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| Category : | Musicians & Bands |
| Location : | Hellsinki,Europe
Finland |
| Members : | 69 |
| Description : | This is for people that love The Rasmus |
“This year, the Finnish band got it exactly right. You can’t even accuse them of being some sort of overnight corporate entity. Breakthrough album ‘Dead Letters’ is their fifth, and like lead single ‘In The Shadows’, it turned out to be a runaway success. The Rasmus have been working towards this for years, and thoroughly deserve the fruits of their long labour…their overwhelming commercial success throughout Europe will ensure they remain major players in 2005.”
Kerrang Yearbook, December 2004
Last year was a remarkable year for four young men from Helsinki. After 11 years together as a band, and each still only 24 years old, they finally captured Europe with the release of their fifth studio album, ‘Dead Letters’. With over a million and a half copies sold worldwide, eight Gold and five Platinum Awards, and Top 10 placings in eleven countries for their signature anthem ‘In The Shadows’, which was the No.1 Most Played Video on MTV Europe, THE RASMUS had finally made it.
In the UK alone, debut single release ‘In The Shadows’ entered the singles chart at No.3 in April, remained in the Top 10 for seven weeks, sold more than 180,000 copies and was one of the Top 20 Best Selling Singles of 2004. The video reached No.1 on the UK TV Airplay Chart. ‘Dead Letters’, also out in April, sold Platinum sales of over 300,000 copies, and was in the Top 50 best selling albums of the year. They sold out two UK tours, in April and October, plus two stand-alone consecutive nights at the London Astoria in June, and were nominated for two Kerrang Awards for Best International Newcomer and Best Single.
And now, the Finnish Grammy Award winning quartet are back with the follow-up to ‘Dead Letters’. Set for release on September 12th, ‘Hide From The Sun’ is the Helsinki-based foursome’s sixth studio outing. Displaying striking new textures through bold arrangements, the addition of strings and piano to the band’s signature infectious dark rock sound, topped off with Lauri’s smoldering vocal, results in an injection of Muse-like drama. It’s an album the band found easy to write despite the obvious pressures which come in following the success of smash hit singles ‘In The Shadows’, ‘Guilty’ and ‘First Day Of My Life’, singles which shot the band to the fore, took them around the world and saw them building up a massive and loyal fan base. “There are more contrasts in the music this time,” explains Lauri. “It’s beautiful melodies set against cutting lyrics, or sweet words over intense, heavy guitars. We’re proud of the arrangements on the new album.”
“Soundwise, we were more confident in what we wanted, this time more than ever,” says guitarist Pauli, something frontman Lauri agrees with: “When it came to writing the songs, everything felt so easy - that’s not only from the last year, it’s since we formed – we’ve been together 11 years now and that’s quite a history. We know each other so well we don’t need any words, the chemistry is such that you pretty much know what the other guys will play and if you get an idea for a song you can imagine what the others are going to do with it. To be able to play around the world gave us a lot of energy and it felt like we were feeding our minds – especially playing the last shows in Japan. After that, we went straight into the studio.”
‘Hide From The Sun’ was recorded at Stockholm’s Nord/Hansen Studios with producers Martin Hansen and Mikael Nord Andersson, the duo responsible for the band’s last two long-players ‘Into’ and ‘Dead Letters’. “We’ve made great progress with them, why would we break the winning team?” notes Lauri. “The communication between us has reached new levels – it’s much easier. It was also nice to record the album in Sweden instead of Finland, where we’d go home after the day’s recording and get separated. We were more focused on the band and a lot of our good ideas come after the day in the studio. We were confronting everything as a group; we lived in the same apartment in Stockholm and it was great that we could go and do something as a group in the evening - it made the band feel stronger.”
