Auri | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Progressive folk [1] |
| Years active | 2017–present [2] |
| Labels | Nuclear Blast [3] |
| Members | |
Auri is a Finnish band composed of vocalist and violinist Johanna Kurkela, keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen (her husband), and guitarist, keyboardist and pipe player Troy Donockley. [4] Holopainen and Donockley are also members of Finnish band Nightwish. [2] Their self-titled first album, Auri , was released on March 23, 2018. [2] [1] and was recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. [1]
Holopainen described Auri's style as "rabbit hole music and celestial metal" with "influences from folk music, Celtic music, [and] soundtracks". British rock magazine Prog describes the band as prog folk. [1] The band's name is based on a female character from The Kingkiller Chronicle . [3]
Auri was formed by friends Tuomas Holopainen, Troy Donockley and Johanna Kurkela. According to an interview, the music concept for Auri dates back to 2011 when the trio realized they would have to do music together. However, their ongoing responsibilities with other projects prevented them from doing so, until 2017 when they finally had available free time to work on this project. The promotional photoshoot for the band and album inspired and forced them to complete the recording:
“2011 was when the seed was planted, so to say. That's when Troy made the first song called Aphrodite Rising, and already back then, we knew that at some point that the three of us, we needed to be doing music together because the way we think about music and life, everything, it's so connected. It's such a rare thing that we need to come together and see what kind of music we would be able to create between the three of us. But for many years, we had other duties to attend to, with Johanna's solo career, us and with Nightwish being really busy with the Endless Forms Most Beautiful album and tour, that we didn't have a chance to realize this dream called Auri until 2017. At some point in 2016, we realized, What are you doing next year? Do you have anything on your calendar? Not really, nothing. So, how about we try to do something? It went a bit topsy-turvy because the first thing we did last March was to take the promotional shots, the photos of the band and of the landscapes for the album booklet. That kind of inspired and even forced us to continue recording the actual album.”
— Tuomas Holopainen [5]
The band's name is based on a female character from Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle :
“But what I can tell you is that some of the content and the song lyrics are inspired by the Patrick Rothfuss books. Maybe people who know those books and those stories will recognize some parallels and certain scenarios, but believe me; the album equates to so much more.”
— Tuomas Holopainen [3]
On 17 October 2020, it was announced that Auri had completed work on the second album. [6] The second album, titled II – Those We Don't Speak Of was later released on 3 September 2021. [7]
On 26 November 2024, it was announced that Auri is set to go on their first tour in Finland in August 2025. [8]
Current members
Session members
Albums
Singles
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marko Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000) and Century Child (2002).
Once is the fifth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 7 June 2004 by Spinefarm Records in Finland and Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe. It is the fifth and last album to feature Tarja Turunen on lead vocals. The album cost nearly €250,000 to make, which made it Finland's most expensive recording ever until the release of Nightwish's next album, Dark Passion Play, which cost over €500,000 to produce. As of 2013, Once had sold 2.3 million copies worldwide, becoming Nightwish's most successful album to date. The remastering of the album was released on 6 August 2021.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and founding member of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his songwriting is influenced by harmonic film music.
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 26 September 2007 by Spinefarm Records in Finland, 28 September by Nuclear Blast in Europe and 2 October 2007 by Roadrunner Records in the US. It is the first album without original vocalist Tarja Turunen, who was dismissed in 2005, as well as the first album involving future member Troy Donockley on uilleann pipes and tin whistle. It is the first of only two albums with vocalist Anette Olzon, who was eventually dismissed in 2012 after the release of the band's subsequent album, Imaginaerum. Tuomas Holopainen has referred to this album as the "album that saved his life".
"The Islander" is the tenth track on symphonic metal band Nightwish’s Dark Passion Play album. It was confirmed to be the album's fourth single on the website Nightwish-World on 23 February 2008, only a week after the third single, "Bye Bye Beautiful", was released. It was released on 21 May 2008, a month after the video which premiered on 14 April.
