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Translation: Manxita

Maybe the most national of the international concerts and with the question if the singer could surpass the amount of people her former band brought in, Tarja put on a show at Luna Park in which, like in a theatric play, everything seemed to be planned, even the spontaneous things. After the performance of the local band Watchmen, the penultimate show (and second in our country) of the “What Lies Beneath tour in America, had a punctual and warm start at 9 pm with “Dark Star”, in front of an ocean of cameras which filled the venue. Slowly and with some songs from her previous work in between, the finn started to find her way between her winks at the audience and her rustic (but no less effective) encouragement to the audience. The much sung chorus of “I walk alone”, followed by “Falling awake” (one of my favourite songs to play live, she said) finally gave her the effect she wanted in the audience.

One of the first surprises came with “Signos”, the Soda Stereo cover, taking by surprise many people in the audience. Tarja dedicated the song to Gustavo Cerati (singer and composer in Soda Stereo), who has remained in a coma for the past 9 months. “I hope he will get better soon” she said in Spanish, “For Gustavo…sing with me”. But even those who knew the lyrics had a hard time getting into the mood proposed by the diva. However, after a quarter of a show has passed, ypu can see that Tarja convinced us, and has also convinced herself, that she is the one who carries the show, and that names like Doug Wimbish and his infinite pedal effects, or Mike Terrana (the most applauded bandmember and maybe the only excuse to take your eyes away from Tarja is watching the drumer play with his agressive style), are not enough to upstage her. The same should be acknowledged to Julian Barret, the other argentinean on stage, who demonstrated at all times that he is up to the challenge of playing with such stars. The timely (and very celebrated) solo by Terrana followed by the much awaited first Nightwish cover Stargazers, would squeeze the people into the fences once more before the acustic interlude with Higher hopes, We are, Minor Heaven (with Tarja on the piano) and Archive of lost dreams.

It is worth mentioning the impecable sound of the band, even in a place like Luna Park where the acoustics seem more a result of chance than the ability of the sound technicians. “Are you asleep already? Mmmm some of you are sleeping here…”, joked Tarja in Spanish, without giving people time to answer, waking up the audience with Ciaran’s well and In for a kill. The covers would again have people jumping, and the first encore would be a trip to the 80′s. Tarja danced with a smile from one side of the stage to the other with a perfectly connected potpurri of Where were you last night (a cover by Ankie Bagger, recorded in a Nightwish single), Heaven is a place on earth and Living on a prayer. She didn’t have to be asked much before singing the first lines from Wishmaster, dressed in the argentinean soccer team t-shirt (with the number 10 and her name on the back) and unleashing a real hell that climbed from the standing rows all the way to the sitting rows. At this point, one can’t stop wondering if she will ever exclude that Nightwish classic from her setlist, without her fans blaming her for not playing it.
But watching Tarja being very emotional and repeating “It’s a dream”, after almost 2 hours of show, I can only ask myself again “What for?”.

Review by Juan Pablo Diaz
Photos by Jorge Noro

Scans: http://galeria.tarjargentina.com/v/scans/prensaar/sanlorenzo/

Translation: Manxita

“Crow” by adoption

Tarja Turunen is famous all around the World because of her musical career, but in Boedo she is know for being a huge supporter of San Lorenzo. Owner of the most important voice in female heavy metal, this 33 year old finn married an Argentinean and inherited his passion for the “Ciclon”.

