Here it’s available the audio of the interview, while hereinafter there’s the tranlsation of the part where they talked about the next album’s release, thanks Sharazan to for it:
Radio host: It’s been 4 years since the previous album from The Rasmus. When is the next album coming up?
Lauri: In the Fall of 2014.
Pauli: Yeah.
Lauri: I’ve stayed up all night making a good plan for us.
Pauli: Let’s start quickly to make songs.
Lauri: The Fall of 2014 would be a good time for a new release.
Pauli: Yeah. That’s what we have agreed. Kissa Ja Hiiri (Cat And Mouse).

Here it’s available the video, while hereinafter there’s a translation of the most important things that’s been said, thanks to Sharazan:

• Somebody had told Lauri after hearing the new cd, that the songs feel kind of familiar, and Lauri is happy about it, because it means the band was able to achieve their own sound and style on the album.
• In the summer of 2011 when they started making new material for the album, Eero says they spent the first week without being able to accomplish anything, but then they came up with one or two good new songs, and from then on everything went well and Eero really enjoyed the songmaking process.
• Their approach to songmaking was very relaxed, they didn’t take any pressure on whether they were able to get anything done or not, they could always get back together later and try again. Aki enjoyed the fact, that nobody came to tell them how the album should be made, they made it precisely as they wanted it to be.
• According to Lauri they get along so well together, because they talk a lot in a relaxed atmosphere. They honestly speak out their opinions and feelings, they always talk everything through, and they don’t hide anyhing that might be bothering someone. They begin rehearsals with sipping coffee first and have a relaxed chat with one another about ordinary things. Lauri says, that it’s that social aspect between them that is equally important as playing for them. The sense of togetherness brings a good feeling also for playing together.
• The guys were asked about their favorites songs, and for Aki it’s”F-f-f-falling”, he also likes the video a lot.
  Lauri’s favorite is “Immortal”, he says it’s great to play on gigs.
  Eero’s favorite is “Ghostbusters”, also great for gigs, and a real “evergreen” for the band. Aki adds with a smile, that it’s a pity that it’s not originally their own song.
  Pauli’s favorite is “Stranger”, from the new album.
• Pauli has noticed, that the years living in Singapore have brought some local nuances into his solos. It reminds Eero of having purchased a new handmade violin from Cremona when Eero was living in Italy. He’s practiced playing it at home, and it’s possible that he may play it a bit on the gigs in the future, if the other guys support the idea. Aki readily replies, that they all are supportive of the idea, and suggests with a smile, that Eero could play it on the next album.
• Eero says, that despite of selling 3,5 million albums worldwide, they feel that the band still has to earn and deserve the success, but he says they have awesome fans, and it gives him a great feeling to see how supportive the fans are, because things like that can’t be taken for granted.

Here you can watch the show, while hereinafter there’s a summary of the most important things that’s been said, thanks to Sharazan:

The album comes out this week in about 20 countries “and then we’ll take a look at more after it”.

Aki says, that the band made 20-30 songs at the training camp last summer, and then chose 10 for this album

According to Lauri, using his energy for the solo material helped to make a good album for The Rasmus, as it was beneficial for his creativity to do something else for a change.

Aki says, that although the release of a new album is a stressful situation after selling nearly 4 million albums worldwide, their street teams and fan groups are very active, which helps to make the people aware of the new album.

Lauri is happy that they did this album very much by themselves, they feel much more confident with this one than with the previous one, Black Roses. With Black Roses a lot of other people had an influence in the process of making it, which made Lauri feel like the focus kind of got lost sometimes. He’s grateful for having the chance to have been working with Desmond Child, it was an interesting and educative experience to work together. Now this album the guys did very much by themselves, they made what they felt in their hearts that they must do, and Lauri is very happy with the final result.

A fan had sent in a question about where Lauri and Aki see themselves 10 years from now, and Lauri says he hopes they’re still doing the same things as the past 18 years. Aki says, that they don’t know what else they could do, this is what they do the best. Lauri agrees, and says they will definitely be involved in making music. The making of the new album has made it clear for Lauri how great the atmosphere is inside the band, and they have already had talks about the next album after this new album.

A fan asked about how the guys have divided the different tasks in the band, and Aki says, that Lauri and Pauli are the principal songmakers, Lauri writes the lyrics, and Eero makes documentary-style videos about what happens with the band, he has almost always a camera with him. Eero also spent recently three months in Nepal and India filming his debut indie-movie. Aki says about his own tasks, that he tries to be modern and update their Facebook. According to Lauri, Aki is also the managing director of the band, but Aki downplays that role, and says he rather concentrates on the music side.

Lauri says, that they had a new approach in the making of songs. This time they gave a chance also for material that didn’t seem good at all in the beginning, but as they kept trimming and tweaking it, those songs changed shape totally from what they were originally, and the final result turned out to be good. Two of the songs on the new album were born like that.

Aki says, that it’s a great feeling to go out on tour again. They got a message right before the interview from their manager Seppo Vesterinen, that the gigs in London and Köln have been sold out. Aki says it feels good, because it shows that people are really looking forward to seeing and hearing the band again.

Last week the new album was also presented on the Finnish Radio Nova where all the new songs were played as preview and on Sunday the 15th the band were at the radio to play a little acoustic set that can be viewed here, and answer to some questions sent by fans during the week. The answers (mostly in English) can be read at the following links:
Aki’s answers
Eero’s answers
Lauri’s answers
Pauli’s answers

Besides the fact that Pauli said that the new single from The Rasmus-album will be Stranger, in one answer in Finnish Eero also mentioned the possibility to release a live DVD by the year, here’s the translation of his answer always thanks to Sharazan:
Eero says, that the songs that mean a lot to him on the new album are “Sky” and “I’m A Mess”. Sky has been his favorite for a long time, they already had a version about it years ago, and the lyrics in I’m A Mess feel very personal. Right now his favorite song is “Someone’s Gonna Light You Up”. They have had plans on making a live-DVD in the future, and it would contain also other material than just music. According to Lauri, the live-DVD may be coming out in the autumn.

