| The Rasmus | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Helsinki, Finland |
| Genres | Rock Alternative rock Alternative metal Gothic metal Funk rock (early) |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Playground Music DRT Entertainment Interscope (US) Motor Music (Germany) |
| Associated acts | Hay and Stone Killer Kwan Anette Olzon (Nightwish) |
| Website | www.therasmus.com |
| Members | |
| Lauri Ylönen Pauli Rantasalmi Aki Hakala Eero Heinonen |
|
| Past members | |
| Janne Heiskanen | |
The Rasmus are a Finnish rock band that formed in 1995 in Helsinki while the band members were still in upper comprehensive school.[1] The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer/songwriter), Eero Heinonen (bass), Pauli Rantasalmi (guitar) and Janne Heiskanen (drums). Heiskanen quit the band in 1998 and was soon replaced by Aki Hakala.
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In late 1999 The Cardigans' manager Petri H. Lundén recommended the band to Lars Tengroth, director of new Swedish independent label Playground Music.[2] Tengroth went to see them play live in Helsinki and, as he later told HitQuarters, "fell in love with them straight away". Having released three albums in Finland and achieved modest success they were looking to develop their career outside of the country and Playground agreed to help them do this.
Once signed to Playground the band spent time developing their act to meet the demands of establishing themselves internationally. According to Tengroth: "It was like starting from scratch; we were creating a new band so to speak." They did a lot of things that were new to them - they spent a long time working on their songs before recording, they worked with producers for the first time, and they recorded outside of Finland. They already had a strong stage show but welcomed ideas in improving it still.
In October 2001 The Rasmus released Into their fourth studio album, and first album for Playground Music. The album reached #1 in the Finnish album charts. The release saw the changing of the band's name from Rasmus to The Rasmus in order to avoid being confused with a Swedish DJ of the same name. They gained international fame with their 2003 album Dead Letters which went gold and platinum in several countries, accompanied with the single "In the Shadows" which reached number 1 in a number of countries. Their follow-up album Hide from the Sun which was released in October 2005 also went platinum in Finland.[3]
The band is one of Finland's most successful with more than 3.5 million albums have been sold worldwide,[4] eight gold awards and five platinum awards.[5] They have released seven studio albums, two compilation album and 21 singles. Some of the band's most famous songs are the singles "Liquid", "F-F-F-Falling", "In the Shadows", "First Day of My Life", "Funeral Song", "No Fear", "Sail Away", "Livin' in a World Without You", and "Justify". Their most recent album, titled Black Roses, was released in 2008. Immediately it replaced Metallica's latest album Death Magnetic in the Finnish Album Charts and went gold after one week.[6] In early 2010, The Rasmus started working on their next album, which will be released by the band's personal record label due to their contract with their previous label dissolving at the end of 2009.
Most recently, Ylönen announced a solo album scheduled for release in March 2011 with the first single "Heavy" being out in February. The material will have its premiere at Emma Gala on February 26, 2011. Ylönen stated that he wanted several songs that didn't fit The Rasmus to be released as a major record rather than a demo. The album was self-produced with his record label Dynasty Recordings.[7][8] In the summer The Rasmus will team up again to finally produce their eighth studio album.[9] At the end of October 2011 The Rasmus will be performing two back to back concerts in Mexico. [10]
The Rasmus have released a total of twenty music videos. Niklas Fronda and Fredrik Löfberg of Baranga Film have directed three of the band's videos, all from the Dead Letters album. Dead Letters is the album with most music videos: seven videos have been released from that album, including three versions of "In the Shadows". The videos of Immortal and Your Forgiveness were directed by bassist Eero Heinonen. The first video they ever made was for Funky Jam in 1996.