It is always very nice to read a story that connects some celebrity with San Lorenzo, but it’s even more curious when the person in question is not born in Argentina. That’s why, when we learned that Tarja Turunen, a famous finnish singer, kept in her heart a lot of love for the “Ciclon”, we didn’t doubt to try and get her story. Of course, it was not an easy task, and we followed her trail for several months while she was touring in Europe with her band, but we finally found her, in a short visit to Buenos Aires, at the beginning of September.
After exchanging several mails with her husband Marcelo Cabuli, we learnt that the woman (owner of a captivating voice) was attending the match with Velez, so we took the chance to meet her.
The difficulties continued, because it was a match with a huge attendance, and it became quite complicated to find her in the football stadium, but finally, thanks to her good disposition – and her husband’s – we could find her at her seat and we could make our hope of talking to her for a while come true.
She’s very low profile, in fact very few of the people surrounding her realised who she was, and after we did the interview (and as the second half was about to begin) some curious people had the courage to come close to her and ask for an autograph or a photo. About her personal appearence, it’s not in vain to say that she’s striking, with her big green eyes and her porcelain white skin which soon tell of her finnish origins, however, the San Lorenzo sweatshirt she was wearing with such elegance helped her blend into the crowd perfectly and she ended up looking like just another “crow”.
During the interview, she was very keen to answer our questions and very kind in the way she related to the other supporters. Besides, she never stopped being surprised by the enthusiasm of the people during the match. “This is something that only happens in Argentina” she said in a low voice. During the interview she ended up revealing her passion for blue and red.

-How was your passion for San Lorenzo born?

-It comes with the marriage (laughs). Well, in Finland we know little about football, it’s not as important as a game, besides it’s a colder country and football, being a very passionate sport, is very well known but it’s not a national sport. And I wasn’t such a big fan but when I met my husband I became a San Lorenzo supporter. I met him 10 years ago and since then I am a fan.

-And how is your usual relationship with the club?

- I have seen many matches here at the stadium and I am also a member of the club. The feeling is amazing. Football connects so many people, it’s wonderful. You can’t help but love football when you’re married to an Argentinean guy, because, obviously, it comes with the territory! (laughs)

-Are you surprised by how passionate football fans are here in Argentina?

-Yes, of course. For me that is the best! It’s incredible how people live football here, the feeling, it’s something that doesn’t happen in Finland, it’s something very nice to see, to feel, something very important something very similar to what might happen to someone with music.

-Exactly…Do you think there is a parallelism between music and football?

-There is here in Argentina, because people have a very particular way of living music concerts, the passion people have for music and for football is the same. It’s great to know and feel something which doesn’t happen anywhere else. It’s a great experience to be able to come to the stadium and experience that every chance you get.

Who is Tarja Turunen?

Tarja was born on August 17th 1977 in the town of Kitee, Finland. She began her musical studies at 6 years of age, when she began taking piano and flute lessons and later she started to sing. But it was when she turned 18 years old that she finally decided to dedicate herself to classical singing, enrolling at the Sibelius Academy of Kuopio City. There, she met Tuomas Holopainen, who was preparing a musical project at the time.
He asked her to join him in his plans, and she accepted. From this project, Nightwish was born and with it her prominent artistic career.

Her Career

For those who are not immersed in the rock world, we should explain that this singer began her career in 1996 as a member of the famous symphonic metal band Nightwish , with which she reached world fame. But in 2005, after several differences with the other members, Tarja walked away and began a successful solo career, which took her around the world bringing her music and her incomparable voice. That tour brought her to Buenos Aires in 2008 and 2009 with huge success. Nearly a month ago her third album called “What Lies Beneath” was released, and at the moment it is being presented at the Old Continent.

Please credit our website if you use the translation or the scans. Thank you!

Scans: http://galeria.tarjargentina.com/v/scans/prensaar/soyrock/

1st part (translated by Manxita)

Tarja Turunen
The Alchemist

She was born in Finland, she is a classical singer, her vocal range is soprano and to say that she is absolutely gorgeous is an understatement. She was the leader of Nightwish, a referent in the symphonic metal genre, until she was fired, she married an Argentinean and came to live to Buenos Aires to continue her solo career. Ar-gen-ti-na!

