Welcome to a feature where we sit down and talk to bands and artists about their latest albums to find out all about it. Today we speak to Veeti Mäkinen from Free Carmen to find out about the album Solstice II. 

Hello nice to meet you, tell us about yourself!

My name is Veeti Mäkinen and I’m 23 years old. I’m from the city of Tampere, which is a large city in Finland, though on a global scale it loses its significance quite quickly. I’m the singer-guitarist in Free Carmen.

Tell us about the new album, ‘Solstice II’? 

Solstice II is the second part of our double album concept. If you listen to them one after another, the concept becomes clearer. So the point is thatSolstice I starts from the moment of the summer solstice (the longest day of the year). The feeling gets darker song by song, bringing us closer to the darkest day of the year. Solstice II starts whereSolstice I left us, from the moment of the winter solstice.The

The first album has a song calledI, and the second has a song called II. Those songs represent the moments of autumn equinox and spring equinox when the sun shifts from one hemisphere to the other. The themes of the albums are very present for us because we live in Finland. During midsummer, the sun doesn’t set at all, whereas in the winter it rarely comes out. For example, between the first nine days of December last year, there was only six minutes of sunshine

Favourite track on the new album and why?

This is the question that always makes me squirm. It’s hard to pick one favourite when all the songs are so dear to me and each has its own story. Sail Away holds a special place in my heart, as it’s the first song I’ve ever written completely by myself. The Water is the most personal song for me, so it might take the favourite spot, at least for now.

Tell us a bit about the recording process, was it fun to do?

We recorded both albums during the same session at E-studio in Sipoo, Finland. We wanted them to have the same feel and sound throughout. We also needed to record as much live as possible, as it was the only way to achieve that authentic band feel. The 10 days we spent in E-studio were the greatest of our lives. 

E-studio is enormous compared to the ”studios” people have these days, and it’s located in the middle of nowhere, in complete isolation. The option to stay there for the whole session made it feel like a retreat. I left my phone home, and we agreed that no phones would reveal themselves while recording. It felt liberating and grounding. I think that’s why many of the great records before phones etc. feel so relaxed and loose, in a good way.

What inspired the album name?

The album names came to me when I had the idea of making a double album about the solstices. In a way, the concept inspired itself, including the names and the release dates.

Tell us the idea behind the album cover?

Well, you have to look at both of the covers together to get the full idea. I’ve always imagined these characters as a couple living somewhere in the countryside, in total solitude. They complete each other and might not necessarily survive without one another. 

While painting the covers, I realized I needed to find a way for them to communicate, so I started wondering if that communication could happen through the wind.

I just loved the idea of them working in the field with some distance between them, sharing their thoughts whenever the wind blows by. There’s something about it that makes me feel melancholic yet incredibly warm inside. Even if they can’t communicate as much as they might want to, the most important thing is that their love is always somewhere close, near enough to be felt.

What one of your songs on the new album do you think will the most difficult to rehearse for a live audience?

Basically every song on the album was recorded mainly live, so there’s nothing too difficult in that sense. To get the right feeling for Sail Away might sometimes be hard when you’re full of adrenaline and out of breath. That’s why it’s also the hardest song to sing live.

Why should people listen to the album?

So they can feel the music.

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