An Interview with Auri: An Invisible Gossamer Bridge to “Candles & Beginnings” – and Why Auri Wants You Fully Present.

Metalliluola interviewed Tuomas Holopainen, Johanna Kurkela and Troy Donockley of Auri about Auri’s upcoming third studio album “III – Candles & Beginnings”, which is set to be released on August 15, 2025.

We discussed the album’s songs, the songwriting process, going on tour, and more. Enjoy the read!

I’ve been listening to this upcoming third album almost on repeat. I think it’s your most versatile album so far, exploring such unusual and rich atmospheres that I’m not even sure how to describe them.

Troy: This is sounding good.

And I think this album challenges the listener even more than the previous ones, and fans are definitely going to love it.

Auri: We certainly love it.

How would you describe Auri’s music and musical evolution here in 2025?

Johanna: One word comes to mind, and it’s “organic”. It just happened. We haven’t made any plans or talked about any progressive steps to take.

It all just happened in the most wonderful, natural way. We just do what we love and that’s it. That’s the recipe.

Troy: That’s it.

Tuomas: It always surprises me how many people think that making music is planned or discussed in advance. What kind of album, what kind of song to create.

With the three of us, and also in Nightwish, it’s never like that. Organic is a perfect word to describe it. You just let it all come in and you work as a channel and the music comes out and it is what it is.

It’s ultimate freedom. It’s being humble with all the stories and the music you want to tell and the result is what it is. You don’t need to explain anything.

Troy: That’s right. It is organic. As in unadulterated and natural and like growing a living thing.

Tuomas: Living thing, I like that.

Where does the album title “Candles & Beginnings” come from?

Troy: Evocation. It evokes something really very Auri with our ethos, whatever our ethos is. It’s a very atmospheric title I think and it feeds into the fact that we’re about to go on tour as well for the first time.

First, there was a horse, and then a cat (Auri (2018) had Joomba lending equestrian atmospheres and II – Those We Don’t Speak Of (2021) had Vangelis the cat imbuing feline atmospheres). What is the guest animal star on this album?

Johanna chuckled warmly: I think it was involuntary cat vocals. Our cats love to participate whenever I record vocals. I do have my door to my home studio closed but you can certainly hear them meowing from behind the door.

And sure enough there’s been multiple occasions where I just nailed that take. There it is, and there at the end of it you can hear them meowing (Johanna playfully mimicked the cats’ meows, drawing laughter from everyone).

But apart from that, there were no four-legged friends.

Troy: Nothing official anyway.

Tuomas: We were talking about a sheep. Playing a trumpet solo.

Troy grinned mischievously: There’s a sheep in the field over from my house. It’s a brilliant trumpeter, the sheep. It plays “The Last Post” at night at about 9 o’clock.

With a gleeful chuckle, Troy launched into an exaggerated, comical trumpet solo — blaring and wobbling notes that had everyone laughing.

Johanna: I love it.

Troy: But we couldn’t get him, could we? It was management decision.

Tuomas: It was so expensive.

Troy: He was. (Laughter)

Were there any challenges in writing the songs or creating the album?

Auri: No. And we can say that about every Auri album. Of course you have your occasional rethink over a lyric, or a discussion over an arrangement idea but any “challenges” are already overcome before excavating the songs to see daylight.

Do you constantly brainstorm ideas together, both musically and lyrically? In Auri’s case, which usually comes first – lyrics or music – or does it vary?

Johanna: It really varies. I don’t remember us brainstorming other than… remember that one time when we were in Petrax Studios (in Hollola, Finland) around the table and we were coming up with ideas for the tour.

Somebody came up with the name “Invisible Gossamer Bridge”. That’s where that came from. That later became a song.

But really we all write separately and we approach music individually in different ways, don’t we, which varies?

Troy: We do.

Johanna: So it’s very personal how we discover the songs and how the songs arrive and come to us. I don’t think there really is an easy answer to that question.

Other than it varies a lot.

You mentioned that first song, the album opening. I noticed that “gossamer bridge” appears in a short poem called “A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman. Is this poem referenced in “The Invisible Gossamer Bridge”?