Sunday Afternoon, it’s sunny over Defensa street. San Telmo is boiling with tourists and sales people dying to sell someone an “antique” for a vile price. But the couple who speaks in English is strangely playing local. Him a bit more, because we’re in his city, but she’s not too far behind: her straight black hair falls free over a San Lorenzo T-shirt! The couple walks among the people as if she wasn’t an international heavy metal star since she put her soprano voice in front of Nightwish , over a decade ago. After the bad moment of her exit from the band, Tarja Turunen, or simply Tarja, moved, at her own insistence, to the Buenos Aires of her husband, the rock businessman Marcelo Cabuli. “I have been living here for 3 years and I love this city”, the singer starts. “A lot of Argentineans ask me how can I love Buenos Aires (laughs) but being here gives me a freedom that I do not longer have in Finland. In my country everybody knows me and here the situation is different. Yes, here everyday someone asks to take a picture with me, but that’s alright, it’s not all the time like in Finland. Here I can live my life, feel comfortable”. And in Spanish, she adds “I take the underground, I do my shopping, I do everything”.

-And your Spanish has improved a lot.

-Yes, but we’re not here all the time. In the last 5 years we were never in the same place for more than 3 weeks. That’s why I don’t improve more, although I understand everything and I can live my life here. But my husband doesn’t want to speak Spanish with me (laughs). We started in English and now it’s difficult to change. It could also be that he’s not so patient with me when I speak Spanish, but I want to learn.

-And for your new album, What Lies Beneath, you had the experience of working in an Argentinean studio, which must have had some peculiarity about it, right?

-Actually, the biggest difference in this album is that I recorded my vocal parts in my own living room. An anti-studio…I found a way to produce my parts with freedom without being in the studio. I just put up a microphone and a speaker at a very low volume and I sang freely. And the ambience sounds like a living room. Besides, having that possibility, I recorded about 5 takes a day at the most, I wasn’t trying everything all the time. I knew what I wanted, and if it didn’t work out, I left it for the following day. And now I listen to the recordings of my voice and it sounds very natural, which is what I wanted. Anyway, I had recorded voices previously, at “El Pie” which is a very nice and roomy place, and it’s the only kind of studio in which I feel comfortable. The album was mainly recorded in Finland: drums, bass and guitars. The orchestra and choir were recorded in Slovakia and the mix was made in 3 different places: London, Austin (Texas) and Los Angeles.

-Very international…

-Yes, that has to do with the fact that the sounds are very diverse. You can’t say that my album is heavy metal, it’s something different.

-For instance, Anteroom of death, the song that opens the album, is quite progressive. And it reminds me of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, because of the vocal arrangement.

-Thank you very much, because it was inspired by Bohemian Rhapsody. To me, it’s one of the best songs in history. The inspiration for “Anteroom…” came in a very natural way. I was listening to the beginning of the song one morning and I started thinking about adding some changes in the tempo and including an a capella German band, Van Canto.

-How did you know about this band?

-In a Metal Female Voices Festival (although the group also has male voices) in Belgium. I told them: “I have a song for you”. They loved what they heard and we worked together until the song came out as we wanted it.

-Was it difficult for you to enter in the dynamics of a vocal group?

-No, it was very easy, although they have their own sound. Of course I had to set a certain structure and give them some examples. We worked very closely but it wasn’t difficult because they are very talented.

-In another interview you said that in this album we could listen to your soul. And as it begins in the anteroom of death, I was wondering if you soul might be too dark…

-(laughs) But did you listen to the rest? Well, it’s a dark beauty. I always try to combine metal with elements of grand beauty. I love having that hardness and roughness in the background, like the guitar riffs of this album, that kick you, but I always have a beautiful melody and very clean vocals. I love that contrast between both worlds, metal and classical, and I love that fusion. Even today I keep on doing chamber music concerts, and I also love to jump on the rock stage. I think that this way I can also reach more people, and different people, no matter what age they are. My soul is very happy nowadays. I feel great about being able to express my art, there’s nothing I’d like to change. Now I’m writing songs…how cool is that? It’s an amazing gift being able to sit in front of the piano and record ideas on my iphone when they appear. And the album sounds exactly like that: it’s what appeared in the moment.