A feeling clearly reflected in ‘Hide From The Sun’, The Rasmus’ most confident outing yet, which sees them raising their own musical bar and experimenting with light and shade to produce attention-grabbing soundscapes with dark lyrical themes of hiding and escaping influenced by their hectic 12 months. As Lauri explains: “Last year was a crazy year and somehow it made me more aware of things. So far there’s a few key words for the album – escaping and hiding. It sounds a bit negative but it’s more like searching for your own feelings and emotions. A load of things happened in my life after ‘In The Shadows’ came out, a lot of positive things. I also saw a lot of shit and witnessed a lot of bad things; it was such a rollercoaster.” One of the most monumental experiences occurred in Mexico where the band stopped off at the pyramids at Teotihuacán, near Mexico City, and were enrolled into their Indian guide’s tribe! “These people are so down to earth,” recalls the singer. “I’ve always been into nature, it means ten times more to them than me or us so-called normal people in Europe, and meeting these people and getting so deep in their culture, made me stop and think.”
Spiritually re-invigorated, the songs came rolling out with tracks such as lead single, the hook-laden, power-rock track, ‘No Fear’, the obvious first choice single and, similarly as ‘In The Shadows’ had been to ‘Dead Letters’, one of the last songs that the band wrote and recorded, or the dynamic of ‘Shot’ or ‘Immortal’, both of which follow the theme of protecting those close to you and going beyond the call of duty to do so. Other songs include ‘Night After Night (Out Of The Shadows)’, a lyrical sequel to ‘In The Shadows’ and one of the album’s highlights, ‘Dead Promises’ with string arrangement by Finnish metallers-with-cellos, Apocalyptica, who have been linked to The Rasmus since they released ‘Bittersweet’, a single featuring a duet with Lauri and HIM’s Ville Valo. Lauri also added his vocal to ‘Life Burns’ from the band’s self-titled album. “It was a fair trade that they come and play on our album,” he laughs. “I had the riff for ‘Dead Promises’ a long time ago and thought of cellos for it, so it was a perfect match. When it came to arrangements, we had more ideas than the producers. I had some ideas, which started off on the piano; stuff I played on tour when I was killing time that made up the skeleton of the song. That’s why it’s important to record and memorise all those things you come up with while messing around because they could end up on the album!”
Forming 11 years ago and signing a deal with Warner Music Finland at 16, the band quit school for a life on the road. “You could say we were over-confident,” states Pauli. “We’ve always been over-confident, there was no other option. We weren’t thinking, ‘If we fail…’ it was more like, ‘We have to do this…’ We didn’t even think anything else.” They released their debut full-length ‘Peep’ which rapidly went Gold, followed by second-album ‘Playboys’, which again went Gold, earned them their first Emma (Finnish Grammy award) and saw them sharing stages with the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rancid and Garbage. Third album ‘Hellofataster’ followed in 1999, the year which also saw former merch-guy Aki joining the line-up. Signing to Stockholm’s Playground Music in 2000, The Rasmus have since gone from strength to strength.
“I just felt, ‘Yes! Finally! It’s about time this happened’,” Lauri, once nicknamed Lintu the Finnish for bird, says. “I somehow knew it was going to happen, I had a feeling in my bones, but there’s still lots of things to learn. I think if we’d got this success five years ago we would be dead - it’s so crazy, full of temptation and things that mess your head up. It’s been good to grow up in the band and see things slowly grow with us, that’s very important.”
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Name: Lauri Johannes Ylönen
The Band: Leadsinger
Born: Helsinki - Finland
Birthday: April 23 - 1979
Nickname: Lintu, Pauri
Heigth: 169 cm
Eyecolor: Green
Haircolor: Dark brown
Favourite music: Björk, Metallica, Muse
Favourite food: Liqourice, pizza
Status: Single(?)
Tattoo: On his right arm 'Dynasty' and on his left shoulder the face of Björk with a swan's neck
Other Facts: Lauri is the bands songwriter. All the lyrics has a special meaning to him. It can be a cry out for help or a confession."My lyrics are always personal and every word has a meaning that reminds me of something that's happened", he says. He is also acknowledged as one of the leading composers of Finland today.
It was his big sister that encouraged him to sing. Lauri made the song P.S for her.
The producers made him smoke more cigarettes if his voice didn't sound rough enough. He still smokes a lot...
Lauri has had many different hair styles through the years, now he has the black style with feathers in his hear, and no, they don't grow out of his head...!