Troy: Not consciously. I mean I’ve been using the Invisible Gossamer Bridge as a description between Kitee and Yorkshire for a thousand years. I wasn’t conscious of that.

I’m a huge Walt Whitman fan. But it must have fed into my consciousness. My subconscious.

And it must have just come out as that. But an invisible gossamer bridge is an idea. And a particularly beautiful idea.

And it’s been expressed musically by Johanna in an extremely beautiful way.

Her voice fills the entire room.

Troy: Or your entire mind.

“The Apparition Speaks” marks the first time in Auri’s history that electric guitars with a distinctly metal-inspired sound are featured. It was a jaw-dropping surprise on first listen. I was like, what’s going on?

Troy: It’s kind of momentary, but that sound was deliberate. It was the only sound that could be used for that song.

Did you play the guitar?

Troy: Yes I did. But the counter to that, that takes it in a completely different universe altogether, which is what Kaitsu (Kai Hahto), our drummer, said. Because Kaitsu called it the doom track when he first heard it.

But he said it completely goes beyond all of that. Because once Johanna starts singing in that backdrop and Tuomas plays a theremin in it, which is sublime, the whole complexion of the song changes altogether.

And you forget that this massive root, this rhythm, the chugging electric guitar, which is really tuned down to something like G, you forget about it.

It’s just a pulse, which was what I wanted. But I wanted to evoke the girders that make up a pier that goes out into the sea. Girders that are covered in crustacea and shells and rusty iron with the sea salt hitting it.

That was that sound. It was the only sound I could get to express the sea hitting girders. And then, of course, you have Johanna’s voice, which is the apparition that appears in it.

I’m telling you too much… That’s roughly where I got the idea.

I found many of the melodies to be uplifting and happy, but on the other hand, there are moments that feel almost oppressive or even “scary” in a good way. This song is a perfect example, and its mood reminds me of “Savant” from the first Auri album (2018).

Were there any other new or interesting things you tried on this upcoming album?

Auri: You will find those on every single song on the album. Imagine answering “no” to this question… That’d be a sign to start looking for linen for your deathbed.

The album has an enormous amount of low-end and you can physically feel the impact in your chest, in a way that’s different from the previous albums. Was something done differently this time?

Auri: Not deliberately. It’s simply the apparitions of the deep dark below becoming alive through Auri’s music, so there.

“Oh, Lovely Oddities” is one of my personal favourites – such wonderful lyrics, and Johanna shines more expressively than ever before, with genuine emotion. Who are these oddities?

Troy: We’re not telling you.

Tuomas: Let’s just say that the song was inspired by a very special place.

Troy: That’s special to us all.

Tuomas: For the three of us. And the song pretty much wrote itself because that place is so special to us. And then we put a lot of ambiguity and vagueness into the lyrics to really confuse the listener.

Troy: That’s it. The wonderful thing that I love about that song is that it’s got an almost Brechtian feel to it. If you look at some of those old plays and the music of Bertolt Brecht, it’s very like that.

It’s so left of field to the subject matter. You don’t know what the subject matter is yet, but you’ll probably find out what it is. But the subject matter is fabulously, inadvertently described through the chord changes of the song.

And we also found with that song that just when you think that the direction is set, it changed when we got a violin solo from Frank van Essen, who just said, “Can I just play a violin solo on this?” It was like, yeah, please do. And then he sent it to us and it was just so perfect.

It fits the song perfectly.

Troy: It’s so perfect.

I wondered whether this song was even recorded live, because at the very end, you can hear an extra sound in an interesting way – almost like the recording is being cut off?

Troy: Not really. I think I know what you mean. But that was… there was something in there that we chopped at the very end. And I think you get the residue of that. It’s all pertinent to the song.

About “Blakey Ridge”, please tell us more about this place. It’s somewhere in the UK?

Troy: It’s on the North Yorkshire Moors, located between York and Whitby.

A National Park?

Troy: Yeah. And it’s the highest pub in the UK. One of them, there’s two. I think it’s the second highest.

Tuomas: It’s the most remote, isn’t it?

