June 21, 2004
Interview with Human Temple: Janne Hurme
Like life, music will always find a way. Lately on the radio so many of the songs sound the same as if they were made following a formula. For this reason I find it very refreshing to pop in a CD by someone like Human Temple and hear original music made as an expression of the artist. I am happy to bring you a candid interview with Janne Hurme who has made a name for himself in a successful solo career before returning to his metal/hard rock roots with Human Temple. June 21st marks the release of their album Insomnia; the official website for the band is http://www.humantemple.com.
1. Human Temple is a catchy band name and one that has been getting a lot of attention lately; June 21st is quickly approaching, bringing with it the release of Insomnia on MTM Records, what update can you give us on the progress?
Of course we are looking forward to the release, very much, and we are doing some promotion and planning the gigs. The artwork is ready and everything should be okay so now we just have to wait for the big day.
2. Insomnia will be the first full album released by Human Temple, but will be the sixth to your credit as you have five solo albums out already, so before we go to far into the interview would you please take a moment to introduce yourself, Janne Hurme, the man behind the music?
I'm not the only one behind the music but thanks anyway. I started my musical journey at the age of ten when I saw a Kiss video for the first time, it was a real blast! My solo albums include really different kind of music than Human Temple. Actually I've done lots of different kinds of music over the years, but now it seems that this kind of hard rock is my thing, and hopefully in the future too.
3. Human Temple recently signed a deal with MTM Records, after the album was complete, why did you wait so long to join up with a label and do you feel that having independence during the recording phase cut down on stress, giving you more creative freedom, or do you feel the support of a label like MTM would have made things easier?
Let's put it this way...we had the songs, the time and a good studio, so why wait for a good deal when you can do it on your own? We decided to do it like this, but I'm sure the next time it will be a little easier cause we now have the deal. I hope MTM won't give us too much pressure in the future when it's time to go to the studio again.
4. A big part of the story with Human Temple has been the search for a strong line up that works well together –and happily the fact that you have found just that, would you say the line up is pretty solid now with the members there are?
Yes it took a long time to find good guys for the band cause the fact is that the chemistry has to work, no matter how perfect a player you are. Now everything looks good and I hope this lineup will do many more records together.
5. Is there a song on this album with a special meaning to you that you could share a bit of the history with us and why it is so special to you?
Actually the opening song "I'm Sorry" is maybe my favourite track. It's about a big heartache, when you have to make those choices in your love life. As the song says; "I'm caught between two women and their lies". You just don't know who really is the right one, and then you make some bad decisions ... sad but true.
6. I would imagine that with your history and your band mates popularity in the Finnish music scene that you will be doing performances in that area to support the new album, could you tell me what plans you have for touring in other areas?
We will do some gigs in Finland during summer nut of course we are all excited about the idea of touring in other countries. We all just love playing live and really getting our music to the people.
7. From start to finish this album took roughly a year to complete, so it sounds like things went pretty well, what plans do you have for a follow up album from Human Temple?
Actually we already have lot of good songs just waiting for the next session, and I can promise there will be no fillers, all killers, again.
8. Any plans of another solo album in the near future?
Not at the moment but I'm sure in the near future. First we have to see how things start to roll with the Temple-maniacs.
9. With your experience in both solo and band settings would you say that you have a preference between the two?
Of course it's always more fun to play this kind of music with these good fellows so I have to say I prefer working and performing with the band.
10. When you are not working on an album or performing in your live bands what do you do to “Strike A Balance” in your life?
I watch a lot - and I mean A LOT - movies. I also read a lot, rest of the time I'm just hanging out with my friends. So, pretty normal things.
11. Many of our visitors are aspiring musicians looking to these interviews for information on what to do and not do when trying to break into the music industry; do you have any advice for them?
For us it took many years of hard work. I think there's no easy way to breaking through. Reach for your dreams, and don't ever give up.
12. Do you have a message for the rest of the fans out there reading this interview while waiting for the release of Insomnia?
"Imsomnia" will be a blast. We hope to see you all out there somewhere, as soon as possible. Rock On!
Posted by Kathy at June 21, 2004 05:31 AM