FI News September 2007 -
POPKOMM AND BEYOND
- Features
* Helsinki in Berlin Press Conference
* Music & Media: Full Line-up Announced
- Highlights
- Business News
- Live News
* Finns Around the Globe
- Behind the Scenes
- Behind the Numbers
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Helsinki in Berlin Press Conference @ Club Frannz, September 19
Music Export Finland is presenting Helsinki in Berlin fuelled by Koskenkorva in Berlin (Germany), at Club Frannz (Kulturbrauerei) on September 19, 7.30-8.30pm. The press conference is open to Popkomm participants, the media, and music business professionals. The conference will be followed by the new Nightwish album pre-listening party & Popkomm reception hosted by the Finnish Embassy in Berlin. Later in the evening, Finnish Moosic Night presents Finnish bands:
The Giant Leap (EMI), Von Hertzen Brothers (DYNASTY RECORDINGS), Feiled (POKO REKORDS), Crumbland (EXOGENIC MUSIC GROUP), and Lapko (FULLSTEAM RECORDS). Listen and look to the bands’ full profile here>>
Helsinki in Berlin takes place April 24-30, 2008. In short, Helsinki in Berlin is a week-long festival scattered all around the city of Berlin. Finnish music and lifestyles will be filling the streets, restaurants, metros, bars� The festival is being organized by Music Export Finland, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, the Finnish Institute in Germany, and the Finnish Embassy in Berlin, in co-operation with Koskenkorva.
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Music & Media: Full Line-up Announced
This year, the attendees at the one and only Finnish music-business event, Music & Media, will have a luxurious time, as nearly 70 Finnish artists showcase all around Tampere. This major enterprise is titled the Lost in Music festival, and it has been organized alongside the conference. Although the Lost in Music festival is open to the public, the artists need to be prepared to face an influential audience of hardened international professionals. Check out www.musex.fi/mm2007 for the full list of performing artists and international delegates.
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Highlights
At the Music Export Finland office, a storm called ‘baby’ has altered staffing arrangements. Director Ms. Paulina Ahokas began her maternity leave on September 6, and the post is now occupied by ex-producer Mr. Ville Kilpeläinen. Our long-term producer Mr. Konsta Klemetti moved over to the world of advertising, and Mr. Sami Häikiö has replaced him in this active position. A newcomer to the music industry is our Marketing and Communications Director, Mrs. Marileea Järnefelt. Pictures of the staff here>>
Spinefarm Records is being launched in the UK this autumn. Finland�s premier rock label is lining up its first UK releases, including the debut album from Tarja Turunen. The official launch of Spinefarm UK will be in October, giving added impact and profile to the label - impressive and ever-growing - roster of hard-rock talent. Since starting up in Helsinki back in 1990, Spinefarm - now in full partnership with Universal - has concentrated on developing the darker, more dramatic side of Finnish music for both the domestic and international markets, scoring major successes with acts such as Nightwish, Children Of Bodom, and Sonata Arctica.
Another major change in the Finnish music industry is the merger of WolfGang Records and Merceedees Productions. The fusion is now called Backstage Alliance, and represents a new model of full-service music house. Backstage Alliance will be challenging independent and major record companies with its self-sufficiency, infamous artists and respected mobile software Mobile Backstage. The alliance is boldly seeking out completely new ways of selling, marketing and consuming music. Backstage Alliance offers a complete recipe for success, from recording to releasing the record, co-operation on publishing, A&R services, promotion, marketing, merchandise sales, production, booking agency services, an digital mobile services.
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Business News
Helsinki-based classic and hard-rock band Carmen Gray�s (MANAGEMENT LAPSBASSO) debut album The Portrait of Carmen Gray has been released in Japan by BMG Japan. The album was released in Finland in the spring, and the radio single A Thing About Love has been in heavy rotation throughout the summer. Management Lapsbasso represents the band and will be attending Popkomm in Berlin.
Many bands want to take over the world, but rebellious White Flame (NORTH & SOUTH) are heading straight into outer space. The band, best known for their anti-playlist anthem and number one hit Kill the Radio, have signed a deal with the Star Wreck group for their next music video. Star Wreck�s previous film, Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, a comedy version of Star Trek, has been downloaded from the Internet around 6 million times.
Finland will have a strong presence at Womex, with the highly selective showcase programme featuring the virtuoso harmonica quartet Sväng (AITO RECORDS) and the vigorous punk-klezmer group Alamaailman Vasarat (BACKSTAGE ALLIANCE), among others. Finland-related topics will be discussed at two panel sessions on topics including the Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department and the Finnish-Indian collaboration to compose the music for the stage adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Finland’s presence - coordinated by the Finnish Music Information Center (Fimic) - will be bigger than ever before, as more than 20 companies and organization attend the event. Womex, the largest annual gathering of world-music professionals, will take place in Seville, Spain, October 24-28. 