His secret passion is drinking. And he enjoys going to a lot of parties. He is a very outgoing person, but still shy, he doesn't open up to people very easily.
Diligence, humbleness and always thinking about other people’s feelings as well, is his key to happiness.
Name: Eero Aleksi Heinonen
The Band: Bassist and back singer
Born: Helsinki - Finland
Birthday: November 27 - 1979
Nickname: Suuntavaisto
Heigth: 180 cm
Eyecolor: Brown
Haircolor: Brown
Favourite music: Metallica, Nirvana, RHCP
Favourite food: Pizza
Status: Married
Other Facts: Eero is the most peaceful spirit in the band. He is also in another band, Korpi Ensemble, where he also plays bass. He started to play bass the age at nine!
He stays at the hotel rather then go out and party with the other guys. He quit the drinking in '98. He says that he was drinking much and that he did a lot of stupid things, so he had to quit.
He does a lot of meditation and yoga. He says: "Sahaja yoga gives me a peace of mind." He kinda unites the band to be "down to earth".
And he knows 4 languages!
My opinion is that Eero is the one that shows the most attention to the fans. He always says thank you to the fans for being there. He also has said that he sometimes goes to the International The Rasmus Forum. He is registered in the UK forum on the official UK TRpage and has posted there several times.
Name: Pauli Esro Rantasalmi
The Band: Guitarist
Born: Helsinki - Finland
Birthday: May 1 - 1979
Nickname: 1000/Tonni
Height: 176 cm
Eyecolor: Green
Haircolor: Brown
Favourite music: Cypress Hill
Favourite food: Fish
Status: Girlfriend
Tattoo: 'Dynasty' at his lower arm
Other Facts: He is a recognized producer and has created number one hits for other Finnish bands like Killer and Kwan. And he is still working for/with them, he writes songs and he is a very gifted musician. He won the award Producer of the Year at the Finnish Grammy Award 2001.
His key to happiness is openness.
Name: Aki-Markus Hakala
The Band: Drums
Born: Espoo - Finland
Birthday: Oktober 28 - 1979
Nickname: Asi
Heigth: 170 cm
Eyecolor: Blue
Haircolor: Brown
Favourite music: RHCP, Muse, Foo Fighters
Favourite food: Chicken
Status: Girlfriend
Other Facts: Aki joined the The Rasmus 1999 after Janne left the band.(Janne left The Rasmus beacuse he wanted to take a break and move to Thailand) He was a T-shirt seller at band's shows and Pauli asked him if he would join them. Of course his answer was yes.
He says that the key to happiness is knowing yourself. His best advice is that good always wins over evil!
H I S T O R Y
At the sprouting age of sixteen, they reached their goals quickly and their dreams of rock stardom become a reality. The four friends made a conscious conclusion that the music scene in Finland sucked and needed a change or at least a fresh approach.
Eero and Lauri have been close mates since meeting in the third grade.
Pauli met Eero and Lauri in junior high at the beginning of the 90's. Then Janne joined them.
The first version of the band came together in late '94.
They decided to make their own music since.
December 1994 - Rasmus played their first show at school,
but at this early stage they were called "Sputnik", and later they
changed it to "Anttila", then, after a while they came up with the name "Rasmus".
In 1995 they got lucky when they met their manager Teja Kotilainen
who saw them at Oranssi club and wanted them to record some songs.
In december later that same year they released their first Cd "1st"
And now Warner showed interest and signed the boys 1996
and in May 1996 Rasmus released their first album "Peep"
wich sold gold.
In November 2000 Aki came to play the drums after Janne left the band. They "found" Aki because he was selling t-shirts at their gigs and they needed a drumplayer, they had heard that he was really good, so the asked him if he wanted to join the band. And, of course, he wanted to.
At the same stage they turned their name to "The Rasmus" instead of only "Rasmus".
The name "Rasmus" comes from the word "trashmosh". They call themslefes The Rasmus because it's a powerful word, easy to remember and they think it describe their music well.
And also the group name had been confused with the Swedish DJ Rasmus so they had to changed their name.
