With Auri III – Candles & Beginnings, released via Nuclear Blast Records, the trio of Tuomas Holopainen, Troy Donockley, and Johanna Kurkela return with a spellbinding new chapter in their musical journey. Weaving together a tapestry of emotions, the album invites listeners into a world where ethereal melodies meet cinematic depth. The final touches were entrusted to Tim Oliver, who wrapped up the mastering at the legendary Real World Studios, adding yet another layer of magic to Auri’s ever-evolving soundscape.
Welcome to Auri
First of all, Tuomas, Johanna & Troy – thank you so much for joining me today. I’m honored to speak with both of you here. Um, how are you, and how is this period treating you today?
Tuomas: Thank you very much.
Johanna: It’s been a lovely day chatting to lovely people about lovely things, yes.
Approaching “Auri III – Candles & Beginnings”
I’ve been listening to the album all week, and it’s been playing in my head constantly. I truly love it. It kind of transports me to another universe—someplace beyond reality. When I listen to it, I stop thinking about my daily life entirely.
That said, I wanted to ask: what was it like producing this album together this time around? I know the first one was created during the height of COVID, when you were more isolated. But now, you have the chance to work together in the same space and create this magnificent opus. How was that experience for you?
Johanna: Well, thank you, first of all, for the lovely feedback that warms our heart, hearts to hear. And, surprisingly enough, you know, the way we operate has been similar throughout all three albums that we’ve now put out. We each write separately in our home studios, and then through the invisible gossamer bridge, we share our findings and our beautiful creations with each other, and then when it’s time to mix the album, we get together and really hone in on those little details and tweak everything to perfection together.
“We’re always, always connected by that same love that is there.”
But it doesn’t look like that [laughs]. You know? It looks like I listened to the album. I imagine you guys sitting in a wooden cabin, creating the music. I don’t imagine being completely separated, one in England and the other two in Finland.
Johanna: I think that’s you’re in tune with our spirits. And you know, because they’re never left. They never left each other. I mean, they’re always together. Our spirits are always, I mean, we were born from the same star. So energetically, we’re always together. So even when our bodies aren’t on the same continent, we’re always, always connected by that same love that is there.
Troy: Johanna didn’t tell you the whole truth. I mean, in reality, what we do is we, we all live together in a castle and are enshrouded in mist, and, yeah, there’s a big, massive hall with a huge fireplace, and that’s where we get together. And we play live. Don’t forget about the dragons on the roof. And the dragon on the roof. Yeah, Pete, he’s a dragon, yeah [laughs].
Auri has been raising the bar since the debut
So I wanted to ask—though I know you’re usually careful about sharing too much detail when it comes to lyrics and that kind of thing—what do you feel you’ve achieved after these three albums? I hope that doesn’t come off as a silly question, but to me, it feels like with each release, you’ve continued to raise the bar since the debut.
Was there something particularly challenging this time around that taught you something new? Maybe something that didn’t work out so well last time, but that you approached differently now and felt, “Yeah, I’ve learned from that”?
Troy: Interesting
Johanna: Okay, trying to wrap my brain
Troy: One of the major things that we’ve learned in three albums is that our limits are much further away and wider than we thought (laughs). There we it’s it’s getting to the point now, but to see our limits, we have to look through a telescope, because we are so in love with this, with what we do, that the bar that you mentioned doesn’t exist for us.
Entering an unexplored territory
Johanna: It’s rather like, I mean, we entered this unexplored territory with the Auri “I”. It was like arriving on a beach, or a whole unexplored area, or an island. And with the first album, we covered a little bit of ground that much. And then with the second, we’re mapping out even more. And now at the third album, we have quite a bit of land mapped out of the Auri world, but there’s still are still areas out there that we haven’t explored yet, but the area of our world is getting bigger and bigger through each album. That’s how it feels to me, at least. Okay,
Troy: Absolutely. And when we have fully explored this island, we’ll move to another island and explore that one.
Never take for granted
I’m ready for the next piece of the journey, then, because every time I seek to listen to the album, and also with the previous two, I feel like there is a little piece of the domino, the domino that has been added. You know, I’m always ready to be surprised by it. Actually surprised how I accepted myself, because usually, sometimes you take for granted, but without it, you never. You never have to take for granted.
Johanna: I love that. That’s beautiful. Yeah, yeah, to approach music fearlessly and without expectations. That’s a beautiful recipe. Sure.
The experience at the Real World Studios
I know you recorded at Real World Studios—Peter Gabriel’s place, founded in 1989—and wrapped up mixing with Tim Oliver. I wanted to ask what that experience was like.
I once interviewed an American band that also recorded there, and they described it as almost a world of its own. I’ve never been, but it feels like such a creative mecca—not just because of Peter Gabriel, but the whole atmosphere, with WOMAD Festival and all the global, folk, and traditional influences.
Honestly, I get shivers just thinking about it! What was it like for you to step into that space and work there?