Crumbland (EXOGENIC MUSIC GROUP) have signed a co-management deal with first-ranking German company Eye Sound Management, led by Frank Stroebele. The agency also manages Within Temptation and Anastacia. Stroebele has over 20 year’s solid experience in the music industry. “This is an extremely great thing to happen, and Frank is one of the important people who need to get behind the band if it is to have a career abroad”, noted Exogenic Music Group’s CEO Jacob Ehrnrooth. The band is already going international: Crumbland will perform on Finnish Moosic Night at the Popkomm festival in Berlin, September 19.
When did you last hear a vibraphone mixing it up with a frantic slide guitar? Probably never, but now you can. The most interesting rootsy blues band in Scandinavia, Micke Björklöf & BlueStrip, released their fourth album Whole ‘Nutha Thang in June. The album was recorded in London by producer Neil Brockbank (Nick Lowe, Tanita Tikaram, Bryan Ferry), and was released in Scandinavia and the Baltic states by Bluelight Records. Whole ‘Nutha Thang is now available for licensing and publishing worldwide. 
Sturm und Drang (HMC) are on their way! The band have already pocketed an MTV Awards Nomination in the “Best Finnish Act” category. On top of that, the boys received an invitation from virtuoso metal cellists Apocalyptica to join them as support act on their upcoming European tour. The band is currently enjoying one high spot after the other: August 24 saw the release of their debut album Learning to Rock in Germany, with online retailer Amazon.de immediately featuring it in their Die Besten Newcomer section. This was occasion enough to create a special Amazon Edition of the album, which boasted an exclusive cover version of the Judas Priest classic, Breaking The Law. This is metal history, boys and girls!
Melodic metal masters Tacere (SUOMEN MUSIIKKI) have signed a distribution deal for Japan and Asia. The debut album Beautiful Darkness will be launched by Marquee/Avalon Inc. in Japan on October 24, including two exclusive bonus tracks. After reaching the heavy-metal import charts in Japan, this new female/male dual-fronted Finnish melodic metal group signed a deal with one of the biggest and most respected Japanese metal labels, Avalon. Other artists released by Avalon include Megadeth, Type O Negative, Edguy, Lacuna Coil and fellow countrymen Sonata Arctica, to mention a few.
Under the safe roof of the Exogenic Music Company hillbilly-trance masters Texas Faggott are to release their long awaited fourth album Kininigin on Exogenic Records. Haltya - known for their original forest sound - are also to release their third longplayer Book of Nature. New talents are also on their way in the autumn, as Roshi releases his debut album. Roshi’s production skills have previously been heard in the Koe duo, who released one of the first Finnish drum’n'bass albums on Exogenic Breaks in 2002. Headphonics (EXOGENIC BREAKS), another fresh project, are to release their debut album Mass this autumn.
Beagon (HANA RECORDS) released its second album Traffic in August. The new album has received excellent reviews in Finland and their album-production method is quite unusual: Beagon has been working on a thematic trilogy since the start of its career. The album is available globally on iTunes.
On September 26, Sony BMG Finland will release a Värttinä compilation album entitled 25, celebrating 25 years of Värttinä as an ensemble. It includes material from all of their 11 albums and their Archive Live DVD. 25 also features an unreleased song from the sessions for their latest album Miero, as well as lyrics and a deluxe digipak design. 25 is planned for release in Finland only, but the album will be available from Värttinä‘s website.
Lodger‘s (EASTBORDER) lyricist and animator/director of their infamous “one-eyed” videos, Hannes Häyhä, has been invited to be a guest speaker at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon. The panel discussion is titled “Music Video - Back in effect”. CMJ takes place on October 16-20. While Lodger definitely have not been too busy playing live, they are getting frequent plays in various US TV series: recent placements include the new Showtime network TV show “Californication” and ABC Family’s primetime series “Greek”.
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Live News
Fullsteam Agency will be responsible for this year’s musical line-up at the Lost in Music Festival at Music & Media in Tampere, October 18-20. At the moment, nearly 70 artists are due to perform at the festival, which is spread out around the city of Tampere. Although the festival is open to the public, it also has a high-impact showcase element.
Stam1na (SAKARA RECORDS) are also to support Apocalyptica in the Baltic countries and Germany. The heavy cellists invited Stam1na to open the night at 11 concerts in Germany and shows in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Stam1na’s second album, Uudet kymmenen käskyä (The Ten New Commandments), will be released by Golden Core/ZYX in Germany and the Benelux countries on October 5. Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat said “Stam1na is the most interesting metal band in Finland today,” and gave the album 5 stars.
No Shame (FULLSTEAM) and German punk-rock band Bitume are to enjoy an 11-day joint tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland starting September 27. No Shame will host a radio show on German radio at 20.00 on October 1. Stay tuned!