-Besides writing the songs, you also produced the album. Maybe now you are a full blown artists and not just a singer?

-I hope so, really, because there are so many things to learn in music…and progressing is very important to me. It would be very sad for me to think “well, I can sing, I don’t have to work anymore”. That image does not reflect me at all: I like to work hard, I want to learn more. It’s a fact that there is always someone better that you. Seriously, there are some really amazing artists out there, there’s a lot of very beautiful music. And I’m a perfectionist, so I never want to stay within my own limits.

-Of course, you have to aim higher.

-Exactly. It’s not that I’m building castles in the air, but I am a dreamer. I’m a very romantic girl who keeps on dreaming.

-Why didn’t you try to write a full album before?

-With My Winter Storm (2007), my debut album, I started to write and it was a good beginning. It made me understand that maybe I could do it, because it’s a huge step towards the unknown. But in that album there were a lot of composers involved…actually, I hardly ever write alone, I usually do it with my guitar player, who gives me some riffs and I start from there. But it’s like opening a Pandora’s box: you have to dig very deep in what lies beneath, in your own soul, to find how you really feel. And that is what I did in this album. I feel great about doing it, because it is also an act of bravery.

-Why did it take you so long to take that step into the unknown?

-Well, in the band (Nightwish) I wasn’t allowed. I was in the band for 9 years and I never said “This is my music” even though I felt like a part of it. But now I can say that line and there is a huge difference. It even shows in my performance: people say they’ve never seen me shine this way and it has to do with the fact that I have never felt so good. There are people who respect me, who support me, who want to work with me. The feeling is very different. There are musicians who have been working with me for nearly 3 years almost all the time, it’s incredible to know that I can count on that and I’m very grateful.

-In another interview you also said that in your fist album there were too many people involved. Was your main goal with WLB to be able to say “this is my music”?

-My goal was to be able to say out loud the direction in which I wanted to go. With my first album, I had changed record companies, all the people were new to me and I needed to have a personal relationship to make everything work; after that I had to find musicians, and the record company said: “”Hmmmm no, we won’t leave you alone with your music, we need a producer.” Everything was a huge burden, especially because I was starting from zero. And it was very good that I did that, because now I know what I should and what I shouldn’t do. And the record company, thank God, gave me the freedom to work as I wanted. Now they see that it was a wise decision and they are very happy with the album. But you have to go through different experiences, because you learn from them.

-Would you have felt confident enough to produce your first album?

-No, I said I wanted to have someone because it was my first time. Now, I thought: “Who else is going to know my emotions better than myself?”. Music, in general, has to do with dealing with emotions. When I wrote the songs, whether it was alone or with someone else, I already knew that there were certain emotions involved. And even if it was a demo with piano, programmed drums and my voice, I knew the direction on which I wanted to go with the song. Putting someone in the middle when everything was already written, just before the band went inside the studio, would have been a mistake. How would this person understand what I wanted to do? This encompasses too many things, too many emotions. Then, I had to make sure that my songs sounded as I wanted them to.

“In My Winter Storm album you used the title like a idea for the rest of the album, a pattern that repeated in What Lies Beneath.

I think it’s my way of working. And I have the title for my next album. (Laughs) I find it essential to find a title that inspired the songs, once I decided on What Lies Beneath, everything was easier: it is a title so open that you can find many meanings. On the one hand I am a diver, so I could write songs for what you are beneath the surface of the globe and could invent fantastic stories, invent creatures. On the other hand, it may take a more realistic way and talk about what happens inside us, it is sometimes difficult to see what’s beneath our surface, the truth is inside each person. I wanted to talk about these things in a poetic way, because I find it wonderful to read letters from other artists.

- Did you have in mind some composers as a parameter?

