December 2005 & January 2006
- Features:
* Finnish singer-songwriting, supermarket party music and hook-laden punk at EuroSonic 2006
* Finnish Metal Expo - Welcome to the long hair-Disneyland!
* Focus on Nordic jazz within IAJE conference
- Business
- Live News
- Behind The Scenes
- Behind The Numbers
Finnish singer-songwriting, supermarket party music and hook-laden punk at EuroSonic 2006
EuroSonic 2006 features three Finnish acts that have caused quite a hubbub among international professionals and audiences alike. More info on all the artists here>>>
Thursday, January 12
Astrid Swan (DELPHIC RECORDINGS)
@ Images, 10.15pm
soothes audiences with her brooding, orchestral singer-songwriter pop. “What a striking sound from the 22 year-old Finn… we reckon it won’t be long before it’s an international hit” -Record Of The Day
Friday, January 13
Disco Ensemble (FULLSTEAM RECORDS)
@ De Beurs, 00.15pm
annihilate Groningen with their modern, hook-laden punk rock. “This is simply riveting rock’n'roll, charging in from left-field but with a heart of unashamed catchiness. Fucking awesome.” -Kerrang
Aavikko (SAM AGENCY)
@ Spieghel at 1.15am
bring their supergroovy supermarket party music from Hell. “Like a soundtrack for driving across serene, snow-covered Finland with a hot coal in your pants.” -Guardian
Finnish Metal Expo - Welcome to the long hair-Disneyland!
On February 17-18, 2006, metal consumers, musicians and business people from all over the world will gather in Helsinki for the 2nd International Metal Meeting (IMM) and Finnish Metal Expo. Dandruff shakers will enjoy live performances by U.D.O. (GER), Amorphis (NUCLEAR BLAST), Ajattara (SPINEFARM RECORDS), Swallow The Sun (TWU MUSIC), Verjnuarmu (UNIVERSAL MUSIC), ANJ (RUS), Naildown (SPINEFARM) and many more. The Finnish Metal Awards Gala rewards the crème de la crème of the Finnish metal scene. But besides and in addition to all that, the Finnish Metal Expo is first and foremost a good party, a place to let your hair down.
Focus on Nordic jazz within IAJE conference
Delegations from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will join forces to present Nordic Jazz Now at the International Association for Jazz Educators (IAJE) conference in New York, January 1114, 2006. The concert programme features two Finnish showcases: Hear Hear! Jukka Perko, Severi Pyysalo and Teemu Viinikainen; and the Jukka Eskola Quintet (FREE AGENT RECORDS). There will be a joint Nordic area representing 16 companies and organizations, almost half of them from Finland. The Nordic theme will be mirrored in the panel discussions and in the IAJEs Jazz Education Journal.
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BUSINESS
Winning the Finnish final of The Global Battle of the Bands earned Lapko (FULLSTEAM RECORDS) the right to compete with 23 other bands from around the world at the London Astoria. This time, the band wasn’t so lucky the 100,000 dollar prize went to an Irish band. So, for the moment, Lapko can forget about buying those golden sneakers, new basses or fluorescent drumsticks
The new Lapko CD Scandal is out on January 11, 2006.
Diablo (POKO REKORDS) who invoke names like Testament, Slayer and Death break boundaries in their music, e.g. by inviting a local hip-hop act to guest on their albums and by sampling oldies from the 50s. Diablo will release their new album Mimic47 in Finland in January. Its German streetdate is March 3, distributor Drakkar Entertainment. To make the wait easier for one of the most-anticipated metal releases of the year, Diablo is putting out the title track Mimic47 as a single.
Two album tracks by Desert Planet (STUPIDO RECORDS) from Mario Built My Hot Rod Turbo and Salsa Kong (Monkey Mix) have been licensed to the somewhat bizarre Food Jammers show on Canadian TV. Food Jammers is what you get when you mix the hit mechanic series American Chopper with the winning food series The Naked Chef. You’ve heard of duct-tape mechanics? Well these guys are duct-tape gourmets! Coming up in January 2006 on Food Network Canada.
