Hanna Tsepesh: Moro Piritta Lumous! I know that you are a little busy with your next album. Can you talk a little about Manzana history and introduce yourself and others band members, for the people who don't know your band, to know a little more about Manzana.
Piritta Lumous: We´re a Pop-Metal band from Finland. Manzana was founded by Henkka, the guitarrist, on 2003, and he got Heikki and me, Piritta in already then. We knew each other from other bands, so it was quite natural. We had many bassist in the beginning, but we just kept on playing gigs and writing stuff threesome. 2004 Ville , Mr Willy of the Bombfunk MC´s, joined the band, and he played the bass with us up till October 07. Now we have Klasu on bass, and he got well tested on German&Swiss tour right after he joined.
Hanna Tsepesh: Can you tell to us about Manzana name? Why that name?
Piritta Lumous: Manzana means an apple in Spanish, as you probably knew. I was studying Spanish for a little while, and I saw the word Manzana Venenosa somewhere, and I thought it was just a word with great rhythm. We had the name already, when we started thinking about what it meant! But, poison apple is like pop-metal, fresh from the top and dangerous inside...Women on old plays always use the poison, they don´t run around swinging swords and stuff like that.
Hanna Tsepesh: Can you tell to us about Manzana name? Why that name?
Piritta Lumous: Manzana means an apple in Spanish, as you probably knew. I was studying Spanish for a little while, and I saw the word Manzana Venenosa somewhere, and I thought it was just a word with great rhythm. We had the name already, when we started thinking about what it meant! But, poison apple is like pop-metal, fresh from the top and dangerous inside...Women on old plays always use the poison, they don´t run around swinging swords and stuff like that.
Hanna Tsepesh: Yes I know it . It is a really cool name! So tell us your musical background and the other guys too.
Piritta Lumous: I pushed myself into my brothers band when I was 14, so that´s probably how I started. Actually, my first real band was Mellow, Grungeband, and I also had Finnish Languages alt rock band Lumous for a while. I have always wanted to write too, so I sort of wanted to control the bands I have been to, but Manzana is mostly Henkkas band. Henkka is a mixer and a studio tehhnician for other bands too, Heikki plays in Diablo and teaches drumming, and Klaus has his own Bulletride too, he´s a great singer in addition of playing the bass. Hanna Tsepesh: I know that you writte the lyrics for Manzana, tell me what is your inspiration to create so great lyrics. Piritta Lumous: Thank you if you like them! Inspirations....Personal life that goes to hell, crying friends and cheating boyfriends, fearing of your own destructive powers, dreams, broken dreams, bulimia, poetry, books, other bands, people who can´t drive, rain, bad food, anything , actually. Happiness is the only thing that I cannot write about! Always have to be something wrong.
Hanna Tsepesh: I like them a lot and you don’t need to thank me! For the people that going to hear your music or album, and not to stay confused by the style, how you define your sound? You said before that is pop-Metal but can you explain that a little more…Piritta Lumous: Pop-Metal. We want to be tough and elastic at the same time. To combine Tori Amos, Iron Maiden and Rammstein. And I am not a classical metal singer, don´t wait for Opera , we sound more like a gothisised Bon Jovi, like somebody wrote.
Hanna Tsepesh: Speaking about your first album “Nothing As Whole As A Broken Heart”, i like it very much i think i listing to them 10 times (laughs), you and your band make a excellent work, and i really love your voice is really Rock voice (for me), i think Manzana create there own style and i have sure that with time you going to mold more your style. For those who don’t listing to your album yet, tell me little bit about “Nothing As Whole As A Broken Heart”…
Piritta Lumous: It is our debut album, and it was recorded after we played the songs on quite many shows already, because we started as a live band, not visa versa like many bands do nowadays. Henkka and I wrote most of the stuff by recording things with a computer, but we also jammed the songs quite a lot with the band. The album is lyrically about letting life in, about finding hate from yourself as a mean to defend yourself, and quit being a nice idiot that everyone screws. I just wanted to get rid of some shit that has been happening, as usual. Henkka wanted to make the songs as groovy as possible, yet with metal sounds.
Hanna Tsepesh: Speaking about your first album “Nothing As Whole As A Broken Heart”, i like it very much i think i listing to them 10 times (laughs), you and your band make a excellent work, and i really love your voice is really Rock voice (for me), i think Manzana create there own style and i have sure that with time you going to mold more your style. For those who don’t listing to your album yet, tell me little bit about “Nothing As Whole As A Broken Heart”…
Piritta Lumous: It is our debut album, and it was recorded after we played the songs on quite many shows already, because we started as a live band, not visa versa like many bands do nowadays. Henkka and I wrote most of the stuff by recording things with a computer, but we also jammed the songs quite a lot with the band. The album is lyrically about letting life in, about finding hate from yourself as a mean to defend yourself, and quit being a nice idiot that everyone screws. I just wanted to get rid of some shit that has been happening, as usual. Henkka wanted to make the songs as groovy as possible, yet with metal sounds.
