- Features:
* The Great Escape Takes Off In Brighton
* Finns Plan To Be Big In Japan
- Business
- Live News
- Behind The Scenes
- Behind The Numbers
The Great Escape Takes Off In Brighton
The fresh, flourishing international live music event, The Great Escape, will witness three Finnish artists in five showcases May 18-20. Two of the bands will perform twice, again proving the high quality of Finnish music nowadays.
These are the must-see showcases, details at: www.musex.fi/greatescape2006
Disco Ensemble (FULLSTEAM RECORDS)
Listen to DROP DEAD CASANOVA
Sister Flo (DRIVER8 RECORDINGS)
Listen to WHITE NOISE
Lodger (EASTBORDER MANAGEMENT)
Listen to FLOOZY WITH AN UZI
Look out for a Finnish compilation CD including all three Finnish bands playing at TGE plus many more, in Music Week magazine, Monday, May 15!
Finns Plan To Be Big In Japan
On May 24-26, Finnish music industry professionals will gather up their resources and head for Tokyo with seven of the finest Finnish artists to play before the Japanese music industry and music fans. The showcases are backed by an exhibition for industry professionals, Finnish Music Days in Tokyo, with 22 Finnish labels, publishers and managements on hand to represent their artists and music to their Japanese counterparts at JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) on May 26. Finnish and Japanese professionals will also get together for a lively seminar day at the Finnish Embassy on May 25.
METAL SHOWCASE @ Liquid Room, May 24 
Amoral (SPIKEFARM RECORDS)
Listen to LACRIMAL GRAND
Norther (SPINEFARM RECORDS)
Listen to A FALLEN STAR
Pain Confessor (JOHANNA KUSTANNUS)
Listen to ANOTHER DOOR
POP/ROCK SHOWCASE @ Club Duo Exchange, May 25
Don Johnson Big Band (SAM AGENCY)
Listen to HARLEM DAVIDSON
Mummypowder (RUBATO MUSIC)
Listen to DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH
Private Line (BAD HABITS RECORDS)
Listen to 1-800-OUT-OF-NOWHERE
Slow (PLASTINKA)
Listen to SAMBESQUE TIN-TIN
Details and further information on the Finnish Music Days in Tokyo artists, companies and programme at: www.musex.fi/japan2006 and www.musex.fi/nihongo (in Japanese!)
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BUSINESS
Bloodpit (MERCEEDEES) has signed a licensing deal with 456 Enterprises in the USA, covering both North and South America. Bloodpit’s debut album Mental Circus will be released in the USA this year, which also means a tour of America. And before this summers festivals, Bloodpit will perform at Apelsin Club in Moscow, May 27.
The people of Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland will have a perfect chance to listen to some bouncy melodies, sweet harmonies, energetic rhythms, funky basslines, sleazy drumwork and Italian-made organs, all in the same package. Tigerbombs’ (JOHANNA KUSTANNUS) second album Crazy Kids Never Learn is due for release in Japan by Pyropit Records and the GSA by Paul! by the end of May.
In the wake of the widespread commotion caused by controversial Finnish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest representative Lordi (SONYBMG), they have opened a “Eurovision website” at www.eurovision.lordi.org. Watch the latest video for their entry Hard Rock Hallelujah!, listen to Lordis other music and read the latest news about the band. But beware of these boogeymen!
Fly’s (JUPITER) highly acclaimed 2005 debut, Fly, has now been released in Japan by Columbia Music Entertainment, including a remix of DharmaOne’s classic Up N Breathing. Fly is already the third Jupiter album to be released in Japan in the last few months; Columbia Music Entertainment has already brought Teddy Rok Seven´s Universal Four and Quintessence´s 5AM has seen the Japanese light of day.
