In an interview with RockOverdose.gr, Ville Valo the musician and HIM founder talks about his upocoming visit to Greece, with his solo band VV, for two exclusive "close venue" shows in Athens and Thessaloniki, on April.
One year after his last show in Greece, at Rockwave Festival 2023, his first solo album “Neon Noir” is going to be fully enjoyed, along with many HIM anthems.
RockOverdose: Hello, how are you?
V.V: I’m good, thanks for asking. It’s a cold and snowy day in Finland, so we’re happy that we’re about to start touring soon. In a few days we’re playing in Australia and New Zealand for about a week, and then we’re heading back only to continue touring, starting from Athens in early April. It’s been weird the past few years with the pandemic and getting my own shit together musically speaking, putting the band together and getting the album out. We played 120 gigs last year, it was a lot of touring for me, we never toured that much with HIM, my previous band. So, it’s been a busy few years and this is the bittersweet last leg of “Neon Noir”. After that, I haven’t got the slightest idea of what I’m going to do next, which is a cool thing.
RockOverdose: Welcome to Rock Overdose.gr. How’s it going?
V.V: I’m getting there, slowly but surely. It’s been a busy couple of years and I’ve been shoveling snow here in Finland, it’s been a snowy, cold winter that we had here after many many years but I’m not complaining at all. It’s been good, being here for the time being and then travel a bit for the tour.
RockOverdose: So Mr. Vallo, you visited Greece last year, performing at Rockwave Festival. What are your memories from this appearance and from our country in general?
V.V: We played there in the first year of the festival with HIM, I remember a quite different setup, but I remember the place because it was beautiful with the mountains and everything. I hope the festival wouldn’t play that early, so that we can have the lights setting up the mood and all that stuff, but I think it was a good opportunity to introduce myself to some new people and remind some people that know me from here that I’m still here, I’m still making music and I’m half decent at what I’m doing on occasion.
But I’m super happy that we are able to come for those two shows in Athens and Thessaloniki, to be able to play full sets with our light shows and all that stuff. Greece has always been a great country, for HIM especially; we flew over there for the first time in 2000-2001 I think, it was a long-long time ago. It’s a really special country, they show their appreciation, they sing along really loud, they are partying and they have a good time, unlike the crowds we had in Finland who were dead serious and silent.
I remember the gig in Lycabettos we did many years ago which was very beautiful because of the historical significance of the place. Finland is a relatively young country, we don’t have the architecture, our history doesn’t go that far behind, we don’t have philosophy, so it felt good when we first flew from literally nowhere to the cradle of civilization back in the day and it still feels really good.
RockOverdose: It’s true that Greek fans love you a lot and consider you a legend. Have you ever imagined that you’re going to reach this status?
V.V: Some people have been using the word “legendary”, which to me feels weird. I think it’s just the fact that I’ve been around for a long long time and I never went away; I’ve been around since the mid-90s so it’s nearly 30 years and that’s quite a long time in the world of music. I’m happy some people have followed me throughout thick and thin, the good albums and the bad albums and everything in between, they stuck to it and never let me go. That’s a special thing and something an artist can only hope for.
RockOverdose: What do you miss the most from HIM?
V.V: I miss the camaraderie, the friendship and the spirit of the first few years, when we were like a band of brothers, we hanged out a lot and it was very new to all of us, also the fact that we were very young so that’s the thing I kinda miss. When I play or write music by myself is cool because I don’t have to work out calendars or schedules or ask anybody for permission, so I can do whatever I want to whenever I want to. I still miss the jokes and the brainstorming and the whole hanging out together thing though, which was a very important part of HIM.
RockOverdose: So, in case of a probable HIM reunion, what would be the reason behind this? A tour, a new record?
V.V: To be honest with you, I don’t know. A cool thing about HIM is that we ended it at a time when we were still friendly, we haven’t turned into enemies and you don’t want to push it too much. You know, when getting back together the old wounds open and you really start to hate each other, so you have to be really really careful. I’ve heard and read it happened so many times to so many bands.
So, it has to be a really good reason, to feel like HIM really needs to come back, whatever the reason might be. At the moment though, I’m not that really interested in it. I’m still on good terms with the guys, especially with Mige, and the first keyboard player of HIM, his name is Antto. Those were basically the best friends I ever had, and we do discuss the first days on occasion. I think the semi-legendary days of the band are legendary just because they are in the past, and we don’t want to disturb the past, it’s not a good idea.
RockOverdose: So the basic fact is that you have a good relationship with each other.
V.V: Yeah yeah, although I haven’t really got in touch with the guitar player, Linde, or the keyboard player. They appear to have their own thing going, they have families and their own bands now, it’s how life is in the end; people change, their priorities change and their lives change, it’s not as intense as when you were younger. I think the important distinction is this; if a band starts to feel like work, then you gotta do something about it.
RockOverdose: Which are your inspirations as an artist?
V.V: All sorts really. I get excited about a song of whatever artist or genre, I get excited about a movie or a TV series or a book, the usual things more or less. I think it’s important to keep your eyes and ears open to everything; we all have our filters through which we get the information and in my case the information comes out through music so I wouldn’t say it’s just one inspiration. Black Sabbath was always there.
RockOverdose: I can see the record next to you.