Hanna Tsepesh: Tell me how it was recording this album on studio? You have all the lyrics in your mind and the guys all the riffs?
Piritta Lumous: We are lucky, because Henkka owns half of the studio, so we got to record stuff in pieces. We recorded mostly in the night, also Christmas, so that we didn´t take time from the better paying customers... We had most stuff ready, riffs and lyrics, when we started, we made pretty clear demos beforehand. But some songs still changed in the studio, in Cripple Heart I come in one day and Henkka ´s thrown away whole chorus. Then we just make up a new one and I sing it. We had Aksu of the Entwine recording and producing Falling To Pieces, and he also made little arranging. Aksu is a drummer himself, so he arranged drums with Heikki in the studio too. Sometimes in the studio you just get so blind about your stuff when you think about it all day, that you don´t see what you´re doing anymore, so it was good to get Aksus ears too!
Hanna Tsepesh: One Curiosity… It is easy for a Metal band to go to studio to make there own albums? You guys on Finland have support to do it? And with Manzana, you have any difficulty? Tell to us about that, because some Portuguese think that Finland is some kind of “wonderland country for Metal” (laughs), and is easy to get support and to went on studio etc…
Piritta Lumous: We don´t get any support, we are running our own label and paying everything like cars and techincians and hotels and videos from the gig salaries. That´s why we´ve played a lot of gigs, also "not so good " gigs, because we have to keep the company going. Now we just made a record deal with another company, so it is new to us to be an artist on company, not to do everything ourselves! Luxury (laughs). It´s been a full time job with the label for Henkka,
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanks for the explanation about this Piritta! Back to the album, i read in your MySpace that your album: ” WENT ON CHART NUMBER 24, AND SINGLE "FALLING TO PIECES " NUMBER 2. MANZANAS DEBUT ALBUM HAS BEEN RELEASED IN 25 COUNTRIES”. Tell to us about that, the band and you waiting for those news, and about that big success?
Piritta Lumous: In Finland it is very easy to get on the Single chart, because they don´t sell much anyway, but we were happy that the album went there too because it means somebody actually bough it! We had the album distribution by Playground International, wich is a must, because our own label is so small, and I think they just send the CD to right places because so many countries wanted to license it! The moment I realized the album actually went quite well, was when I was in Stockholm with Ville, being interwiewed for the MTV´s Headbangers Ball, and Taija, our promoter calls us to say that Falling to Pieces got on play-list of RadioRock. Then I remember thinking for a minute, what the f****. We´re at MTV and our song is on the radio! After many years of work finally a little better luck. Felt really good. But we need much much more, we need more Radio play, touring with big names, more albums...more work work work with the new label. But we´re real glad we GET to make albums, that´s a privilege.
Hanna Tsepesh: You have also one video in your MySpace band, your single “Fallen To Pieces”. I like the video, is a very good work. How was the video shoot? you and the guys have fun making it?
Piritta Lumous: It was shot in Tampere, at a rockbanr Sputnik. It was shot in January, we started like 6 am and I remember it was very cold and pitch dark. (Hrr). It was a lot of fun doing it, Video shoot is like a day as a princess, everybody´s fixing your hair and telling you nice things. But it is also quite hard , because we had to shoot it in one day, so we played the song like 50 times. It got quite hot in the bar with all the lights. We also had lovely girls as an audience, ever since they came in, it was easier because it felt like a gig. Thank you girls for being there! It was also easier for the guys, because for them, the girls were so much prettier than the technicians of the video company.
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Hanna Tsepesh: (laughs)!The video is cool, is very simple, I like it very much! Manzana have any plans to come to Portugal in a near future?
Piritta Lumous: We really hope so! It is one of our dreams to tour southern Europe this year! We got the album released in Italy and Greece just a few weeks ago, so we hopefully they like it and we get to tour down there and maybe go out for Spain and Portugal also! I´ve wanted to see Lisbon for years to ride the trams!
Piritta Lumous: We really hope so! It is one of our dreams to tour southern Europe this year! We got the album released in Italy and Greece just a few weeks ago, so we hopefully they like it and we get to tour down there and maybe go out for Spain and Portugal also! I´ve wanted to see Lisbon for years to ride the trams!
Hanna Tsepesh: cool, we hope to see you and the band in here too! I know that you guys are very busy with the 2º album “ Babies of Revolution”, and you also have one music to listen on MySpace. Can you tell me when the album will be released? Can you tell to us a little more about them? There's any change or news about you guys on this new album?
Piritta Lumous: It is scheduled to be out in August now, because it makes no sense to release an album in the summer, when all the Festivals are on. It is quite much like the first album, but maybe a bit more punky and bouncy. But very Manzana, poppy melodies and heavy instruments with a plenty of heartbroke.
Hanna Tsepesh: Last question, do you want to say anything to your fans in Portugal?
Piritta Lumous: We´re all lost and broken, why not to share it!
By: Hanna Tsepesh