The Rasmus have been playing as a group for almost ten years. They started as a higeschoolband. It was first in 2003 they became famous all over Europe, with the single "In The Shadows". They have released six albums, but one album is a collection album released the same year as Into.
They have support alot of artists lately, like HIM, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Roxette.
Now The Rasmus has promoted their album Dead Letters in USA, UK and Japan!
The Rasmus is about to take over the world.. =) They also won the prize Best
Nordic Act on the MTV Europe Music Awards 2003. How cool is that?! And they have also won a lot of Finnish grammys. And there is always more prizes to come.
H I G H L I G H T S
· December 1994 Rasmus form at school and play their first show.
· December 1995 Release first single "1st." on independent label, Teja G. Records.
· February 1996 Sign to Warner Finland.
· May 1996 Release first album "Peep", which goes Gold.
· 1996 Play over 100 shows, including festivals in Finland, Russia and Estonia.
· May 1997 Release single "Blue", which goes Gold.
· August 1997 Release second album "Playboys", which goes also Gold.
· August 1997 Appearance on multi band event at Helsinki Olympic Stadium to 40,000 people and a nationwide TV audience.
· 1997 Play over 100 shows including festivals and clubs supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog.
· 1997 Win Finnish Grammy Award as Best New Act of 1996.
· September 1998 Release "Liquid" single - the video goes on MTV Nordic Top 40.
· December 1998 "Liquid" voted best song of 1998 by critics and fans.
· February 1999 Support Garbage at Helsinki Ice Hall to 4,000 people.
· April 1999 Tour of 6 shows of Ice Halls headlining a multiple bill.
· 1999 Play over 80 shows and festivals in Finland.
· August 1999 "Liquid" wins award at Finnish Music Video Festival.
· October 1999 Rasmus support Red Hot Chili Peppers for 2 shows at Helsinki Ice Hockey Stadium - capacity 12,000 per night.
· April 2000 Rasmus becomes The Rasmus and signs to Playground Music Scandinavia.
· May 2000 Into album is recorded in Stockholm.
· December 2000 January 2001 mixing in Stockholm.
· February 2001 The Rasmus release the single "F-F-F-Falling" in Finland. It stays Number 1 in the Finnish sales charts for three months, and sells Gold in May.
· March 2001 The Rasmus release the album "Into" in Finland. It goes Number One and sells Gold in May.
· April 2001 The Rasmus tour Sweden, Denmark, Norway and do TV and promotion.
· May 2001 The album Into is released in Denmark.
· May, June, July, August 2001 The Rasmus tour Finland and do EVERY festival there.
· June 2001 The single "Chill" is released all over Scandinavia. It goes straight to Number 2 in the Finnish Sales Charts.
· August 2001 The Rasmus play in Hamburg and Cologne.
· August 2001 The single "Madness" is released in Finland.
· September 2001 The album "Into" is released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
· October 2001 The album "Into" is released in Sweden and Norway. The Rasmus tour with HIM in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
· November 2001 "Into" released in Spain, France and Italy.
· November 2001 The Rasmus support Roxette on 5 dates in Estonia, Finland and Sweden.
· February/March 2002 two week tour in Germany with Spanish rock band Dover. Sold out - lots of good reviews.
· March 2002 The Rasmus win four Finnish Grammys. Best Group, Best pop/rock Album, Best Album and Best Song (F-F-F-Falling).
· March 2002 Showcase in hamburg for VIP media and radio. Raving response.
· March 2002 The single "Heartbreaker/Days" is released. It enters the charts at #2 and climbs to #1 after one week. Massive airplay.
· June - December 2002 Recordings for the new album "Dead Letters" done in Nord Studios, Stockholm.
· January 2003 The single "In The Shadows" is released January 10th in Finland. It goes straight to #1 in the singles chart.
· January 2003 The movie Bad Boys (Pahat Pojat) opens in Finland. The Rasmus contributes with the theme song "In The Shadows".
· February 2003 The album "Dead Letters" is released in Finland. Pre-sold in Gold quantaties.
· June 2003 The single In The Shadows sells Gold in Sweden
· August 2003 In The Shadows and Dead Letters are both #1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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Group Leader:
Vampie Julie
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