Troy: It sounds like you work at Real World. It sounds like you’ve been there, but yeah, it’s a very special place. It’s a unique studio. I would say it’s the most unique studio on Earth because it has a certain ethos to it. It’s very open to experimentation musically. It’s always encouraged obscure music as well. It has a label, Real World Music. The label, yeah, it’s all very obscure, non-commercial music, which is admirable. But to go there and work there was magical, because the way Peter Gabriel designed the studio, which you touched on there.
The experience at the Real World Studios, part 2
It’s, uh, we, three were staying in the main house, and then to go work, it wasn’t work, but to go and work on the music, and to mix the music, we had to cross over a bridge, which is a symbolic bridge. It was designed as a symbolic bridge between worlds, between the unreal world and the real world. And the real world is where the creation of music is, and it’s just such a wonderful concept.
I’ve never been there myself, but I grew up with Peter Gabriel’s music—especially his Genesis-era rock—thanks to my father. We still listen to that stuff together. I also spent time reading about him on my own, and what’s always struck me is the ethos he brings to music. He doesn’t place himself above other artists—it’s never “Peter Gabriel up here and everyone else down there.” It feels like he sees everyone on the same level, part of one shared creative journey. That’s always how I’ve perceived it.
Troy: It’s the way music it’s the way the music creation should be. It’s the ideal. Unfortunately, it’s not like that anymore.
The experience at the Real World Studios, part 3
Yeah, I completely understand—it’s quite rare to get the chance to use a studio like that. So I’m happy for you guys that you managed to do it; it adds a special flavor to the mixing, for sure.
Troy: Yeah, yes, yes. It leaves trace elements. You know, the environment that you work in does leave trace elements in the work, in the music,
“It’s all in the listener’s ears.”
It’s not just because it’s the single, but I love “Shield Maiden.” I find myself connecting with the lyrics on a personal level. There’s a line that stands out to me: “This cellar is home for sleeping Cinderella.”
When I say that line out loud, I start imagining a modern version of Cinderella—maybe in a different kind of fairytale. That’s the image the song brings to mind for me. I don’t know if you’d agree with that interpretation, but that’s how it resonates with me.
Tuomas: It’s all in the listener’s ears how you want to interpret it. There’s no right, there’s no wrong. Well, I’m glad the lyrics and the theme behind it when I started working on those lyrics, but then it just started to live its own life. And what you just said there is beautiful, spot on. Thank you.
The upcoming and first tour of Auri
I know that for the first time, you’ll be performing all these fantastic and magical pieces live during your upcoming European tour this autumn. In September, you’ll also be coming to the Netherlands—Utrecht, to be exact—with Eye of Melian opening the show. I’m looking forward to it!
I also wanted to ask: how challenging is it to bring the same atmosphere from the album to the stage? For me, it’s something truly magical. When I sit and listen to music, I never really know what to expect from the live show. I know it’ll be something great, of course—but there’s always that sense of mystery about how the songs will be translated in a live setting.
Johanna: Absolutely, I will, judging by our rehearsals that we’ve had two times so far, I would say the magic and the same atmosphere is there live. It’s just more tangible, you can really it when you share the same room with other people around the music, that’s where it kind of transcends. It’s, it’s like this power somehow multiplies, you know, it’s exponential. The effect live, I’d say, and when more people join in on us on the evenings, I’d say, that’s, I don’t know if we’re able to keep our heads on that might explode out of the love and the excitement of it all.
Tuomas: “This is interesting to me.”
Tuomas: This is interesting to me, because I’ve been doing shows for about 30 years, and doing a live show has always been more of a solitary experience for me when I’m on stage, yeah, I like to keep my eyes closed, not look at the audience and just live through the show in my head. Of course, there’s some interaction with the other band members, but I’ve never, ever in my life, experienced a cohesion between the other band members on stage. I haven’t experienced what Johanna just described, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming orator that I might have that experience for the first time.
Tuomas: “It feels like going back to a very safe and homely place.”
Okay, I have to admit—I’m also a Nightwish fan. But what I’m curious about is how it feels for you to go back to playing smaller venues. We all know arenas are huge and intense, but when you play in Utrecht this September, it’ll be a smaller, more intimate space. How does it feel to return to smaller venues after so many years?
Tuomas: It feels like going back to a very safe and homely place that I’ve been missing for a very long time. There is a certain kind of power in playing in front of 80,000 people, but it’s always been deep within me that I enjoy those smaller venues just a bit more for one reason or another. So, I’m looking forward to the tour for this reason as well.
In the end
Well, I’m looking forward to it. Thank you so much for the interview and for joining me today. I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Thank you!
Tuomas: Are you coming to one of the shows?
Johanna: It would be lovely to see wonderful.
Troy: Well, yeah, say hello to us, yeah.
Johanna & Troy: It’s been an absolute delight talking to you. Thank you.