When Prog reviewed Finnish band Von Hertzen Brothers’ fourth album, 2011’s Stars Aligned, we predicted it would be the record that sold their “style of progressive music that offers a little something extra” to the rest of the world. The following year, vocalist-guitarist Mikko Von Hertzen explained the highs and lows of their story so far.
“I want to be like Queen,” Mikko Von Hertzen muses after some careful consideration. “They did a bit of everything and never restricted themselves in any way. They had simple songs with just a piano and Freddie singing; and then they had Bohemian Rhapsody and Prophet Song, which are definitely progressive.”
The bronzed, athletic frontman of the eponymous Von Hertzen Brothers is determined and focused on this ambition. After 10 years of the band climbing the Finnish charts and performing sold-out shows in their home country, the siblings have finally decided to venture outside familiar territory.
They formed in Finland in 2001 from the ashes of several well-known Nordic acts – guitarist Kie was part of the prolific Don Huonot while bassist Jonne played in pop singer Jonna Tervomaa’s band – and the three brothers quickly released their debut Experience as an experiment to see whether they could in fact work together. Three subsequent chart-topping albums suggest the answer was a resounding ‘yes!’
Their vision has spurred them on and enthused those around them, including Juhani Merimaa, manager of Helsinki’s famous Tavastia music venue (“He’s said to be the man who brought rock ’n’ roll to Finland,” Mikko Von Hertzen reveals) along with promoters and A&Rs around the world.
Then there was a recent opening slot for the Foo Fighters on the Finnish leg of the rock giants’ European tour. “We were floating afterwards,” says Mikko, all misty-eyes as he details his admiration for singer Dave Grohl’s career progression. “I used to be a drummer and now I’m a singer too, so he’s one of my really big heroes; and he’s one of the kindest people in the business. I saw Taylor Hawkins watching us from the side of the stage – we have some songs that go from five to seven beats so he was counting and wondering what the hell was going on!”
The final dots and crosses are being added to 2012’s touring schedule; but last year’s included more than 50 shows in their home country, plus their first dates in the UK. They played at London’s prestigious Jazz Café, the High Voltage Festival and The Borderline, not to mention four consecutive dates at Tavastia and a tour of eastern Europe with Swedish prog metallers Pain Of Salvation.
The itinerary was hectic and it didn’t go as smoothly as the brothers made it look. They battled through equipment going missing (the bag containing all 15 of Kie’s effects pedals went AWOL on the day of their Borderline gig) and their bus breaking down several times. “We were constantly behind schedule so there was no time to soundcheck, and we literally just had to throw our things on the stage and play,” Mikko explains. “Fortunately we only had to cancel one gig, but it was very stressful. I’ve talked to many people who’ve toured eastern Europe and they said the things we encountered were over the top. But at the same time it showed us that if we are put in the worst situation, we can still handle it; so it was an eye-opener.”
But the show must go on. “We like to be a very physical rock band live – because you have to throw yourself fully into it,” he adds, going on to reveal their onstage sauna technique: “I don’t mind being sweaty in a picture. the sweatier, the better! Kie asks the lighting tech to put a light close to him so he sweats more. He really likes feeling that we’re fully engaging ourselves!”
So many people just do the same thing over and over again, but it never ends up being as good as the original
Von Hertzen Brothers recently signed a deal with Spinefarm UK that included the release of their back catalogue including last year’s critically acclaimed Stars Aligned, which recently went gold in Finland. Taking a more stripped-back approach to production, they made the unusual decision to rope in electronic guru James Spectrum, otherwise known as Jari Salo from the Finnish electronic band Pepe Deluxé. His background in dance music has added unexpected nuances and adda an avant-garde flavour.
“He’s like a sound nerd – he has all this weird equipment from the 60s and microphones from the 30s,” Mikko explains. “He really goes deep and listens to music with very different ears. Between us we’ve probably released something like 20 albums, so it was really important for us to keep things interesting with a new form of expression. He’s coloured the music in a way that hasn’t been done before. So many people just do the same thing over and over again, but it never ends up being as good as the original. We didn’t want to do that.”
Despite a three-year gap in between Stars Aligned and the huge-sounding Love Remains The Same, Mikko is already brimming with ideas for albums number five and six. “It’s not really a trilogy,” he explains, “but I felt really enthusiastic that we had so many songs, and I even wrote out the sequence of the tracks.” His inspiration has primarily come from his surroundings – not just in Finland, but also his spiritual home of India, where he tries to spend much of his free time.
“When I was in my early 20s I got very interested in the philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, Ayurveda and all that stuff,” he explains. “I graduated from school when I was 25 and it just seemed like the perfect time to move out there to further my studies. I ended up living out there for seven years, doing voluntary humanitarian work. I’m also really inspired by the music because it’s so different – I studied a lot of the Indian ragas and scales, and you can hear that in what we do. I still have the flat there – it’s by the ocean and I often go back to recharge my batteries.”
I feel this is the place where we can really break through… you guys ‘get’ us more
He spent Christmas and the New Year soaking up inspiration in India, while Kie travelled to Spain and Jonne went to Thailand. But the brothers plan to regroup soon to start focusing on their next album, tentatively tipped for release in spring 2013. It’s still early days, though, so Mikko remains tight-lipped about their future direction; although he does admit that his younger brother has been excited by the preliminary work. “Jonne was very positive about it. It’s encouraging to already have some great new songs to work on.”
Although keen for Spectrum to jump behind the controls again, he reveals that “everything else is up in the air” until they can find the time to knuckle down to more writing and pre-production. In the meantime, the focus is on touring and the imminent release of a ‘best of’ compilation album. Despite their success at home, Von Hertzen Brothers have more bonding to do with Britain – after all, it’s the birthplace of some of their favourite bands.
“I feel this is the place where we can really break through,” Mikko says. “In a way, you guys ‘get’ us more. When we were growing up we were listening to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. We’ve imbibed that from a very early age and it’s not easily taken away from us. When people in the UK listen to our music they can hear echoes from those bands, but because we live in Finland we have that Scandinavian melancholy in our melodies and lyrics.
in Finland we’re more like a mainstream band... and we pull a lot of chicks there!
“You know, prog isn’t that big in Finland – I think we’re the only gold-selling band that fits into that category. We’re more like a mainstream band... and we pull a lot of chicks there, for sure!”
Their goal remains to write the sort of songs that really move the listener, and their enthusiasm to that end is infectious. Talk of music that evokes emotions steers the conversation back to Mikko’s favourites: Queen. “I’m no Freddie Mercury, I know that!” he laughs. “But I want to write something like Love Of My Life; it’s such a beautiful song.”
