Interview with Segmentia

Answered by Jere

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• When I was 6 years old, my parents asked if I would like to start playing accordion and I said yes. I played that about 5 years and got lessons to that as well. Then suddenly I didn't want to play it anymore! My first touch to drums were when I was 11 or 12 years old and almost right away, I was in love! Because I stopped playing accordion my parents didn't want to get me my own drum set so I had to practice on my friend's place for a quite long time. Finally, my cousin found me my first drum set and the ruthless practicing stated. My first band was with my friend, he played guitar and I played drums and it was those times when I decided that this is it, I want to be a drummer in a band. First bands I listened (and actually still do) were all kind of Finnish pop and rock bands, LP's that my parents had. My cousins who were few years older than me, recorded music from Roxette, Bad Boys Blue, etc. Then a new boy moved into my village, and he saw my room with posters like Roxette and almost right away he teared the poster off the wall and replaced it with Metallica poster! I was about 10 years or something, but I still remember how it felt to listen bands like Metallica, W.A.S.P, Twisted Sister, Helloween & ACCEPT for the first time. It was mind-blowing!

• I don't know what I would be doing today if I didn't fell into music. Maybe something reasonable and boring.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• I like to watch movies or TV-series, play PlayStation, also go to gym, or just do long walks with my wife. I Like to play with our dog & with our cats. Now we have bought a share of a horse, so that is quite exciting and inspiring!! I also like to drive my car & listen to audiobooks. I think that these things what I do have a positive effect to my music because sometimes just a small thing, moment or a feeling can bring some melody or sentence to my mind which might lead to a song. Maybe the nature and circles of life among the hard life of an individuals are the most important muses for me when making music.

How long has your band been around?

• As a Segmentia our first "Shanghai" Ep was released in 2019 but we started as a cover band around 2012. So, Segmentia is a toddler in music scene but hey world, here we come.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• We come from Seinäjoki, Finland. It's not a huge place, but in Finnish scale it's a decent sized town! I'd say that it has actually influenced our music or at least the practical side of having a band quite positively. There is a pretty active music scene here in Seinäjoki with multiple smaller venues and one bigger one (Rytmikorjaamo) as well as some decent rehearsal rooms available. There are a couple of large summer festivals in Seinäjoki too, so that's cool too. Geographically it's also a pretty good base for a band, because most of the other bigger cities with good venues are within few hours car drive. I guess the only thing we are missing here are the vast forests to get lost into while shooting promo pictures, because the landscape here is mostly fields and plains haha!

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• At first, we named our band as "Seventh Segment" but just before our first EP release I wanted the band's name to be only a one word and I invented the name Segmentia. We combine several music styles in our songs, like segments. So, there is a clue of our music in the name.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• I think you may expect a different kind of an answer, but I'm actually thinking about this one. It still hurts my teeth to think about it, but there was this one band contest that we attended. No one fell from the stage (all though that too was close), but every possible thing with technique went wrong. That was so important lesson to learn for all of us, but it was soooo painful because it had to look and sound horrible - cause it sure felt like that!! We agreed never to attend in any band contest ever again. I think that this episode made us stronger as a band, though.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• We actually have a quite nice venue here in our hometown, it is called Rytmikorjaamo, that is a nice place to play. I also like to play in festivals, I hope that we get to play in big festivals and venues with Segmentia one day.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• I don't know! Maybe it would be cool to play with my band AND an orchestra once again.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Spend a lot of time together, not only in rehearsals place. Be true and open. Practice Always.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• Practice More! Haha. Also get to know people before you get involved. Do not fear mistakes, those are your teachers. And finally, do not fear to be your true self.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• Remedy. That song was born completely in one night. Remedy tells a story about music itself and what it means to me. There was a time, around 10 years ago when I almost stopped doing music, I was so anxious about many things in it. Luckily, I got into my senses and not so long after I wrote this song.

Which songs are your favorite to play, and which get requested the most?

• iVORY tOWER seems to be quite liked song. I personally like to play almost every song. Matti's favorite song to play is Alone, Kansana likes No Resistance and Arttu just keeps changing his mind about it :D

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• Almost everything is inspiring. Fall is the most creative season for me, I'm always making music. Matti composes music too, Kansana is writing poetic stories and helps me with lyrics. Arttu shines with his instrument. I think Save Me is the only song that has been born when we were just jamming. There is no clear recipe for this process, actually. At the moment we are working on our debut album, we are actually recording demos just now. I’m very excited about our debut albums material because for the first time in bands history we are working together as a team from the beginning. One can say that maybe we are going to a little bit darker road with those new songs.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• I guess you have not been listening to our tracks backwards? Just a poor joke!

• We hope that one can flow and immerse themselves into a feeling that our music has evoked. That "something", some feeling, is a thing that we and the listener truly are sharing together and so, in a sense, no one is all alone while listening to our music. Cause every song that we release is born from a feeling that really was felt.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Hell yeah we do! Sometimes there is yelling and door slamming, sometimes we act like the adults that we are. Like in life in general, problem-solving attitude and self-reflecting helps us all.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• Of course, we will release our second EP “Alone” in January 2023! So that's coming up pretty soon as well as some shows in Finland. Feel free to follow us in Facebook or Instagram, so you'll be first to know when the EP is out. In the meantime, you may check out our already released songs and see if you like us. For the future we are planning on doing lots of shows not only in Finland but abroad as well. Our debut album is also in the plans already and of course we want to tour after the release as much as possible! Our goal is to be an active, international band. Music is life!