Interview: Getting to Know Free Carmen
Finland based, four-piece alternative rock output, Free Carmen continue their incredibly rewarding, and highly creative musical journey through the seasons with their new album ‘Solstice II’, out now! In this interview, we get to know them a little better.
1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.
Thank you for having me. I’m from a city called Tampere, which is a big city in Finland, though on a global scale it loses its might quite quickly. My fixation with music started very young, so I can’t remember an exact moment of awakening or a first spark. I just remember being fascinated by my dad’s vinyls and watching Elvis DVDs.
Some key moments must have been discovering Guns N’ Roses (which became an obsession for many years), or a scene in the Finnish music documentary Saimaa ilmiö where Juice Leskinen plays Luonas kai olla saan, or forming my first band in third grade. Probably the most meaningful moment was asking my parents for a guitar as a birthday present, and actually getting it. Songwriting “started” that very night, after learning Smoke on the Water. As soon as I could barely play it, I was already trying to change it up and write my own song.
2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?
I usually tell them that the best way is to go and give it spin. Then you can decide yourself what kind of music it is. But if I had to say some genre I would probably say alternative rock. And I think it’s funny that people usually find that answer either boring or don’t understand what it means.
3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?
All of the above! We just released the third and the last single from the album on December 19th. The new album Solstice II comes out on December 21st and we have an album release gig on the same day. In January we’ll record our next release which will be an EP. We’ve been editing a lot of videos that will come out during 2026. In the spring of 2026 we’ll play the Solstice Tour but before that we have a small record store tour in January. We also have some festivals booked for the summer, which is a big deal for us as they’ll be our first ones.
4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?
Releasing the second part of the Solstice double album concept.
5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.
We made both albums completely independently and without any compromises. Usually when people say that, they end up explaining why the mix isn’t quite right or why the snare doesn’t sound so good or blah blah blah.
Paying for the albums from our own pockets doesn’t mean they were cheap or rushed because of the tight budget. For five years we worked different jobs and saved money for them. It doesn’t mean we tried to spend as much as possible to record 15 songs either – just that nothing would slip through our fingers unless we were happy with it. And usually money is the obstacle that forces compromises.
We reached our goal through detailed planning, commitment, and simple common sense. Some might call us foolish for putting so much money into this, but we either do it in a way we can stand behind for the rest of our lives, or we don’t do it at all.
6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?
When it comes to songwriting, it seems to be something I simply have to do. It’s like therapy, where I can share my darkest thoughts with confidence. A song doesn’t leak any information, because the listener draws their own conclusions. Many times I read my lyrics afterward and wonder what they’re all about, and later in life they make perfect sense once something has happened. It just feels like I wrote about it in advance. I have a theory that in some kind of flow state you can have the most honest views about your life and its future. Then you kind of know what’s going to happen or at least have a hunch about it. So, in a way songs feel like a way to prepare myself for what’s ahead.
7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?
Maybe the only thing that I find challenging is the flood of all the unnecessary information and phones etc. Oftentimes, these things may be in the way of inspiration but I’ve found an easy fix for that problem. I just leave my phone home when I go out or on a holiday, and just don’t care about it.
8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?
We’re still figuring it out. It makes us bang our heads against the wall, but also gives us excuses to make our stupidest and funniest video ideas, which is always fun. We don’t want to fall into the ”who’s our drummer” category of bands. All that just feels like noise that will fade with time. For now, we’ll hold tight and try not to lose our mental health over such nonsense.
Making videos, promoting gigs, pitching songs and such, can be fun and it is gravely important, but we still have to focus on the most important thing: making art. If that wasn’t at the top of the list, doing any of the other things wouldn’t make any sense.
What I would hope from a consumer’s point of view, is that the people who make music, or are involved in the process of shoving it to everyones faces, wouldn’t think that there is a hurry in every fucking thing in this world. If the TikTok people can’t handle more than a couple of seconds of your makings, then why should they have any influence in any artistic decision ever. I’d love to see more artists who simply don’t care about statistics or likes etc.
And a problem with Spotify, that irritates me the most, is that it shows how many listeners and streams per song you have. Since when did that become a thing for people to monitor while experiencing art? Fuck that.
9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?
Just trying to stay as true to myself as possible. Somehow it seems that people feel like they should follow all the trends and do the latest dances and so on. We don’t have to do that.
10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support you?
Come to the gigs. Buy a t-shirt and a vinyl. Take your time with our music. It’s not always supposed to make sense with the first listening
11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?
I like to enjoy nature as much as possible. I’ve traveled a couple times to Norway and the beauty of the north is something that nothing can beat.
Movies inspire me deeply, so I watch them quite a lot. I also enjoy challenging my taste in that form of art more than in anything else.
12. Where can people find you?
All the usual bullshit! You can go and ravish in the flood of links you need to have today! Wouldn’t it be great if there were no social media?
