MOURNFUL LINES… From the North of Finland
Founded by singer-guitarist Markus Jussila, back in 2012, as a solo project but soon formed as a band. Giving everyone a unique sound with their own way of making music with a lot of Finnish melancholy. Time to find out a bit more… Let´s go !!
So honored to have this chance to have a moment with You Markus. How are You doing?
– I am fine, thank you! Been a bit busy lately working on a demos for the upcoming release with our keyboardist Matti.
Tell us about Your project… How did You get the idea back in 2012 to start making Your own kind of music?
– Well, I have actually been doing music by myself from the year 1998, when I got my first guitar. Back then it hit me; This is what I want to do. I had a solo project called FALLEN, that later became Mournful Lines. Music has been therapy for me and when I got the idea of founding Mournful Lines it felt only natural to make own music – music straight from the heart and tell stories that people can relate to.
Pretty soon You had a band around You… What happened or did You plan this right from the start?
– I had already done 10 songs under the name Mournful Lines and was about to release them, but listening to them I realized songs being so good that it would’ve been “wrong” in some ways not to play them live and let other people hear them too. That’s when I got the initial spark to start searching for a band.
How was the reception and what kind of comments did You get from audience and “critics” after Your first demos and later after releasing Your debut Full-length “Beneath lies the sorrow”?
– We released our first demo called “My Sweet Serpentine” back in 2013 only four months after the band was formed. Like I mentioned earlier, I had been doing music for years before so I had some songs to offer to the band also. The first reviews were mixed – Some liked My Sweet Serpentine being fresh on metal scene and they also liked my vocals not being too “basic” for this kind of music. Some critics, on the other hand hated it, basically for the same reasons but I think that’s the way it goes. After Serpentine we released two singles, Failures and Seas of Gold in 2014. Then it was time to release our debut album. The album had more positive reviews due to band playing quite a lot of shows and became welded together and you can hear it from the album.
Tell us a little about Your songwriting process… Where do You get all the ideas?
– I was teased a lot at school when I was young and that left a mark. Music has been my personal coping mechanism for years and I want that to be heard on each song. The lyrics are based loosely on my own life. I’ve had feedback from some people that they have had similar experiences in life and our music has been a big help for them. That warms my heart!
Is it a real struggle all the time to mix so many different elements in Your music to a tight little package, especially now that You’re combining male and female vocals?
– Well, yes it is quite stressful but rewarding at the same time! My maternal uncle said to me when I was just starting to play guitar that you will never be a good musician if you stick only on one genre. And he was right. Nowadays I listen to all kinds of music from classical to metal and everything in between and I try to bring all of those elements on Mournful Lines’ songs too. That gives versatility to the band and improves us as musicians. I had the idea of a female vocalist when I was forming the band and we actually had one on board on our first demo as a backing vocalist but soon after the first release she disbanded. After two years of constantly searching for a competent female vocalist and me being the lead vocalist on shows that we played we found Minna. She was so good at what she does that we discussed on what if we had to lead vocalists instead of one. That worked out great.
During these years… What have been the most memorable, positive, rewarding moments?
– I personally have been grateful for all the gigs we’ve played so far. Nowadays it is quite hard to organize gigs, especially for smaller bands like we are. This year we have also had some great moments. Firstly, we participated on a competition that was in a form of ballot. People got the chance to vote a total of 100 bands via internet and only 36 of them got through to the next round. Mournful Lines was fourth! We released our latest single called “The Game” a while ago, and managed to get a producer on board who has done many of my favorite albums, for example Greatest Lovesongs vol. 666 by HIM. It has been an honor to work with Hiili Hiilesmaa.
Personally I suck in putting bands and music to different “genres”… How would You describe Your band and music Yourself?
– I think the best way to describe Mournful Lines’ music is to say that it is melancholic and melodic rock metal. I personally hate labeling bands so we developed a phrase that describes our music perfectly – Northern Melancholy With a Great Heart.
Your new single just came out and that sounds pretty promising… What more can we expect in the near future?
– First of all, thank you for your kind words! We are planning to release our next single in the near future. It will be the second single that is featured on the upcoming release that’ll be out later this year! The songs are going to be gothic, melodic and definitely catchy!
Any last words (not literally) to people who are reading this, the Family of MHF, Your fans and Your soon to be fans?
– Firstly, hello and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your family! We’ve had some fans and followers via your group and we are grateful for that! Thanks to our fans for being so loyal all these years. Take a listen to our songs and let the music speak!
“Beneath lies the sorrow”, Album (2015)
https://play.spotify.com/album/78sIc9GKhbt63nTNvqwOA3
“The Game”, new single released January 2017
https://play.spotify.com/album/6MkD0LoLEU8W7Aft3bXsCZ/7xRdDCMxutIMvtJ7Mh1BQR
Thank You so much Markus…
Santtu “Rebel” Kaskela / MHF