Kantele player Timo Väänänen (DIFFERENT LEVEL) is one of the musicians in Disneys The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe premiering in Europe December 8. The music was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, and Väänänen brings on the snow with his magical touch on both traditional acoustic and new electric kanteles. His new solo album for electric kantele Musiikkia (Music) comes out in December.
The harmonica quartet Sväng (AITO RECORDS) is a brand new hyper-phenomenon from Finland. Sväng have attracted a lot of interest and airplay in the UK, USA, Germany, Austria and elsewhere. Now Sväng have signed a contract with TriArt for exclusive bookings in Austria. Sväng were nominated for the BBC Radio World Music Awards at Womex. “These four Finns have come up with something remarkably complete sounding and musically indigenous…” -Roots Magazine
Eternal Erection (EAT THIS MUSIC) soared in September with a new funky album On Top, and all the Finns were shaking their derrières. Slow (PLASTINKA RECORDS) is now making a remix of The Funky Bus Theme. The song is named after the real Funky Bus a moving stage carrying Eternal Erection, DJs and dancing girls! Slows remix will be out soon, so get ready to free your mind and that ass!
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LIVE
A solid platinum seller in India, The Rasmus (PLAYGROUND MUSIC) will appear live in Mumbai and Bangalore on December 2 and 4. Meanwhile, HIM (SIRE RECORDS/HMC) head off on a tour of Ireland, Scotland and England, January 1626, before the two groups share the billing at arena concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, on February 4 and 9. The joint tour will continue, with another Finnish group, Negative (GBFAM RECORDS), in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, February 1019.
The melodic death-metal outfit Children of Bodom (SPINEFARM) are taking no breaks after their ongoing 30-gig North American tour. Instead, they will start an even more extensive tour of 15 countries in Europe on December 27. Only slightly smaller in scale is the Grind your face off European tour by the grindcore act Rotten Sound (SPINEFARM), extending to Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, January 1228.
Two groups drawing on folk music in a somewhat twisted way are about to concertize far from their homelands. The trollish folk-metal sextet Finntroll (SPINEFARM) will play New York, Springfield, Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, January 611, while the furious Alamaailman vasarat (“The Hammers of the Underworld”)(WOLFGANG RECORDS), displaying an improbable combination of ethnic melodies, punky brass and heavy metal cello riffs, will play double concerts at the Stranger Than Paranoia Festival, The Netherlands, December 2728, and the Pit Inn Club, Tokyo, February 1112.
Rocky powerpop 4-piece Flylow (PAROLE RECORDS) kickstart an almost six-month, two-continent tour to support the international release of their debut album Bridges, on New Years Eve in Moscow. Flylow will continue with several weeks in the UK, the Benelux countries, Germany and Austria, before crossing to North America, to play the East Coast and Canada, and returning to the UK for another month of gigs. The tour will wind down in April with a second trek across continental Europe, closing in Moscow and St Petersburg in late May.
Janita (LIGHTYEAR ENTERTAINMENT) is to play a series of showcases in NY, the first at the prestigious Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, January 4. The band includes musicians who have appeared on recordings and performances by India.Arie, Maxwell, Steely Dan, Angie Stone and many others.
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Behind the Scenes: Finnish soul singer Janita moved to New York as a teenager, so it sometimes feels strange to call her a Finnish artist. But she has held onto her roots while building a career in the States. Now, Janita has signed a new record deal with New York-based Lightyear Entertainment, which is to release her next album Seasons of Life in April 2006. Brooklyn’s NRG selected Janita as an artist to watch in 2006, so we’re definitely keeping our ears open for her poppish soul-R&B grooves. Janita was nominated for “Album of the Year” and “Female Artist of the Year” by Soultracks.com; The World’s Most Popular Soul Music Website. 
Behind the Numbers: One is this autumn’s magic number in Finland, since it seems like all the singers in Finland’s best indie bands are going solo. When Office Building disbanded, singer Janne Laurila started his own band: Laurila. Psychedelic rock group Maryland also broke up, and now singer Ville Härkönen is playing his own songs with his new band The Velvets. Sister Flo (DELPHIC RECORDINGS) are still together, but singer Samae Koskinen is to release a Finnish-language solo album in January.