Troy: That’s it. Tuomas is right. It’s the most remote pub. You’re looking at 15 miles (24 kilometres) to the nearest habitation. It really is in the middle of nowhere.

Have you all been there?

Tuomas: Many times. A very special place for us. I’ve always loved taking our friends there to have the experience of this magical place. That was the inspiration behind the song, but there’s so much more going on in the lyrics than just an invitation to Blakey Ridge.

Troy: The lyrics, as all good lyrics should, go behind the picture — behind the obvious — and into the self. It’s the first time we ever played a gig together as Auri was in there. So that’s another nice little point about it.

The song itself is so festive and uplifting. You simply must play it live, do you?

Troy: Yeah, we are going to play it live.

It’s sure to become a new fan favourite, maybe even the catchiest Auri tune to date.

Troy: I hope so.

Tuomas: It’s entirely up to the listener’s ears.

Tuomas’ short keyboard melodies reminded me of the ’90s or perhaps the “Wishmaster”-era Nightwish. Tuomas, did you play them on the N364 or on the Kronos?

Tuomas: Kronos. But it’s still a chord, just an evolved sample.

What inspired the track “Helios” and the use of the figure from Greek mythology?

Troy: Helios, it’s a hymn to the sun, more than anything. Modern and ancient and futuristic. The sun is the source of all of life, obviously.

But there’s lots of hidden messages in there as well. It’s kind of a journey between Equinox and Solstice too. And it suggests certain things about the sun and our relationship with it.

But yeah, the sun god Helios. And his many forms. One of the most wonderful parts for me is when Johanna sings “You are millions and you are one”.

It’s just fabulous. Because he is only one of millions. He’s one of billions.

But he’s ours. He belongs to us.

“Museum of Childhood” easily transports the listener first to the middle of a rainforest, surrounded by birds and nature. But is the song actually named after the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh?

Johanna: Oh, I love that. You know that. Yeah, that’s where I got the idea for the song.

And it was in 2018 already that I wrote that name down in my notebook. It took quite many years to actually finish the song and write it.

Did you have melody lines or lyrics already in mind back then?

Johanna: Just the title came in Edinburgh. I think I composed and wrote the lyrics in 2023, I’d say. That’s when the song came together.

Will there be a music video?

Johanna: Yes, and it’s a beautiful one.

Tuomas: It’s wonderful.

Troy: It’s wonderful. It’s highly addictive.

Will there be a third single released before the album drops?

Tuomas: That’s not supposed to happen, but Nuclear Blast suggested it. It’s not a single release, but because of some algorithm for the release date of the album they want to highlight one song from the album. I don’t really know why, but that’s what they always do. So “Blakey Ridge” is going to be there with a lyric video.

Besides “Shieldmaiden”, did Nordic folklore or Norse mythology inspire the album in any other ways?

Tuomas: The “Shieldmaiden” song is not… Well, it can be about anything you want, but it did not originate from Viking mythology. It has to do with something completely different that has to do with perseverance.

Sorry, this was just my presumption.

Troy: No, it’s an easy presumption to make. I mean, shieldmaiden. The word, the description, really fits the sentiment of the song.

Tuomas: Exactly.

Johanna: The archetype of the Shieldmaiden.

Troy: And the shieldmaiden can be anyone you want or feel that the shieldmaiden should be.

Tuomas: I’m a big fan of archetypes when you give them a twist.

In all forms of art, literature, movies, games, when you have a Dracula or Werewolf or Shieldmaiden, but then you have this twist that nobody saw coming, then that’s when it becomes really interesting.

Troy: Absolutely. And like some gods as well, like Helios. Some nice twists in him. Same as the shieldmaiden.

The final, 11-minute closing track “A Boy Travelling With His Mother” doesn’t really have sung parts but instead extremely short and sweet spoken parts by Johanna. The song is quite different and unusual, yet very moving – it really stirs the imagination and makes me close my eyes. I heard a train in the soundscape, and the song “Pearl Diving” came to mind, because it contains the lyric “I feel like a child about to board a Ghost Train”. Is it the sound of a steam locomotive in this long track?

Troy: I think it’s great that you made some kind of connection there to “Pearl Diving”. Maybe there is a connection there.

