Spiritraiser to Chaoszine: “For me “Ciklos” feels like the album we needed to make”

Spiritraiser is a Finnish, Helsinki-based alternative rock band that melts diverse elements of rock and ambient music, and released their brand new album “Ciklos“! In an exclusive interview for Chaoszine, the vocalist Jules Näveri explained in more details about the concept of the album, their plans and influences!

-You have just released the new album “Ciklos”, very well produced and highly regarded. Tell us a little about the production of the album. When it started? Was it produced here in Brazil or in Finland?

The production of “Ciklos” started already in 2019 in Finland when we started to finalize four songs in order to make an EP. We were supposed to launch this EP in 2020 but then the pandemic hit and we had to figure out what we should do. We had a feeling then that it would be a good idea to try and search for a label for our release which we found in Luminol Records. They were pretty excited about our music but the pandemic kept on going without signs of ending and we started to think that maybe we could use this time in our advantage and finalize more songs for a full length album. The label was cool with this and we got to work! The pre-production of “Ciklos” during the pandemic was one of the great escapes I had. I could lock into my creative form in the comfort of our home while self isolating. As you know, the whole thing with the covid was very bad in Brazil and we didn’t want to get sick. The whole process of finishing all of the songs, making the vocal arrangements and writing lyrics took all together about two years before we recorded the new six songs in 2021 ultimately having 10 songs on the album. But many things effected especially the recording process in the studio when few of us were going through some personal problems and this challenge was definitely conquered in the outcome. We channeled our issues into the album with the force of emotions and the belief that everything we were doing was worthwile. It’s a hell of a emotional trip looking back and I could hear myself in a dark and sensitive place when I first heard the final mixes during a time I was already feeling better. I’m happy we could capture this and turn it into something beautiful.

-About the concept that the album follows, it is noticeable that it has a whole mystical influence behind it, with messages about transformation, and the like. How did you come to this topic?

I’ve always been pretty alert about what’s happening in the global scale and I always try to reflect my own experiences going through it. I’ve long had a feeling that we as a collective have arrived to a turning point not only environmentally but also emotionally. It felt very strong especially during the worst times of the pandemic so I started writing about issues that revolve around the idea of certain cycles coming to an end and the beginning of a new one. This includes a giant transformation that we’ve been going through already thousands of years. Deep down I’m a hopeful person and all these struggles I see I believe something good will eventually come out of them. But of course, before that things might get even worse. The right direction may be ahead of us after we’re gone and not here to witness it. A human being is usually a very selfish being wanting everything to happen now but time and our planet doesn’t work that way and we need to accept it.

-How would you define the essence of the album?

After I got all the lyrics ready I felt there was a red line interacting with every song and the soundscapes we created. We had some serious star reaching skype-sessions with our bass player Anssi and started to play around with the idea of an intergalactic superbeing monitoring our developement through different cycles in the short universal time frame that we’ve been given. The cosmic chief shaman, “Ciklos” was born and this idea tied the songs together. I need to point out that Ciklos is not a god because nothing happens because of it’s will. Everything happens because of our will and actions and we as individuals are responsible of that. Ciklos is there to monitor the whole developement and mark it down to a collective memory.

-Now if you could define the essence of the band in just one sentence, what would it be?

Spiritraiser bowls along in the dark matter of the cosmic pop space on its very own shock wave towards the great cycle rotator Ciklos in the Lagrange point of black holes.

-And what are the differences between “Ciklos” and the first album “Inspiral”?

The differences are quite obvious actually for some simple reasons. “Inspiral” was at first meant to be completely instrumental so the majority of the material is composed in this sense. I came to the band after most of it was written and just made my vocal arrangements to the parts where I felt they fit. This resulted the album being pretty challenging but at the same time quite intriguing, a somewhat controlled chaos. “Ciklos” was written completely with the idea of having vocals on it so the album is very much easier to approach than the previous one. For me “Ciklos” feels like the album we needed to make. It’s an overall experience of tidal waves of emotions being channeled through music when “Inspiral” was the beginning of our journey together.

-I found Spiritraiser’s sound very original and with a lot of its own personality, what are your main influences when composing?

There are so many artists and bands we like and take influences from. You should definitely check out our Spotify playlist we made about our influences: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rH2kDdXycIQTDbH7tsa30?si=839a0bff8bfe4e59

-Besides Spiritraiser, you have other bands and projects. Jules is also part of the bands Profane Omen, Rootbrain and Enemy of the Sun, Uula is from the band Sleep Of Monsters, and Kristian also has an electronic music project called Fone. How is it for you to reconcile so many bands and projects?

We always work in time frames and try to plan ahead as much as we can, especially because of my logistical challenges. But all of us have always been working with two or three bands at the same time so the work method of working with distance is not a stranger to us. As long as everyone knows what’s ahead we can plan accordingly. But at the moment now that “Ciklos” was just released we’re focusing on Spiritraiser.

-What are Spiritraiser’s plans for 2022? Any shows or tours scheduled?

We just played couple of shows in Finland and we’re planning to do some more during Autumn 2022. We’re also talking with some booking agencies to help us out to plan better so exciting times ahead!

-Thanks for the interview! Would you like to send a message to the readers of Chaoszine?

Hey Chaoszine readers! We see you and we feel you! Check us out through our Youtube-page for example and lets feel it together! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb82tZGrz1CgZtqCcU5ZbmQ