Jonas Renkse, founder and lead vocalist of Swedish metal band KATATONIA spoke to Metal Oda on the verge of their SKY VOID OF STARS TOUR İstanbul concert to be held on January 20th, 2024.
Metal Oda: Hi Jonas. First of all, thank you so much for your time to chat about the upcoming İstanbul concert. It is not the first and won’t be the last Katatonia concert in our country. The band took the stage many times before in Turkey, in different cities and venues. Katatonia is one of the favorite bands of the Turkish metal music fans. So, what can we expect in this new SKY VOID OF STARS TOUR concert in terms of show and line up?
Jonas Renkse: As said, we have performed in Turkey many times and it’s a favourite place to play. Turkey embraced us early on and have kept supporting us, so we’re looking forward.
(Jonas Renkse)
Metal Oda: SKY VOID OF STARS was one of the best albums of 2023 in metal music: in this album all lyrics and music was written by yourself. The album was released on January 20th 2023 from Napalm Records, that is exactly one year from the upcoming İstanbul concert. What would you like to tell us about this album?
Jonas Renkse: I think it’s a great chapter in our book. It’s very contemporary but with nods to our roots. A very live oriented album too, which was something we wanted to achieve.
Metal Oda: Katatonia holds a special place in the metal scene with its unique dark and melancholic sound: what would you like to say about this “dark rock” sound of the band which has got more “progressive” and very chic in time?
Jonas Renkse: Hard to say, we always just try to come up with the kind of music we think is exciting and would like to hear ourselves! It’s an ongoing journey and I don’t know more than anyone else what lies around the corner.
Metal Oda: The music and the lyrics of Katatonia deal with existential problems, depression and melancholia with a strong feeling of agony drawing from an emptiness or hollowness inside and sometimes from a feeling of alienation. So, where does all the inspiration come for creating such music and lyrics?
I believe Sky Void of Stars album bears traces of the Covid-19 darkness we have been through. The album’s title is about how sailors were stuck, couldn’t travel forward when the path was not clear under a starless, black sky. We all felt the exact same way during the lockdowns in the pandemic, we were completely lost. What would you say about the title of the album?
Jonas Renkse: Yeah, it’s a product of the pandemic for sure. Written in lockdown mode with no knowledge of what the future would look like for artists. Difficult times to navigate, just like when people used the stars in the sky to navigate.
Metal Oda: In the lyrics there are many celestial bodies such as stars, constellations and planets (i.e. Saturn). Do you have any personal interest in astronomy or passion for space?
Jonas Renkse: Not really, but as space is both infinite and cold, it gives a lot of good ideas and metaphors…
(Sky Void of Stars Album -2023)
Metal Oda: Do the Scandinavian weather, landscapes or geography have an influence on the despressive and melancholic music and lyrics of Katatonia? Lyrics deal with emptiness, distance, losses, shadows, fog and defeat. There are various words and sentences with a strong visual impact on the listener such as “ghostlike horizon of your eye”, “engineer of the colossal shade”, “palace of wretched steel”, “chain the songbirds to your argent dome”. These images kind of teleport us to Game Of Throneslike fantastic realms, paired with the beatiful album cover art, don’t you think?
Jonas Renkse: Yeah, I have to admit the weather and climate is inspirational. We have very separated seasons here, which I like. I know what to expect. And especially from late fall until late spring it’s very dark. Summer is short but sweet, very celebrated here and something people dream about during the long, cold and dark months.
Metal Oda: Coming back to music, I know that you have quoted Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson as a major inspiration: I have to add that Steven Wilson is one of Metal Oda’s favorite musicians along with Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt with whom you are close friends. Let’s not forget that Akerfeldt and Wilson worked together on several iconic Opeth albums. The world of prog metal is a little one I guess. Let me add that last year you have supported Rioghan on their “Different Kinds of Losses” album which was one of the most outstanding albums of 2022 in terms of prog and she has been my guest on Metal Oda YouTube channel.
Speaking of your collaborations with different artists, in Sky Void of Stars album, you have the wonderful SOEN lead vocalist Joel Ekelöf on the track “Impermenance”. You know, SOEN is also one of the favorite bands of the Turkish metal audience and they had this magnificient İstanbul concert last September. The venue was again Zorlu Psm.
(Joel Ekelöf-SOEN)
What would you like to say about all those incredibly talented artists you work with in the field of prog metal, which I believe is not only “metal music” but is a form of art. Do you think these collaborations are contributing and enriching the prog scene?
Jonas Renkse: There’s a lot of talent in the metal scene, and it keeps branching out to different sub genres too. We have a lot of friends and acquaintances in the scene which sometimes call for guest spots!
Metal Oda: In rock music, I love when bands pay homage to and honor the great bands through the use of riffs and melodies in their music; because music and art always move forward by keeping and building the legacy. In your album Sky Void of Stars “Colossal Shade” is a homage to KISS and “Birds” to Paradise Lost which I know is an important inspiration to Katatonia. This homage in music makes younger generations curious and enthusiastic to learn about the great bands of rock and metal. I also think it is very important for the development of music, don’t you think?
Jonas Renkse: Yeah, sometimes you need to look back to go forward. It’s good to revisit your past and your younger self, at least to a certain extent.
Metal Oda: Live Sanctitude (2015), between Dethroned & Uncrowned (2013) and Fall of Hearts (2016) is an acoustic Katatonia masterpiece I adore and listen to often (especially on rainy days). Do you think Sky Void of Stars might one day have an acoustic version or a symphonic one such as Atlantis by Soen?
Jonas Renkse: It’s not something we have discussed. I guess things like that need a lot of planning and these last few years have been very busy for us… and I shouldn’t complain about that! Let’s see what the future holds.
Metal Oda: Do you like İstanbul? Do you think our city is chaotic and very much crowded when compared to Sweden? What is your favorite Turkish meal?
Jonas Renkse: I love it. It’s different for me but have always been welcoming with it’s busy city life and great sights. My fave food is lahmacun!
Metal Oda: You will be on stage on January 20th 2024, in one of the most impressive venues of İstanbul in terms of concert hall and acoustics. What would you like to say to Turkish Katatonia fans who are impatiently waiting for this concert?
Jonas Renkse: That we are looking forward as much as they are. It’s been a while. Turkey was one of the last places we played before the pandemic hit.
Metal Oda: Thank you Jonas for your time and for being my guest. I look forward to see you guys soon and watch the wonderful Katatonia once again, live in İstanbul.
Jonas Renkse: Thanks, looking forward and see you!
Katatonia Sky Void of Stars Tour İstanbul concert will be held in Zorlu PSM on January 20th, 2024.
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