But no, the train — the sound of the train — was meant to sound like an old narrow-gauge train, the kind of train that I used to travel on when I was a little boy with my mother. And I managed to get a recording of an old train and that’s what I used for that.

It works very well. I don’t know if you want to answer this, but who is the boy? Is he a new character?

Troy: That’s another good question. These are good, these are really good. Who is the boy, and who is the mother?

Or what are the boy and the mother? There are lots of possibilities depending on your philosophy on what they could be. So I don’t want to spoil it for you as to who the boy is and who the mother is.

Tuomas: The fact that you’re even bringing this up tells us something wonderful. So you know how to dive into music.

Troy: You get into the centre of what it is that Auri does with its songs. You get into that. It’s quite a simple thing that you do. You’re just looking beyond the obvious.

And that’s a really rare thing. And it’s difficult for a lot of people to do that. So hats off.

But in the boy travelling with his mother there’s lots of indications as to what’s going on there with the spoken word from Johanna. Which I think is one of the most sublime things ever. The way she delivers it, as an actress more than a singer.

And she absolutely grabs the sentiment and the deeper core of what that song’s about in expressing that. The opening, “Hold My Hand”, and then that wall of sound is just one of the greatest moments I think I’ve ever heard.

Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot.

Troy: It’s true.

Johanna: It’s always refreshing.

Troy: And it’s unusual.

Troy, I was surprised to hear that you don’t sing lead vocals on any song on this album. Do you want to focus more on playing instruments?

Troy: No, it just didn’t happen for this album. There was nothing there for me to sing lead vocals on.

Johanna: Well, that’s kind of lead in “Blakey Ridge” though.

Troy: Oh I do, I sing a bit on there — “The sun is setting…” But apart from that, no, I’m pretty in the background on this album. But it wasn’t deliberate.

I’m sure on the next album I’ll probably sing something.

Tuomas: Another fine example of how we approach songwriting. We just listen to the songs and let them dictate how they want to be told.

Troy: That’s absolutely right. So that’s our modus operandi.

Tuomas: For example, the song that we were just talking about, “A Boy Travelling With His Mother”, I play maybe 30 seconds of keyboards in that.

Because he played all the keyboards and I thought there’s nothing I can really give to this song because it’s so perfect. Maybe a couple of piano parts and a small addition here and there. But that’s just how it works. We don’t do things because…

Troy: No, we don’t. I must be on this. I’ve got to do this.

And that is a rare thing and it’s beautiful. Whereas the 30 seconds that Tuomas played on it were perfect and the song couldn’t do without them. That rising piano line — it’s vital because it says something really important that if it had just been going along on the same plane… but there’s a beautiful rising piano and of course the theremin in the end appears. Fabulous.

It’s a great example of why I don’t sing solo on the album and why on “A Boy Travelling…” Tuomas only played a few critical lines.

And of course my vocal on “Blakey Ridge” was critical, but there’s not much of it. But that’s just the way it should be.

Are there any direct sequels to previously released Auri or Nightwish songs on this album?

Auri: If the listener wishes so, why not. This is not something that we as songwriters deliberately went after, though.

Do you revisit old lyrics and spend a lot of time considering what might fit the new songs?

Auri: No. A clean slate and reaching beyond the horizon is the way to go.

Over how long a period were the songs and lyrics on the new album written?

Auri: Some of the songs go back decades, some go back many years, most of them saw daylight a year or three before starting the recordings.

Kai Hahto’s drumming plays a much more prominent role than before. Could you tell us something about his contribution?

Troy: He’s just Kai, isn’t he? But the really splendid thing is that he loves Auri, he’s a fan of our music. So it’s very easy to work with him.

Johanna: We had a wonderful recording session with him in Petrax, didn’t we? At the start of the year.

Tuomas: It’s always so effortless with him.

Johanna: Exactly.

Troy: He knows exactly what to do.

Tuomas & Johanna: Yeah, he does.

Johanna: It’s a huge gift.

The other guests include Frank van Essen (strings), Jonas Pap (cello), and Juho Kanervo (basses). Would you say this is your trusted core team?

