Negative, Sonic Seducer 10/2006
NEGATIVE - Rock’n’roll Rollercoaster
While cellophane closes around the new pressed records of the Finns in order to be sold in stores and hit the charts from 29th of September onwards, vocalist Jonne relaxes from the exertions of the lengthy recording process. Relaxing, from the six colourful glam-guys’ point of view, means rehearsing, video shooting, interview-marathon and, besides, rocking the gothic-clan at the Amphi Festival in Cologne and credible frock-wearers at the Summer Breeze in southern Germany. But the third of Negative’s works that has been given the ‘appetizing’ name “Anorectic” is worth the trouble. “Which trouble?” Jonne asks well relaxed, and now it’s our time to ask.
The blonde one is in his best mood. Not very surprising as the new record really sounds well: “This time we found our own style 100%, exactly what Negative is supposed to sound like and exactly what we can imagine for our future. That’s why I’m feeling much better with “Anorectic” than with the two records before.”
A whole lot of samples run through the 57:50 minutes’ long sound-carrousel, for this is how the 22-years-old sees his new songs: “From the beginning to the end it’s an extremely wild rollercoaster-ride. It was our vision to underline this direction with crazy inserted tunes. In one song you can hear how Larry slaps Christus’s ass with a table-tennis-racket, he’s been running after him through the whole studio, that was a funny thing - one of the seldom moments during the recordings in which we were really wild.”
However, the mix of the chirping of birds, dentist’s burr and screaming of babies rather sounds irritating: “Anorectic hints at the dark side of the save and sound rockstars-world. “It’s the other side of the coin. Maybe even our clearing with everything. We went through hard times, in many different ways. You can really hear that on the record. I can’t pretend that everything’s easy when it is exactly the other way round. Yet I don’t complain. I chose this life for myself, it’s my destination and my curse at the same time. But I’m going to take every beat and, if needed, I’m going to sink with the ship.” Jonne sounds almost angry when he replies more to himself than as an answer to our question. His voice seems to have lost its boyish brightness, from the record it sounds rough and obviously darker. “A lot of that is only because of the tuning. My vocals sound much purer and more honest. That’s exciting for me as well. To me, “Anorectic” feels psychedelic, a little melancholic, somehow salty on the surface with aggressive potential”, he stops, than opens his eyes broadly: “Danger! It sounds more dangerous than ‘Sweet & Deceitful’, more revolutionary.”
Not very conform to gothic or rock Negative also present themselves with the choice of their cover-artwork: A sad clown as you know it from old circus posters looks at the fans. “That shows live on tour very much. What you do doesn’t make any sense, the direction it takes is unknown. Each day you have to play a show, the schedule, all the travelling, all of it is similar to an insane circus. - And Negative have been on the road a lot during the last months, apart from other concerts they played, they supported their Finnish heartbreaker-colleagues HIM and The Rasmus. “The tour was a real jackpot for us! It’s not only that it made a dream come true for us, we also were able to win lots of new fans. I was really surprised when I saw the audience’s reaction, I mean, we only played as a support band of the support band. And apart from that, it got better from show to show. Afterwards we got lots and lots of nice e-mails so that we’re looking forward to the upcoming headliner-tour in Germany in November this year. Moreover, we had the chance to present ourselves in many new countries. But that’s also that made it very hectic and exhausting, as everything had to work simultaneously: writing, touring, and recording. But we expect that everyone on this earth - or well, maybe every second person - knows, who and what Negative is. That’s big goal of course, but you can’t grow as a band if you don’t have dreams like that. We had a lot of luck until know, we started being successful quite fast, but then again, we’ve been together as Negative since 2000.”
The bandleader, who, some months ago, had to fight with nervous stomach upsets leading to throwing up due to stage-fright, seems to be a lot more self-confident and assured. However, he hasn’t really overcome his nervousness as he admits laughingly: “On the festival in Cologne we played our new single ‘Planet of the Sun’ and we had only performed it live four or five times before that. I had to focus on the lyrics so much that I can’t even say how the audience liked the song. I think I even mixed up some lines.
