direction to take. I was pushed and tested from many sides, but I focused on doing things my way. At the time, I dreamed of having a career and wanted to be happy with my music. It was a dream, but it came true. That’s incredible.” The pieces were selected by her personally. Tarja explains: “The songs on the main album are mostly single releases and versions that have not been released that often in the past. But the songs on the second album are my favorites. They are more artistic and show a broad perspective of who I am as an artist.”
Between the worlds?
Previously unreleased was the track “Eye of the Storm”, whose tango-like verses immediately stand out. In fact, it was already created during the work for their third album “Colours in the Dark” in 2010 on the island of Antigua. “At the time, I was searching for my place in this world and had a constant ‘turmoil’ inside me,” Tarja recalls, continuing, “I wasn’t sure where I belonged, so I took inspiration from the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola. In the song, there is a kind of struggle between the two countries that are very important in my life: Finland and Argentina. That is also the reason why the influence of the tango was added. The tango is as important to Argentines as it is to Finns.”
In the next part we talk to Tarja about the cornerstone of her career, soulful music and the constant look ahead.
(Interview: Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg)
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