Troy: Yeah, the Dutch contingent is our string section. They will always be with us. And it is part of our sound, really, isn’t it? But Frank van Essen is extraordinary.

Tuomas: Never change a working piece of machinery.

Troy: That’s right. We keep the parts oiled at all times.

Tero “TeeCee” Kinnunen unusually mixed the album in Spain. Do you feel this affected the final result in any way? How did Tim Oliver come to be chosen as the album’s mastering engineer?

Auri: Plenty of sunshine made us all shine, so yes it did have an impact. Tero & Tim are old trustees, who will hopefully travel with us all the way to the very end of the Auri path.

How do you usually communicate during the album-making process, since Troy lives in the UK while Tuomas and Johanna live in Finland? Do you make video calls to one another, or do you try to meet in person as often as possible?

Auri: We meet in person as often as possible, otherwise we communicate on an astral level and send each other ideas and files of lore and justice through an invisible gossamer bridge.

There are long instrumental sections in many songs without lyrics, and I feel like the songs are cleverly divided into distinct parts. Was that your intention from the start?

Auri: We do not intend anything in advance, our musical paths are carved from intuition and listening carefully to the story that wants to be told. Pure freedom of expression is the only way to go.

I read that the album booklet will feature Johanna’s calligraphy – could you tell us more about that?

Auri: She’s an entity of multiple incredible talents, calligraphy being one of them. ’Nuff said.

Is the idea to always release album covers with a similar style but different colour schemes? Who made the cover art?

Auri: That’s the plan. Imagine how beautiful and museal the row of Auri albums will look in 2055 after us having done 27 albums. The logo and calligraphy were created by Johanna; the rest of the artwork was created by Pete Voutilainen.

Auri is finally going on tour for the very first time, and the first two concerts will take place in Kitee. What does it mean to you to start the tour in Kitee and to perform there?

Tuomas: Just logistically easy, because we have all our rehearsals there. And the dress rehearsals, the production rehearsals will be there. So it’s just easy to start from there. That’s pretty much the only reason.

Johanna: It’s a home base.

Tuomas: Home base, yeah.

What kind of venues will you be performing in across Europe? Are there any locations you’re especially looking forward to?

Auri: Theaters, concert halls, and churches. We’re looking forward to every single one of them. No need to upset the other venues by raising a particular one on a platform. Well, except the ageless wonder that is “Blakey Ridge”. It will sadly not happen on this tour, but once we get to perform there, hopefully in a year or two, gods will be created.

The concert was originally supposed to take place in Kitee Church but was moved to Kiteesali. What happened there?

Troy: I think there’s a perception that Auri is a demonic band. (Laughter)

Johanna: That’s it.

Troy: No, it was just the room, really. Not much room for us in the Kitee Church. There’s no stage as such.

Tuomas: And also very challenging acoustics.

Troy: Absolutely.

Tuomas: It was going to be the first show we ever did. There’s going to be a lot of cell phones, things going into the internet immediately. So we thought, let’s play it safe and do it in a proper environment.

Johanna: We already rehearsed two days before, so we know how it’s going to sound.

Tuomas: Our crew said a big thank you for this decision as well.

Troy: Yeah, they were really happy about it.

Johanna: And I’m sure also for the audience, because there’s going to be the pillars that you need to kind of do this to see us.

Troy: Yeah, that’s right. And also it’s going to be tricky with their cell phones when you’ve got pillars in front of you.

Tuomas & Troy: Yeah, now they can’t take proper videos.

Troy: We just can’t escape that though, can we? We tried it in Nightwish. We actually asked the audience to not film us.

Yeah, I remember, on the “Decades” tour in 2018.

Troy: And then the moment we came on, thousands of phones went up straight away. It was like, oh bugger.

Tuomas: And I also don’t like the idea of collecting cell phones before the show. I think it’s going too far.

Troy: It’s a bit kind of starchy, isn’t it? Taking people’s phones off them.

Johanna: Reading is good.

Tuomas: Reading is good. But I wish that people wouldn’t film.

Troy: Yeah. It’s a really stupid thing to do. I mean, to pay for tickets to go to a live venue and then watch it through a screen. It’s just madness.