It just takes its time until a new track works well as a song. Sometimes you write down very painful things to a piece of paper. If you have to present them in front of the audiences, it will take lots of overcoming and distance in order to break free from the contents. That’s why I’m a little frightened when I think about the upcoming tour.”
But there are two proved household remedies that help against that:
On the one hand: rehearsing: “I admit that we don’t have much time left for that as we’re seldom home in Tampere. But if we are, we play do play several hours a day. Our drummer Jay goes through an almost inhuman amount of work - he’s beating his drum-kit up to five hours a day, and that does not include the rehearsals!”
The second killer of nervousness is named alcohol and has been offered to the colourful-glittering rockers on the last tour: The beer trademark Sol decided to come first before the traditional herb-deer [Note: It says “Kräuerthirsch” here, I guess they use it for Jägermeister, as they have a deer as their logo] and used their advertising with the sunny free-drinks for the Finns, who liked the idea: “Ever since they are doing the sponsoring we get a lot of this really tasty beer. The only disadvantage: we get fatter and fatter!”
One can agree to that, at least concerning the musical part. While a direct comparison to the peasants HIM used to be suggest itself, one is amazed about the density in composing and straight rock-influences which are familiar with the mega-stars of the genre f. ex. Velvet Revolver or their creative cradle Guns ’N Roses. Jonnes eyes are beaming: “Yes, a lot of people already said so, but I don’t even know Velvet Revolver that much. I’ve been listening to Queen and Muse a lot in the last time, a great band! And the last Johnny Cash record is brilliant. It’s inspiring to me to try out very different styles of music - that goes from classic to the heaviest metal.”
Slowly he plugs at a pert strand of his hair. In the best manner of Finnish vocalists, he cut his hair himself: “Oh, I was just frustrated and annoyed by the dreads. I sweat a lot on tour and it’s not easy to wash and care for them in the right way, and the weight…! It doesn’t have anything to do with a change of image or something,” he says and, just like an acknowledgement, runs his hands through his short hair.
Similar to their big idols Guns ‘N Roses, Negative, too, go their own ways concerning fashion. Flitter and glitter are combined wildly, from the borsalino-hat to shirts in bright pink and plush-leopard-print-accessories: you can do what ever you like and whatever draws attention.
In one of their rare moments of free time, they celebrated a concert of Axl Rose who ‘rose from the dead’ in Helsinki. “That was a great moment! Of course he was two hours late, but hey, that’s good, old Axl! I was surprised about the good vocal condition he was in. Actually he seemed to be even stronger than before. The concert was like heroine for me! Axl simply is a rock-legend. It’s quite funny that he still moves exactly like on the video-taping of their concert in Paris in ’92 which I saw over and over again as a teen. During the intro of ‘November Rain’ I said to Jay and Antti: ‘The way he shakes his hair, moves his upper body, and these sunglasses - I a way he looks like Stevie Wonder!’ I wonder if this was intended?” Jonne ponders earnestly. In the same honest and concentrated way in which he answers every question deliberately. His preferences are those of the nice guy from next door. Jonne likes Madonna because he admires her influence and her innovation. He loves Freddy Mercury and declares Johnny Depp as his favourite actor. Whenever Negative are not on road in the name of Rock’n’Roll, they all go ‘shining-bowling’ - and that’s how it works:
“That’s a cool thing, like bowling, but in a club-atmosphere with restaurant, drinks, neon-lights and disco. Okay, actually it’s only about bowling when you’re completely drunk, but it’s fun. I also like to play pool or go to the cinema. Though I like watching lots of movies at home as well, there’s some really crappy stuff, from comedy over horror to drama. Hm, I like the dramatic ones the most.”
Dramatic, that’s what the contents of “Anorectic” are like, giving insight into the dark days of Jonne’s childhood, but that’s another story we are going to talk about the next time.
www.negative.fi
Original text by: Yvonne Zymolka
Published in: Sonic Seducer, October 2006 10/06