V.V: Yeah, it’s mine, it’s my totem. I think that I’m inspired by the fact that I can do what I can do and that’s something you take for granted, especially after COVID, it was a difficult time for a lot of us. It’s special that I can do all this for a living and still sing and still travel the world. I’m also inspired by the audience that I get to meet, inspiration is everywhere.
RockOverdose: “Neon Noir” is your first solo album as Ville Valo, released in 2023. Why did it take you so long to release solo content?
V.V: When HIM split up it was the first hours of 2018 and then we had COVID for three years, so you couldn’t really release anything at that time. I wanted to tour, also I haven’t made anything solo properly before. It took a while to find a record company, it took a while to convince people that I’m still worth my shot and it was difficult because I couldn’t get to meet people, it was all through Zoom and Teams. Weird times.
Another reason is the fact that since I haven’t defined myself for the first time, it just took me longer. I’ve been researching new sounds and new ideas for a bit longer than I would with the band but I’ve been active all the time, making sure that whenever the album would come out, it would be a good one.
RockOverdose: What about the feedback you got for the album, from the fans and the critics?
V.V: It was really good. I think being away for a while doesn’t get the people too bored with an artist, and it felt that I fcould finally fit into the rock genre, something that has never been the case before. About the press, we were never a press’ pet band with HIM, so I was surprised with how much journalists liked “Neon Noir”. I’ve been surprised with how people understood what I wanted to say through the album, as it was a transitional moment between HIM and the future, it was a heartfelt, honest and undiluted album. For better or for worse, this is who I am musically speaking and you don’t have to like it, but maybe you can honestly appreciate the music.
RockOverdose: What about the lyrics? What is the lyrical meaning behind the album? Is there a particular thematic behind the songs?
V.V: I think it was made while trying to find the positive out of the negative, a lot of it had to do probably with COVID. Most of my songs deal with the matters of the heart, so they’re very romantic, they’re very sentimental and emotional because that is how I am and this is the kind of music and art I appreciate, so I can’t avoid that happening. I think the pandemic had something to do with the fact that we were all under the same black cloud, or other times COVID was considered a black hole that sucked the time, a weird vacuum that everyone was in. I think lyrically and musically speaking I was trying to celebrate that even though everyone was having a hard time, nobody’s perfect and we’re all broken in our own beautiful little ways and that instead of hiding we should celebrate, because these cracks we all have in ourselves, those are the ones that gives us our identity and those are most of the times the most interesting things about us. So yeah, I think I was trying to celebrate turning the negative into something positive. It’s a weird answer but it’s a complex topic, even for myself. A lot of times the lyrics can mean a lot things at the same time, it can be verbally interesting but there can be some subtext or underlying stories, and usually there is and I think that’s very important.
RockOverdose: So, what are your next plans?
V.V: Staying healthy. It’s only a few weeks before we fly to Australia and New Zealand and then to Athens. Then we’re playing 32 shows and finishing the tour in London in early May. After that I don’t know, and that’s the whole thing about it. I’ll probably start working on new music, I’ve already started humming and strumming a few ideas. I’m very much like a race horse with blinders on, so I want to concentrate on the tour and that’s the important thing now. Once the tour is over, “Neon Noir” is over for me; I don’t have to think about the album anymore and I don’t have to think about the songs which means that I’m free to do whatever I choose. And if I’m reading the horoscope right, I think that I’ll be working on music and it won’t be that much different; it will still be emotional, it will still be melancholic, but I have no idea when that music will come out and in which form. I think the quicker the better, the whole tour thing gave me sort of excitement due to the people that seem to be interested in what I do. If it didn’t turn out so well, I don’t think I would have been so keen on doing more. So, it’s a matter of survival, it has to be.
RockOverdose: What about the shows in Greece? What should Greek fans expect from your shows?
V.V: It’s going to be like the shows we did last year, it’s going to be a combination of the new and the old. Half of the set will be HIM tracks and half of the set will be the VV stuff. This time thankfully it’s going to be club shows where I hope to bring our own light shows and we can play a bit longer and have the mood set up a bit nicer than festivals, where you do all this in the light of day. If you know what I do, it’s like that and more (laughter), so it will be familiar. Even if you don’t know the VV tracks and know only the HIM songs, there will be a lot of familiar songs and a lot of familiar vibes, at least that’s what I’m hoping for.
RockOverdose: Are you aware of the Greek fan club, which is called Heartagram Greece?
VV: There have been a lot of HIM related fan clubs all over the world and some of them are competing against each other at times. But I remember the Greek one, they’ve been sending us stuff, holding parties and things like that. I humbly thank everyone that’s involved for the solidarity and the continuing support they have shown over the years.
RockOverdose: Heartagram Greece organizes two parties in Athens and Thessaloniki. Would you like to send a message to the fans and invite them to the parties?
VV: Oh man, I’ve never been a part of these parties, so I would love to join as well if there was a chance. It would be nice to see all of you and listen to some good music, hopefully I’ll see you at the gig. Actually, I didn’t know about the parties, it’s the first time I heard about it. Last time there was a party, I think some of the crew members went, but I was doing the sleeping party you know (laughter).
RockOverdose: I think we’ve covered all there is for now. Thank you for your time and I hope I get to meet you in Greece!
VV: See you in a few weeks!
Interview: Zisis Petkanas
VV-Ville Valo Photo credit: Juha-Mustonen
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