Tuomas: We were just a couple of months ago in Disneyland Paris. And it had the most incredible evening show that we have maybe ever seen.

Johanna: It was 360° as well. It was everywhere.

Tuomas: 360°, unbelievable. And I would say 80% of the people were watching the show through their cell phones.

Johanna: And they were missing it completely.

Troy: It’s always rubbish when you look at a phone. Are they going to watch it? Are they really going to say, “I’ll watch that thing that I didn’t see?” Tonight, I’ll watch that. Oh, it must have been good.

Tuomas: And it’s already filmed a thousand times. You can find the same footage from YouTube.

Troy: In high definition. In widescreen. I don’t get it. I do not get it.

What can fans expect from the tour?

Johanna: What can they expect? Well, songs from the Auri albums for sure. And somehow, I think we really want to create that really warm…

Somebody used the word sensual environment — Like something that really wraps around you in a warm hug. The music.

That we can all connect. It’s like we build a fire and we all gather around it. And we’re all mesmerized by it.

So that’s what I’m hoping.

Tuomas: I’m hoping that people will leave the venue with a big smile on their face and have the feeling that “I’ve just witnessed a beautiful magic trick. And I feel comforted.”

Johanna: And connected.

Tuomas: And connected – that’s good.

Troy: And I loved it so much that I’m not going to even try to work it out.

Johanna: Yeah, I’m going to come to another show.

Tuomas: And I forgot to film it, damn! That’s the reaction I want.

Troy: Yeah, I forgot to use my phone. Oh, that would be lovely, wouldn’t it?

Johanna: Yeah, that would be the ultimate goal.

What do you see in Auri’s future?

Auri: Music. Delivered to the universe in the most peculiar and purest of ways.

Thank you for the lovely interview!

Troy: Oh, this was lovely.

Is there anything you’d like to say to the readers of Metalliluola?

Johanna: Just thank you for the support.

Troy: Yeah, just come and see us and say hello and enjoy the show. Wonderful, that was a great interview.

Johanna: Thank you so much!

Tuomas: Good questions.

Troy: Really good questions.

Interview by: Riku Juutilainen
Photos: Hannu Juutilainen © Metalliluola.fi

AURI embarks on its first ever tour! Live concerts are enhanced by Kai Hahto, Johanna Iivanainen and Mikko Iivanainen. On selected nights, Auri is supported by Eye Of Melian.

AURI TOUR 2025 – “A TRAIL OF CANDLES & BEGINNINGS“

13. 08. Kitee, Kiteesali
14. 08. Kitee, Kiteesali
16. 08. Tampere, Tampere-talo
20. 08. Oulu, Madetojan Sali
22. 08. Vaasa, Ritz
23. 08. Helsinki, Helsinki Festival / Huvilateltta (+ Eye Of Melian)

12. 09. Manchester, RNCM Theatre
13. 09. Edinburgh, Queen ́s Hall
15. 09. London, Union Chapel

16. 09. Gent, Theaterzaal Vooruit
17. 09. Paris, La Cigale (+ Eye Of Melian)
18. 09. Utrecht, Tivoli Vredenburg (+ Eye Of Melian)
20. 09. Zürich, Volkshaus
21. 09. Stuttgart, Liederhalle
22. 09. Cologne, Theater am Tanzbrunnen (+ Eye Of Melian)
23. 09. Essen, Lichtburg
25. 09. Mannheim, Capitol
26. 09. Munich, St. Matthäuskirche
27. 09. Vienna, Simm City
29. 09. Budapest, MOM Kult
30. 09. Prague, Hybernia
01. 10. Berlin, Passionskirche
02. 10. Leipzig, Kupfersaal
04. 10. Warsaw, Palladium
06. 10. Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
07. 10. Copenhagen, Amager Bio
08. 10. Stockholm, Nya Circus
09. 10. Oslo, Sentrum Scene
10. 10. Bergen, Grieghallen

AURI online:
https://linktr.ee/auri.band
https://auri.bfan.link/iii-candles-beginnings
https://www.backstagerockshop.com/collections/auri