“No, but if I inspired a lot of the books of the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. I love the way he writes about dreams and the importance of feeling positive. These books were like a revolution to understand myself, much hooked me the way he writes.

“But you know that he is not respected as a writer too.

“I know, I know

“However, it is a pretty strange person because he composed songs with Raul Seixas, a Brazilian singer crazy and interesting.

“Yes, He have connections with the world of music and it’s not a common writer. He criticizes a lot, but why the hell his books sell that much? Where is the key? For me, that comes to us in a very human way.

-You Wrote In For a Kill thinking it was a James Bond Song

“If I focus on that. I wondered how it happens that an artist asked to do a song for a James Bond movie. I was in Stockholm with two friends and said “Guys, let’s make a Bond theme” I had the story in my mind, a very sad story: it is about sharks, again, is what lies beneath, but in this case on they have to fear sharks because of an incorrect description of what we are wrong with the sharks are dangerous. but the true is that we are the ones that kill them. That is what lies below the true realities. I’ve dived with sharks and are surrounded by beautiful animals. But is that thing (puts frightened voice) “Sharks are murderers, they will kill me.”

“Another possible interpretation of the theme, related to the album’s title is that of the people passing as sharks, maybe we fear them and indeed is pure prejudice.

“Exactly, that’s another possible meaning. Is still extremely difficult to be the only one who disagree on something in society. raise your voice to express dissent if you are surrounded by ten guys agree on something. Extremely difficult for us to try to understand each other.

In Finland, my country, I see with sorrow that there is still racism the society is not to open to foreigners. Some young adults who never in his life saw a black man walking down the street. So how do you feel when that happens the first time? What are your feelings? For something the country is not open to open that doors…

Tarja´s Idols

You recorded “The Good Die Young “on the last Scorpion´s album, Sting in the Tail Did you work together with them or separately?

-A distance. The manager contacted with my husband via e-mail and later Klaus Meine call me. It was nice talk to him, he wated me so much in the album! He even sent two songs to choose which I wanted to sing! I recorded my parts in Finland and here, but the producers gave me indications of what they wanted. First made a version that my voice comes less, but the one who come in the album have more partes where i´m singing.

- On your album participates as a guest Joe Satriani and you will go on tour with Alice Cooper. Could you ask for more?

“I can not believe that Alice Cooper has recognized me as an artist and I’m sure I’ll spend great. But my dream would be to work with my idol, (whispers) Peter Gabriel. I could only say hello once, when I was recording my first album in Ireland.Then I read that Peter Gabriel was giving a show in the city and told the band: “Today we have a free day.” I needed to go see the show …! And I got a backstage pass! I gathered courage and went to greet him, told him who I was and asked me to send my CD, which I did of course.

“The last Peter Gabriel album is a covers album there is not any of your songs?

“That would have been too much for me, I’d have a heart attack (laughs).Something similar happens to me with Paul McCartney. What kind, what an artist! It’s very interesting to hear when people like them talk about almost everything are people who are beyond ….

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Translation: Manxita

FACE TO FACE WITH TARJA TURUNEN
Inside of me I found a landscape

Readers of “Sí!” questioned the finnish singer, and she talked about her lyrics, her music, her feelings. And the new album, which made her more introspective yet…
By Pablo Raimondi

Tarja enters the room and tears start to run through the cheeks of Maria Laura and Natalia, who can’t keep their emotion inside about having their idol so close. In this case: idol, demigoddess, saint. SainTarja.
(the article repeats the word idol because the first time it’s referred as a masculine idol – idolo, whereas the second time it’s referred as a female idol – idola.)