Rock group Sunrise Avenue (BONNIER AMIGO) have inked a release deal with EMI Music Germany and the co-operation will take off in June with video shoot and first single releases. The deal originates to Midem 2006, where several international companies got interested in this combo’s sunshiny vibes. And the train kept a rolling…
In Germany reactions to RinneRadio’s (ROCKADILLO RECORDS) recently released album Plus have been very good - lots of airplay and Album of the Week in Jazz/world-music magazine Blue Rhythm. Plus was also chosen as Album of the Month in the Nordische Music webzine.
Deep Forest founder Eric Mouquet has agreed to produce two songs for Tundras (T-RECORDS) upcoming debut album Jade. Tundra is a multicultural music collective combining all possible music styles in an intriguing way. Tundra’s video for Where Do You Run will feature a well-known Hollywood actress in the starring role.
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LIVE
Eastern Europe is the main destination for Apocalyptica’s (HALBE MIETE) next tour. Starting May 25, these heavy-metal cellists will play in Turkey, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, and also Lebanon, with most of their concerts in arena venues. These dates will be followed by mostly festival appearances in the GSA, France, Hungary and Belgium, June 15 - July 1.
Another giant of Finnish metal, Children of Bodom (SPINEFARM RECORDS), will be one of the support acts for Slayer on their Unholy Alliance North American tour; the schedule stretches from June 6 to July 22.
The post-punk group Disco Ensemble (FULLSTEAM RECORDS) will partake in Kerrang!‘s Most Wanted tour with 65 Days of Static and The Morning After Girls. The tour will exclusively take in the Barfly branded clubs of Liverpool, Glasgow, York, Cardiff and London, May 21 - 25. The early festival season in June sees Disco Ensemble performing at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in Germany, Hultsfred in Sweden, and Roskilde in Denmark. And then this strong-hearted group will make a mini-tour of the Netherlands, June 8-10.
Often dubbed the first international success of the Finnish rock circuit in the 1980’s, glam-rock icons Hanoi Rocks (WOLFGANG RECORDS) will play the UK throughout June. On five out of the eleven gigs they will feature as a support act for Twisted Sister. Also playing in the UK will be Flylow (PAROLE RECORDS) (May 26 - June 24) and Sister Flo (DRIVER8 RECORDINGS), who will perform twice in London opening for Tapes ‘n Tapes, May 18 and 22.
Following the release of their new album in the GSA countries, the disarming retro group Tigerbombs (JOHANNA KUSTANNUS) will perform at 17 locations in Germany, including Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Cologne.
Other Finnish acts touring Germany in the coming months include: electro game poppers Desert Planet (STUPIDO RECORDS) (May 11 - 20); melodic power-metal outfit Sonata Arctica (NUCLEAR BLAST) (May 12 - 13); acclaimed pop conceptualist Jimi Tenor (KITTY-YO) (May 27 - June 2), and 22-Pistepirkko (BONE VOYAGE) transforming into their cover side-project The Others (June 4 - 6)
One of Finland’s funkiest bands, Eternal Erection (EAT THIS MUSIC), will put the finishing touches to the Sun Dance Music Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, July 16. They will be the last act, playing at the afterparty on top of their Funky Bus at Harju mägi, a picturesque hill in Tallinns old town.
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Behind The Scenes: Zero points is what Finns usually expect from the Eurovision Song Contest. But this year, expectations are running high, and for a good reason: the Finnish candidate is a group of monsters! The Eurovision stage is usually filled with girls in skimpy dresses and macho men charged with emotion belting out schlager-pop songs. This year, the Finns used their vote, and out of all the candidates for Finnish representative chose heavy-metal band Lordi, every one a masked monster. Among all the monstrosities performing, this group is sure to stand out. So, everyone in Europe, remember to cast your votes when Lordi performs Hard Rock Hallelujah!
Behind The Numbers: The Rasmus is more popular than Sibelius! At least when you set the international performance royalties for this Finnish band’s hit single In The Shadows against the legendary classical composer Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and Second Symphony, which have dominated the list throughout its history, according to the Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto. These figures are for 2004, so we’re already excited to see if HIM will beat Sibelius in 2005.