Poets of the fall set to electrify Bengaluru with their music

Poets Of The Fall lead singer Marko Saaresto rediscovers his love for music.
Pic credit - Tiia Öhman
Pic credit - Tiia Öhman

It has been five years since Finnish rocker band Poets Of The Fall (POTF) toured the country with their fifth album, Temple of Thought. Though their sound has mellowed since their edgy debut in 2003, the six-member band has consistently delivered brilliant instrumentals and emotional lyrics, a trait still evident in their new album, Clearview. While their compositions still capture the essence of their alternative rock roots, front man and vocalist Marko Saaresto (46) says the band adopted a quieter, contemplative approach. “Clearview is an album with a new direction and a new message of clarity. This still fits our music’s larger theme of hope, which has been very ‘between the lines’ in our previous albums. POTF are set to kick off the prelude to the World Music Festival, with a stopover at Bengaluru this weekend in support of their latest album. Alongside Poets of the Fall, the festival line-up also includes Jay Sean and Stadium X. 

You are regulars in the Indian music scene, this being your third India trip. Is it the fans or the promoters that keep bringing you back? Our third trip! Isn’t that great? I think as musicians who want to share their work with people in India, we are very lucky to be able to work with promoters who help us make such things happen. Our fans here are electric. We get mobbed at the end of our concerts and that is a great feeling. So I would venture that both those reasons really do factor in. (Laughs.)

POTF is known for its elaborate videos which lend a metaphysical touch to the songs. How do you 
manage to bring that out in your stage performances? We try to extend the same theatricality from our videos to our live shows. It could be with the use of lights, effects or just how you use the stage during the performance. Mostly though, I think, it’s about the music itself, how it’s performed, how the text is conveyed and how the interaction with the audience works.

Turning points in your career? Deciding to go for it for real, no holds barred. Sometimes you could lose your love for music, especially if you manage to burn yourself out working too intensively. But finding that love again can also be a really powerful event in a musician’s life.

What can POTF fans expect for the 2017 experience?We have a great set of tracks from the Clearview album that we have never performed in India, as well as some cool stuff from the previous albums, like Carnival of Rust and Late Goodbye, of course. I think the experience will be a good mix of music with a dash of nostalgia and humour.

If you had to pick a different genre — to spend the rest of your life playing, what would it be?Goodness. Maybe just pop, or traditional…

Future projects?
While we’re starting to work on completely new music, we’ll also be making more videos. 
 

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