March 2005
- Features:
*SXSW Sees an Invasion of Finnish Music
- Business
- Awards
- Live News
- Behind the Numbers / Behind the Scenes
SXSW SEES AN INVASION OF FINNISH MUSIC
Finland is treating the SXSW crowd to seven unique, exceptional performances. The line-up includes trendy poppers The Crash (WARNER MUSIC FINLAND), champions of quirky garage rock 22-Pistepirkko (BONE VOYAGE), cello metal squad Apocalyptica (UNIVERSAL), hotly tipped folktronica act Husky Rescue (CATSKILLS), instrumental rockers Laika And The Cosmonauts (GRANDPOP RECORDS), Scandinavian action jazz duo Nieminen & Litmanen (GRANDPOP) and the dark pop sounds of The Latebirds (GRANDPOP).
The line-up is unbeatable; all the acts have great business potential. The Crash have tasted success in Germany with a song on the German eBay campaign and heavy rotation on MTV, where they are a staff favourite. The Crash will play in London *today* and Los Angeles plus New York after SXSW (showdates here>>>). Cult band 22-Pistepirkko topped Swedish college radio charts with their single Rat King; indicators for the new album could not be better. Their tour takes the band all around Scandinavia and Europe. Apocalyptica (UNIVERSAL) is already a two million selling crossover hit a slap on the face for just-a-novelty-Metallica-cover-band doubters. Husky Rescue (CATSKILLS) has caused hype in the UK with rave Guardian and Sunday Times reviews, and more.
Grandpop Records entourage already have a foothold in the US; Quentin Tarantino is a Laika And The Cosmonauts fan, The Latebirds are recording their new album in Woodstock with Ken Coomer (Wilco) and Charlie Brocco (George Harrison, Jeff Lynne) producing, while Nieminen & Litmanen make their Stateside debut, presenting funky Scandinavian action jazz to the unsuspecting SXSW crowd.
NORDIC NIGHTS PRESENTS 12 HIP ACTS FROM THE NORTH
The Nordic countries have joined forces to promote artists on US territory. The Nordic Nights showcases will be at The Drink (map link) on March 17th and 18th, bringing together the 12 hottest acts from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
The Nordic Nights bill features the rootsy garage of 22-Pistepirkko (Thursday at 1am) and the stylish disco rock of The Crash (Friday at 10pm). Other bands include Teitur (DK), The Ark (SWE), Ske (ISL) and Surferosa (NOR).
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THE NORDIC STAND
Finnish artists and their management/publishers will be at the Nordic stand (C8-9, D8-9) at the Austin Convention Centre trade fair.
Meet & greet reception at the stand Thursday, March 17th, 4.00pm-6.00pm with all the Nordic Nights artists.
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Finnish Showcases at SXSW: Check full schedule here>>>
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BUSINESS
The moody folktronica ensemble Husky Rescue (CATSKILLS) has signed a licensing deal with Chigago based label Minty Fresh. The Huskys will be performing in SXSW March 17th at Latitude 30 after doing a warmup gig for Texas at Caprices-festival in Switzerland. Their debut album Country Falls has got rave reviews from The Guardian, The Observer and The Sunday Times.
The melodic goth rockers Soulrelic have signed a record deal with Spinefarm Records. The first single, the excellent Hollow Craving is going to be released on March 23rd and the debut album Love Is A Lie We Both Believed will be released in the fall. A tour starting March 24th with To/Die/For will cover Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria.
The legendary power-metal group Stratovarius (SANCTUARY) are back together. The crisis and disagreements have been set back and the band is currently working on a new album. They are waiting to do a performance at Progpower festival in Atlanta, USA this fall.
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AWARDS
Award winners of the month are the masters of operatic metal, Nightwish (SPINEFARM). They received five Emmas (Finnish Grammys), The Export Emma, Band of the Year, Metal Album of the Year and Best Selling Album of the Year. They also took The Artist of the Year audience vote. On top of that, the Radio NRJ awards named the hit band four times: Best Domestic Song, Best Nordic Song, Best Video and Best Artist. And to explode the trophy cabinet, Nightwish also received a total of nine awards from Soundi, Suosikki and Mix magazines. Vocalist queen Tarja Turunen was also voted Best Female Singer by the readers of Terrorizer magazine.
Nightwish will continue their world tour on March 12th, crossing the ocean to perform in Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo, Japan, and Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Australia.
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LIVE
Boisterous emo-core act Disco Ensemble (FULLSTEAM RECORDS) is going on tour with the Californian punk band Never Heard Of It. Their second album First Aid Kit is being released in six countries and the band will be touring around Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark for over two months. Tour info>>>
The intense metal band Callisto (FULLSTEAM RECORDS) are making their first tour of Britain together with the American High On Fire. The tour takes in 12 gigs starting in Milton Keynes March 26th. Earache Records is handling the international release of their debut album True Nature Unfolds this spring. The album is coming out everywhere, in Europe, Australia, Canada and United States. Tour info>>>
The jazzy soul ensemble Quintessence (JUPITER/TEXICALLI RECORDS) sooths the british audience with their unique mixture of soul, jazz and Finnish cool as they perform live at Gargo, London, March 31st. The gig is part of Gilles Petersons live session airplays in World Wide Show, BBC Radio 1. Quintessences debut album Talk Less Listen More see its UK release through What Music in April 4th. Tour info>>>
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Behind The Scenes: Finnish record buyers showed their loyalty yet again in early March. Local heavy metal band Peer Günt (SPINEFARM) have been together for at least 20 years. After a lengthy break in releasing albums, the band released No Piercing, No Tattoo the title really makes it clear that they belong to an older generation of rockers which bowed on the Finnish album chart at #3 ahead of e.g. Judas Priest. But who can resist this trio, whose drummer Twist Twist Erkinharju is the official Finnish champion of tabledrumming the equivalent of air guitar for drummers.
Behind The Numbers: As Peer Günt‘s example (above) shows, age doesn’t mean squat in Finnish rock’n'roll. They aren’t the only rockers who are making quality rock after being in the business since the eighties. We’ve already talked a lot about Soul Tattoo (PLASTINKA), which is basically the same guys who played in Hearthill in the eighties and nineties. They are currently putting up live shows that are probably more energetic than ever. 22-Pistepirkko started together in 1980 and won the Finnish Rock Championships in 1982, and this March they are releasing a new album called “Drops & Kicks”. The “Pirkkos” still manage to sound fresh and vibrant on that album, and also put up fine live shows. The Rolling Stones are not the only ones who gather no moss.