Getting to Know… Segmentia | Interview 🎤

In the 325^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, Matti, the bass lord provides the inside scoop on the Seinäjoki, Finland band, Segmentia.

When asked to describe his favorite song that his band, 🎙️ Segmentia, has recorded/performed live, 🎙️ Matti [Siekkinen] the bass lord 💪), responds with 🎵 “Save Me”.  Why did he choose the Finnish band’s latest single? “That song is filled with strong emotions and when you get to the solo section of the song, goosebumps are difficult to avoid especially when playing live!” He further expounds, “It’s the melodies and the aural tsunami of raw emotion that makes the song so special!”  Matti represents the Finnish collective, answering all of our burning questions on the 325^th edition of our Getting to Know… interview series. In addition to Siekkinen on bass, Segmentia is comprised of 🎙️ Kansana (vocals), 🎙️ Arttu Vainiola (guitar), and 🎙️ Jere Luokkamäki (drums). Like other Getting to Know Q&As, we get the inside scoop on the band’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and current, and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into 🎤 Getting to Know…Segmentia: Interview No. 325!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Segmentia distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?  

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: We call our music pop metal from the North. We mix a lot of electronic and symphonic elements as well as pop-influences to a foundation of metal music, which is nothing completely new, but we do it with our own unique twist. Our music tends to be somewhat melancholic (like us Finnish people often are when making art), but also hopeful! So, you could say that strong melodies are our forte, and while we might leave your socks intact for the most part, we may steal your heart if you’re not careful!

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your Segmentia form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: Segmentia actually started as a cover band around 2012, so back then it was more about just having fun and playing some good music together. So, in the beginning there were not too many, or at least not very serious goals.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: Well, fast forward 10 years and after some line-up changes, shows and two released EPs things have turned pretty “serious” for us. The basic goal of having fun and playing great music together has stayed the same, but now we are working on becoming and active, internationally touring band and having professional careers in music business. But in more short term, our next goal or milestone will be releasing our next EP, 💿 Alone!

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: This would vary quite a bit depending on who of us answers. And the “when” is a big factor as well. For me, I can’t answer this question without mentioning Stratovarius, because they were the band that originally inspired me to pick up an instrument.

Later on, Dream Theater, Opeth opened my mind to some more progressive and darker styles of metal. Hearing 🎙️ Devin Townsend’s 🎵 “By Your Command” for the first has probably been the most mind-blowing musical experience for me and Devin has remained a huge personal influence to me ever since.

Lately though I’ve been very much into bands like Architects, Spiritbox, Electric Callboy as well as some early 2000’s pop music, specially to the way that those bands write their songs.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: Some years back, I was playing with a different band called Invisible Enemy at a private metal festival somewhere in the Finnish countryside. The festival has this tradition where the band on stage has to finish a 24oz bottle of hard liquor called Jaloviina before the show is over.

By the 4th song the bottle was finished, and another bottle just appeared out of nowhere which we also finished before the show was over. Our singer got so drunk that when he had to leave the stage for an instrumental song, he did not remember to return back for the next song.

As the next song was supposed to start and we realized our singer was nowhere to be found, we started this drunken free-jazz improvisation session on stage which must have gone on for almost 10 minutes, before our guitar players girlfriend managed to find our singer and get him back on stage. Oh btw, the very same singer that had broken his ankle and who got stung in the mouth by a bee (TWICE) earlier that day. After that whole clusterfuck of an episode we had time only for one more song.

As we started the song, I had this brilliant idea of doing an epic jump to the stage from the drum raiser as the song starts. Little did I realize, the sealing of the venue was quite low so as I jumped, I hit my head to the sealing and damn near knock myself unconscious! Somehow, we managed to traipse our way through the song. At some point a completely naked guy fell to the stage from the audience only to proceed attempting to crowd surf with poor results, as you may imagine. Overall great memories, as far as I can remember after all that drinking, haha.

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: That would have to be our latest single from the upcoming EP. A song called 🎵 “Save Me”. That song is filled with strong emotions and when you get to the solo section of the song, goosebumps are difficult to avoid especially when playing live! It’s the melodies and the aural tsunami of raw emotion that makes the song so special!

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: This is a bit of a tough question for a Finnish person, as we don’t usually like to make a big deal of ourselves. Sorry to disappoint you, but we are pretty ordinary folk at least in our own eyes. Yet we are quite sentimental philosophers and that appears in our music, at least we hope that to happen!

Closing out, what is Segmentia currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.

🎤 Matti, the bass lord 💪: Most currently we are getting ready to release our next EP called 💿 Alone! It will be out worldwide the 13th of January 2023. We’ll be playing a few shows around Finland following that release as well. But on a more secretive side, we have already started writing and demoing songs for our first full length release! It has been quite exciting experience so far, as this time we have been working as a team and everybody has contributed to the songs in their own way. But let’s not reveal too much just yet! You’ll have to wait and see what we got up our sleeves!

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

Matti, the bass lord 💪: Thank you ever so much for the interview and all the best! <3

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Getting to Know… Segmentia: Interview No. 325  [📷: Brent Faulkner, Darkmoon_Art, luis2500gx, The Musical Hype, Pixabay, OpenClipart-Vectors, Segmentia]