Kimmo Pohjonen (HOEDOWN ARTS) and Samuli Kosminen are to perform their composition Uniko with the Kronos Quartet at their US premiere in NYC, with three concerts on October 3, 5 and 6 in the Harvey Lichtenstein Theatre at the prestigious BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). The first public performance of UNIKO by Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster with Finland’s Proton String Quartet will take place at the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki on September 25. More Uniko concerts are confirmed for Macau and K�ln.
The three giants of Finnish rock music are to launch tours in October - all of them with new albums under their belts. HIM (SIRE/HMC) will be performing material from Venus Doom (out Sept 18) in the US and Canada on October 18 - November 3, before starting the next legs of their tour in the UK and Germany. Nightwish (SPINEFARM) and Dark Passion Play (out September 28) will be roaming across North America, too, playing dates with their new vocalist Anette Olzon, this on October 15 - November 17. Cello metal group Apocalyptica (SonyBMG) and Worlds Collide (out Sept 17) will be heading out for an extensive European tour during October 19 - December 14. This one’s for rock’n'roll!
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Finns Around the Globe
Europe
- Amoral (SPINEFARM) and Norther (NSound):
European tour, October 10 - November 2 (metal)
- Apocalyptica (SonyBMG) supported by Sturm und Drang (HMC): European tour, October 19 - December 14 (metal)
- April (SPINEFARM):
Sweden, Nynhamn and Nyköping, September 28-29 (metal)
- Boomhauer (STUPIDO):
Estonia and Latvia tour, October 17-20 (garage)
- Dalind�o (RICKY-TICK):
Austria, Vienna, October 6 + Germany, Braunschweig, October 17 and Cologne, October 19 (world)
- Duo Markku Lepistö & Pekka Lehti (AITO RECORDS):
Norway, Oslo, Folkelarm, September 29 (world)
- Erja Lyytinen (RUF):
Germany tour, October 12-20 (blues)
- No Shame (FULLSTEAM):
Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour, September 27 - October 8 (punk)
- Sturm und Drang (HMC)
Germany tour October 21 - November 1, East Europe tour November 3-11 (metal)
- Suden aika (ROCKADILLO RECORDS):
Germany tour, October 5-11 (world)
- Sunrise Avenue (Bonnier Amigo):
Scandinavia and GAS tour October 9 - November 18 (rock)
- Swallow the Sun (SPINEFARM) and Insomnium (CANDLELIGHT REC.)
Germany tour, November 3-27 (metal)
- The 69 Eyes (EMI) supporting Within Temptation:
European tour, October 1-10 (gothic rock)
- Värttinä (HOEDOWN ARTS):
UK, Whitby, Musicport, October 19 (world)
Americas
- Eternal Erection (EAT THIS MUSIC):
Cuba tour, October 16-27 (funk)
- Finntroll (SPINEFARM)
US tour September 18 - October 13 (metal)
- HIM (SIRE/HMC):
US and Canada tour October 18 - November 3 (rock/metal)
- JPP (HOEDOWN ARTS)
US tour September 29 - October 7 (jazz)
- Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster (HOEDOWN) & Kronos Quartet:
US, New York, October 3-6 (world)
- Nightwish (KING FOO ENTERTAINMENT) supported by Paradise Lost: US and Canada tour, October 15 - November 17 (metal)
Russia
- Amorphis (KING FOO ENTERTAINMENT):
Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Moscow, Rostov, October 9-13 (metal)
- Diablo (POKO RECORDS):
Moscow, Club Tochka, October 12 (metal)
- Doina Klezmer (ALBA):
St. Petersburg, The Place, September 21 (world)
- Eternal Erection (EAT THIS MUSIC)
St. Petersburg, Cokol, September 29 (funk)
Asia
- Hanoi Rocks (BACKSTAGE ALLIANCE):
Japan tour, October 21-25 (rock)
- Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster (HOEDOWN ARTS) & Proton String Quartet: Macau International Jazz Festival, October 25 (world)
- Negative (HYPE PRODUCTIONS):
China tour, October 1-5 (rock)
- Pauliina Lerche (DIFFERENT LEVEL):
Japan tour, November 13-18 (world)
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Behind the Scenes
Aaron Carter, can you hear us? You’ll be sorry to hear that the all-girl group you toured with in the States has disbanded. Sorry to bring you the bad news. Tik’n'tak (known as Tiktak in Finland where they performed in Finnish) played together since 1999, when most of them were just 14 years old. After eight years they’ve decided to call it quits and pursue musical careers in other ways. Guitarist Eppu is already a recording artist with her group Dame.
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Behind the Numbers
Hanoi Rocks could be called The Rolling Stones of Finland for two reasons:
1) The way they’ve influenced other great bands such as Guns N’ Roses.
2) The way they’ve continued their career for even longer than some of the bands they’ve inspired (like Guns N’ Roses).
3 is the number of albums that have been released since Hanoi Rocks reactivated in 2001. The third album, Street Poetry, was released in September.
17 is the number of years between disbanding and coming back.
27 is the number of years since Hanoi Rocks started out.
12 is the number of shots: the comeback album was called 12 Shots on the Rocks.