Johanna Kurkela is a Finnish singer. Her first published work was a duet Tahdon tanssia kanssasi with Tomi Metsäketo in 2004. Kurkela released her first album Hetki hiljaa in 2005. She got a lot of publicity in the Finnish Preselection final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, presenting the song Olet uneni kaunein. Kurkela ended up sixth in the preselection final. A few weeks later she published her second album Marmoritaivas. She also contributed vocals to two tracks on Sonata Arctica's album The Days of Grays. Her 2010 album Hyvästi, Dolores Haze has sold over 20,000 copies.
The Dark Passion Play World Tour was a concert tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, taking place from 2007 to 2009 in support of their sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play, released by Nuclear Blast on September 26, 2007; it was the first tour with former frontwoman Anette Olzon, who joined the band in 2006, after Tarja Turunen's dismissal on October 21, 2005. During this tour, the band played for the first time in Israel, China, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Ireland, Serbia and Croatia.
Imaginaerum is the seventh studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 30 November 2011 by Scene Nation Oy and Sony Music in Finland, then on 2 December in Nuclear Blast in the rest of Europe and Roadrunner Records worldwide. According to Nightwish songwriter Tuomas Holopainen, the album is a concept album that tells the story of an old composer who is reminiscing of his youth on his deathbed. The album was produced alongside the movie of the same name, directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed Nightwish's "The Islander" music video, and the album and the film share the same themes and general story. It is their second and last album with vocalist Anette Olzon, as well as the last with drummer Jukka Nevalainen.
Showtime, Storytime is a video release, released as a double Blu-ray, DVD, CD and LP from Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Nuclear Blast recorded their live performance at Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany on 3 August 2013. Showtime, Storytime is the first Nightwish production to feature Floor Jansen on vocals. She initially replaced previous vocalist Anette Olzon during their North America tour leg, and on 9 October 2013 it was revealed that she would become an official band member, along with Troy Donockley. The running time of the concert is 1 hour and 38 minutes. The album also contains a 120-minute documentary about the first days of Jansen in the band, still as an only live member, and her process of adaptation in the band, called "Please Learn the Setlist in 48 Hours".
Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge is the first solo album by Finnish songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, best known for his work in the symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was based on cartoonist Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, a graphic novel which featured the Carl Barks Disney comics character of the same name. Rosa contributed the cover artwork. The first single, "A Lifetime of Adventure" was released on February 5, 2014 along with a music video directed by Ville Lipiäinen.
Endless Forms Most Beautiful is the eighth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 25 March 2015 in Japan, 27 March in Argentina and most of Europe, 30 March in the UK and 31 March in the US. The album is the band's first featuring singer Floor Jansen and the first with Troy Donockley as a full-time member. It was also the first without drummer Jukka Nevalainen, who took a break from the band due to severe insomnia. Drumming was by Kai Hahto of Wintersun and Swallow the Sun. The album includes only five Nightwish members, despite its being their first album release as a sextet.
"Élan" is a single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the first from their eighth album Endless Forms Most Beautiful. The song marks the first Nightwish song to feature its newest frontwoman, Dutch singer Floor Jansen, on vocals, and also the first to feature Troy Donockley as a full-time member and Kai Hahto as a temporary replacement for Jukka Nevalainen.
Decades is the seventh compilation album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, and contains remastered versions of the original material. It was released on March 9, 2018, which is the same day that they began touring for the Decades: World Tour. The track listing is presented in reverse chronological order.
Auri is the debut album by the Finnish/English progressive folk band of the same name. It was released on March 23, 2018 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Decades: Live in Buenos Aires is a video and audio release from the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which was recorded during the Latin American leg of the Decades: World Tour. It was released on December 6, 2019.
The Human. :II: Nature. World Tour was a concert tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, in support of their ninth studio album, Human. :II: Nature.
Human. :II: Nature. is the ninth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 10 April 2020 by Nuclear Blast. It is the band's first double album, with the second CD complete with orchestral music rather than metal.
"Noise" is a single by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, the first from their ninth album Human. :II: Nature.. It was released with an accompanying video on February 7, 2020. The single is the band's first published song to feature the drummer Kai Hahto as a full-time member, following the departure of Jukka Nevalainen in July 2019.
Yesterwynde is the tenth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 20 September 2024 by Nuclear Blast. This marks their first studio album since Wishmaster that does not feature Marko Hietala, following his departure from the band in January 2021, and the first album to feature Jukka Koskinen as the new bassist.
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