“Sí!”, together with Universal, organised a contesto f which 600 fans participaetd to be able to listen to What Lies Beneath, the latest from the finn, ex-Nightwish singer. But there were only 11 chosen. For them, the main course: an interview face to face for an hour. Diego’s eyes light up and many others blink, maybe wondering if they are dreaming. Sabina can’t take her eyes of her White Turunen, dressed in black, watches her eleven apostles candidly. She knows she makes an impression. The listening of the album is finally over and she takes a seat at the head of a big glass table. “So? What did you think?”, breaks the ice, with her Spanish with Argentinean accent. Deadly silence, half nerves, half respect. With a Gump in her throat due to her emotion, a fan that came from Junín opens the talk:

María Laura: ¿With which of the songs do you identify yourself more?

-They are all my songs, it’s very difficult to choose one because they are all different. Each song has a different meaning for me.

From Spanish to English (when she wants to be more specific about an idea), Tarja struggles to pronounce correctly the words in the language of Cervantes. Like that, she celebrates a real idiomatic battle.

Natalia: Which was the most difficult song to work with, production and vocal wise?

- For the first time I worked hand in hand with the production. ¡I had everything in my hands and it was difficult! (Laughs). It’s complicated to know what to listen to and place it in the song. The most difficult to sing was “Still of the night! (the Whitsnake cover which comes included in the deluxe edition). Horrible! And to produce, Crimson Deep, the song which closes the album: it was recorded by two drummers, Mike Terrana and Will Calhoun, playing one in front of the other. Besides, there’s an orchestra and a choir.

Florencia: Are the lyrics based on personal experiences or are they made up stories?

-In things that I lived and that I live. Every single experience as a woman has reached my heart. It’s very difficult to try and stop being myself. And there are also beautiful fantasy stories. And sad stories, like prostitution or child abuse. For this album I had to look inside myself. And I found a landscape.

Analía_ What did you want to show in the video for “I feel immortal”?

- I wanted to shoot something immortal, but nothing in life is immortal except nature, if it’s taken care of. First I wanted to come to Argentina to shoot at the glaciers, Iguazú falls, Bariloche. “But it’s too far away”, the german director kept telling me. So he suggested that we went to Iceland. It was my first time there.

Noelia: I heard you for the first time singing “Phantom of the Opera”…what kind of music do you like to listen to?

-It depends on my emotional state. Music is an escape from your thoughts. A way to relax. I have so much work, if I listen to something it must be very relaxed!

Sabina: If you had to choose a feeling that you want to express, which one would it be?

-There’s not just one right emotion. I’m a storyteller who shares feelings.

Andrés: What can you tell us about your next tour?

-I started in Holland and I’ll be touring in Europe until the end of the yeat. I’ll take a break in January and in March I will be playing in Argentina: I’ll do 2 shows at Gran Rex theatre and one in Rosario. And also in Uruguay.

Andrés: Was it thanks to your argentinean husband (businessman Marcelo Cabuli) that you could adapt to our culture?

-Yes. I eat barbecue…¡I cook barbecue! And I go to see San Lorenzo. (soccer team that she supports).

-Sí. Como asado… ¡hago asado! Y voy a ver a San Lorenzo.

-And do you drink mate?

-No, it’s too strong, it makes me feel like I was drunk.

María Laura: What is your dream?

- I think I am dreaming. I am a very romantic woman, I want to have a family, to be a mother. My dreams are small, I don’t build castles in the sky.

Fans: Screams and whispers.

Pure anxiety. This is the feeling inside the building in Belgrano. “An autograph for me and another one for my boyfriend Gonzalo. And that’s all”, demands María Laura, who has been following Tarja’s career for 6 years but could never see a live show: “My world just stopped spinning when I saw her come in”. Florencia’s arms aren’t big enough to give her the four photos and two posters for her to sign, as the bus ticket Río Segundo-Retiro from Diego. The digital camaras do their own thing. And they even sing her the happy birthday: she turned 33 on august 17th. “I started to sing and we surrounded her with applauses and yells”, remembers Andrés: the only fans who knew each other previously are him and Noelia, who met in 2006 at…an autograph signing by Tarja: “She brought us together!”.

Please credit our website if you use the translation or the scans. Thank you!