The fans from the other countries can buy the album on www.pledgemusic.com where there’s an offer just for a limited number of copies, or buy it in the usual Finnish online shops like www.recordshopx.com (worldwide shipping) or cdon.eu.

Interviewer: How would you describe your new album?
Lauri: We have a good feeling from the new album. The recording took place during the summer and the fall. We had a clear idea how the CD should look like. We collaborated with our friends and had a lot of fun!

Interviewer: Your first single is called “I’m A Mess”. Could you tell me what is it about?
Lauri: It was actually the last song wrote before going to the studio. We made it pretty quickly and spontaneously. We thought that this could be our first single from the new album. Nobody is actually perfect, that’s what this song is about.

Interviewer: Which song from the new album is your most favourite? What is the story behind it?
Lauri: I think that it could be the song “Sky”. It’s a ballad that has a deep personal meaning for me. I wrote it approximately five years ago. I can’t wait to play it live!

Interviewer: Are you excited about the upcoming European tour?
Lauri: Yes, we can’t wait to show our fans the new album and our older songs during those two weeks. It’s starting in a month, specifically on the 7th of May. The tour preparations are about to be finished. We believe that we’ll have a lot of fun. We’re also planning a few performances on a few festivals. After that, the world tour is awaiting us!

Interviewer: Do you have any time to go sight-seeing during the tour? What cities are your favourite?
Lauri: Of course, we’re always excited to do so! I’d mention Milan, London or Paris for example. Actually, we’re playing in this little club in Paris. But before that, I want to go and visit a few landmarks and have a enjoy a good coffee.

Interviewer: What “warm-up bands” are you going to have?
Lauri: We have a few names in our minds, but it’s still in progress, so I can’t tell anything more detailed. Just watch our official website!

Interviewer: What are your future plans?
Lauri: We intend to make more music, have a tour around the whole world, and meet some fans! We’re also looking forward to summer and festivals, because we have a very long winter in Finland, unfortunately.

Interviewer: Are you planning a duet or a collaboration with any Finnish bands?
Lauri: There are a lot of great bands from Finland, such as HIM or Apocalyptica, with whom we’ve cooperated before. But we’re planning no such thing at the moment, although it would be awesome if something like that happened!

Interviewer: What The Rasmus song is your most favourite to play live?
Lauri: That would be Immortal, since I experience an intense flow of energy between the fans and us.

Interviewer: What inspires you to write songs? Do you finish the melody first, or is it the text?
Lauri: I usually come up with a melody first. Everyday I get lots of ideas for new songs, so I always note everything on a dictaphone or on my computer. I actually have something like a “library of melodies”. But, occasionally, it happens that I think of a text first; I made the song “Somewhere” fifteen minutes after watching a movie of the same name by Sofia Coppola.

Interviewer: What was the job you wanted to do as a little kid?
Lauri: I wanted to be a chef and have my own restaurant. I was six years old, I think. I liked to prepare all sorts of yummy things for my family. I also had my own menu, from which you could pick anything.

Interviewer: What is the craziest thing you’ve done?
Lauri: I could think of a lot of things, but the craziest was probably deep-diving in Vladivostok where the water was only 6°C! It was a great experience. I also went deep-diving to Caribbean.

Interviewer: And what romantic thing did you do for somebody?
Lauri: I made the dinner, for example.

Interviewer: What is your favourite country that you like to travel to?
Lauri: Naturally, Finland is my most favourite country in the whole world. But I love travelling and getting to know different cultures. I loved being in Singapore where I had been with the guitarist, Pauli. I like to travel to Mexico or South America. Oh, I can’t forget to mention Norway. I admire the beauty of the nature there.

Interviewer: What comes to your mind first when somebody mentions Czech Republic?
Lauri: I remember my first visit to Prague when I was fifteen. My sister had lived here for a while, so I went to visit her. I liked all of those historical buildings. And I was also pleased to be treated so nicely by everybody!

Interviewer: And when are you planning to visit the Czech Republic?
Lauri: I hope anytime soon! We received a lot of invites to all sorts of summer festivals in different countries. It’s for the organizers to decide. We continue with another tour in fall, so this option is more probable.

Instead on the band’s YouTube channel it’s available a video teaser about the new album, two more teasers are scheduled for next Fridays the 13th and the 20th at 4.00pm Finnish time!

Hit-Radio Antenne
Lauri sings German football song (video)
Video and photos of Aki and Lauri with 96-Alte Liebe
Lauri’s photos

RTL
Aki and Lauri talking about the new album (video)

Radio Hamburg
Acoustic performances of “I’m a mess” and “Perfect Day” (video) and some photos
Photos
Photos

N-Joy Radio
Aki and Lauri’s photos

For more infos here’s the official website of Helsinki 2012: www.european-athletics.org

The album can be pre-ordered also on the website cdon.com (where you can also find a better image of the cover); while in this page you can pre-order the Japanese version of the album that will include one or more bonus tracks, that haven’t been revealed at the moment though.

Talking about the release of the new album “The Rasmus”, scheduled for the 18th of April just in Finland at the moment, the singer annouced that it’ll be released later in Europe along with Japan and Latin America among others.

Thanks to Sharazan for the notification.