RAIN DIARY interview (1/2)

Rain Diary released their first album “The Lights Are Violent Here” in 2013. The Finnish band themselves describe their music as “Winter Wave”. We talk to Joonas and Joni about this and their third album “Night Church”.

Orkus: Joonas, “Night Church” is the first album in which you were fully involved. How did you find working on it, and what was particularly challenging?
Joonas Verho: It took us a while to find our own sound, and especially to find a balance in how we develop ideas and collaborate with Joni, with whom we produce and record the vocals. Also, Rain Diary is a bit more melodic and poppy than the previous bands I’ve played in.

O: The album starts with the title track “Night Church”. Why does it best represent the album?
Joni Bitter: “Night Church” was the working title for the third album right from the start. For us, the concept of “Night Church” stands for everything that happens outside the “normal nine to five”. It’s a safe place where everyone can be who they want to be.

O: “Night Church” is the “home of broken souls”. In a way, is that also the purpose of Rain Diary – to give broken souls a home? Something they can hold on to?
JB: Yes, I like the way you put it! Music is like therapy for us, and I’ve always hoped that we can transfer this calming and caring effect to our listeners – the feeling that you’re not alone with your worries and pain.

O: What do you hold on to when you’re not feeling well?
JV: Whenever I’m feeling a bit down, I turn to the power of music and physical activity. The best way is to burn myself out running in nature while listening to rock’n’roll. After a few kilometers, it always makes me either smile or cry – but in a cleansing way. Crying because of the effort of running and smiling because of the music.

O: You also shot an impressive video for “Dark Flowers”. What were the particular challenges during filming?
JB: We are a relatively small band, so budget is always our biggest problem, i.e. visions fall short of reality. In “Dark Flowers” we wanted to create “epic” game scenes to match the footage we shot in monumental Tallinn, so we decided to give AI a try. Our video editor Jani did a stunning job, crafting the last 30 seconds of the video to blend the real and the artificial into one cohesive work of art.

Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg

We will continue our interview soon. You can also find out more in our May/June issue:

Line-up:
Joonas Verho – vocals
Tytti Toppari-Pellikainen – keyboard, vocals
Teemu Rantanen – guitar
Joni Bitter – bass, guitar, programming
Lauri Kujasalo – drums

Listen to Rain Diary in our “Current Issue” playlist on Spotify: