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 contest of which 600 fans participated 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 while 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 lump 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).

-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.

English translation: Manxita