August 2003:
- Features:
1) Helsinki Export Showcase 4-5 September + export research release
2) Popkomm 2003 parties
- Business news
- Live news
- Behind the Scenes / Behind the Numbers
FEATURES:
Helsinki Export Showcase at Tavastia Club on 4-5 September 2003
Music Export Finland with its collaborating record labels and publishers will host a showcase event in Helsinki presenting some of the finest bands Finland has to offer. The selection will span from all genres including some thundering rock and brilliant pop, some electronic music wizards and naturally, some of the Finnish left-field mavericks. A research report on the total market value and structure of Finnish music exports will be released in the same event. Programme and further info here.
Finns at Popkomm
Do not miss the coolest party at Popkomm 2003: The Nordic drinks party at the crossroads of our stands (Hall 7, B 18) on Friday 15 August at 5.30pm (until drinks and our crews last
)
Our fabulous action rock showcase at Underground on Saturday 16 August will present some of the most idiosyncratic bands on offer
- Boomhauer (Stupido Records) 8.30pm
Wild redneck country punk, pelvis-cracking burning soul, post Generation X white boy blues and raunchy garage rock
- The Hypnomen (Stupido Records) 9.45pm
Whirring biker fuzz, gloomy rhythm hypnosis, acid organ soul, psychedelic power pop and caveman twist all have their time and place in this bands instrumental cosmos
(NOTE: Due to a force majeure cancellation, Thee Ultra Bimboos will be replaced by The Hypnomen.)
- Screamin´Stukas (Levy-yhtiö Records) 11pm
Explosive, fun-charged rock´n´roll
’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘
BUSINESS:
The four rocking rascals, The Rasmus have amazingly dashed into international stardom. The single In the Shadows topped the German single charts and the album Dead Letters rose to the third position in the album charts. Rasmus is also known for leading the MTV Nordic’s Up North chart for record-breaking 20 weeks!
The blazing grunge-metal act Velcra of the Finnish EMI is strongly grabbing a hold on the British audiences by joining the Xtaster street team. Their boisterous debut Consequences of Disobedience is out in the UK later in September with possibly a tour supporting the release.
LOVE PUBLISHING announces that Total Balalaika Show, the legendary concert in Helsinki (1993) by the Leningrad Cowboys and the Red Army Ensemble is now available on DVD. The magnificient DVD also contains Leningrad Cowboys’ music videos, all Leningrad Cowboys’ short movies by Aki Kaurismäki and a lots of bonus material. For more information please contact Megamania’s Atte Blom at Music Export Finland stand (Hall 7, B 18) at Popkomm.
EXOGENIC RECORDS’ release schedule is definitely speeding up while the summer turns to autumn. Haltyas new 12 maxi Hero and Mac Mavis album Gatefinder are out in August, followed by releases from Texas Faggott, Squaremeat, Eraser vs Yöjalka and Accu. The numerous summer gigs of Accu, i.e. at the Koneisto (Helsinki) and the Pride (Stockholm) festivals, showed that the upcoming album will get even the stiffiest legs moving. To find out what tomorrows sound is all about do visit the Exogenic crew at the Finnish stand: loads of new groovy stuff for licensing and distribution.
POKO RECORDS riotous punksters Bitch Alert rocked off at the Rock Summer festival (Tallinn) and at the Borderline club (London) on a joint gig with Velcra. The show review can be read a.o. in Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Bang magazines. Their vinyl-ep He’s So Cute was released in Germany by Sputnik Records. A new Bitch Alert album is also on its way. More happy album news from Poko: The girlpop quintet Nerdee‘s Diamond Station will be out in Finland in September. The rest of Europe will have to wait for the pop diamond of this Virgin European priority act until year 2004. The uncrowned regents of rough metal in its heaviest, Diablo will also entrench into their studio to prepare the forthcoming album Eternium.
A marvellous dark-pop album Fortune Cookies by The Laterbirds and an intimate solo album Latebird, celebrate the man behind these acts; the multifaceted singer-songwriter Markus Nordenstreng from the WARNER CHAPPELL FINLAND talent pool. Both albums were released in Finland on the same day, August 8, and more news is sure to follow.
’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’
LIVE:
HIM teams up with Ozzy Osbourne and will play a series of European arena gigs with the Master in September. Great fans of Osbourne-led Black Sabbath, HIM’s musicians are anxious to warm up the audiences for the Prince of Darkness. More>>>
Stratovarius, the Finnish ambassadors of fast, epic and technically proficient heavy metal, will challenge the crowd’s vocal cords on a tour in Latin America. The arena dates on August 14-25 cover Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. More>>>
Darude, Finnish dance & fast tempo techno artist tours in the USA with a tight schedule (beginning on August 14) including 15 gigs all over the continent as well as various TV appearances and radio shows. More>>>
’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘
Behind the Scenes: Surprisingly the first Finnish series of Popstars provided Finnish A&R managers with quite a talent pool of, well, popstars. Winners Gimmel became 2002s biggest seller, and after that Jonna, performing Finnish-language rnb, has entered the charts, and rapper Kana has released an album. Now, in the absence of a Ketchup Song, two Popstars-losers as the duo PMMP provided Finland with its own summer hit Rusketusraidat, which held to the top spot of the single charts from June into August. Not bad for one tv programme.
Behind the Numbers: The surprise success of Don Johnson Big Band is a sure sign that Finnish record buyers are becoming more and more broadminded. Before the four-man group went straight to No. 1 for three weeks in May it would have been hard to convince anyone that a band rapping in English and playing jazzy hip-hop could top Finnish charts. To further baffle us, the success was boosted by single One MC, One Delay, which features a strong swing influence, but has nonetheless been one of the biggest crossover radio hits this summer. On top of that the group have been the hottest crowd puller at festivals this summer. Not bad for a band who self-released their debut, selling 10,000 copies of it straight out of their backpacks.