| (1994–1998) |
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| (1998–present) |
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He is the lead singer of the band and was born Lauri Johannes Ylönen in Helsinki on April 23, 1979. His parents names are Matti and Liisa Ylönen and he has an older sister called Hanna, who was the muse of the song "P.S.", a song about Lauri's love/hate relationship with his sister. Lauri is the main songwriter and has also worked on various collaborations with fellow Finns Apocalyptica and Ville Valo from the band HIM. He has also worked in the production of music for fellow Dynasty members Killer and Kwan, together with bandmate Pauli. In 2007, Lauri and other Dynasty members opened their own recording label, Dynasty Recordings. Lauri's nickname is "Lintu" which is the Finnish equivalent for bird which explains the crow feathers he once used to wear in his hair since just before their fifth album Dead Letters was released. He has been dying his hair black since early 2007 but dyed it blonde for their album Black Roses. Shortly after the band started touring for the Black Roses Tour, he changed his hair back to black. He appeared on MTV for the first time in July 2005 and three years later, he was also a presenter at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 2008 he composed the score to the Finnish thriller Blackout.[11] He has a son named Julius Kristian Ylönen with Finnish PMMP singer Paula Vesala who was born in April 2008.[12] In November 2010 he announced the release of his first solo album which will hit stores in March 2011.[7][8]
Pauli is the guitarist , songwriter, producer and was born in Helsinki, Finland on May 1, 1979. He helped design the "dynasty" logo on four of his ESP custom guitars. He co-owns the record label Dynasty Recordings with Lauri Ylönen, who is the singer in the band. Together they have also produced one of the Finnish band Killer's album before they split. Pauli has written and produced songs for several artists, including The Rasmus, Kwan, Killer, Pikku G and Anna Eriksson. Pauli has a Singaporean wife and his first child (a baby boy) was born August 13, 2008, in Singapore where he currently lives.
His full name is Aki Markus Hakala. He is the drummer and was born in Espoo, Finland, on October 28, 1979. He joined the band in 1999, after the former drummer, Janne Heiskanen, left the band to "find himself". Aki originally sold band merchandise at their shows and joined the band after jamming with Pauli. He says that the only thing he was ever good at was drumming, and he "sucked at everything else", although he has done some acting in the past in Siamin tytöt (a Finnish drama series) and can play the guitar. Before joining The Rasmus, he was a drummer for Killer and Kwan, (he was replaced by Risto). In 2006, Aki decided to finally have LASIK eye surgery, and ceased wearing his trademark black glasses. Early 2007, he stopped dying his hair black, opting instead for platinum blond. In July 2007 he welcomed his first daughter.[13]
He is the bassist and was born Eero Aleksi Heinonen in Helsinki, Finland, on November 27, 1979. Eero is a follower of Sahaja Yoga and is a quiet and well-balanced person, but also well-known for playing tricks on bandmates and others. He was the first member of the band to get married and he is also a father of two young daughters, born in 2003 and 2005 . After playing in Korpi Ensemble for many years he now has a new side project (since 2004) called Hay and Stone, where he is bass player and lead singer. Eero also plays the violin.[14]
In 2011 Eero revealed that he had moved to Italy with his family.
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Peep | Warner Music Finland |
| 1997 | Playboys | Warner Music Finland |
| 1998 | Hell of a Tester | Warner Music Finland |
| 2001 | Into | Playground Music Scandinavia |
| 2003 | Dead Letters | Playground Music Scandinavia |
| 2005 | Hide from the Sun | Playground Music Scandinavia |
| 2008 | Black Roses | Playground Music Scandinavia |
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Hell of a Collection | Warner Music Finland |
| 2009 | Best of 2001–2009 | Playground Music Scandinavia |
| Years | Tour | Countries | Cities | Concerts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Dead Letters Tour | 29 | 107 | 296 |
| 2005 | Hide from the Sun Tour | 36 | 110 | 249 |
| 2009 | Black Roses Tour |
The Rasmus were part of a brotherhood of Finnish bands known as "Dynasty", along with the hip-hop band Kwan and the now-separated modern rock band Killer.[15] Dynasty also have a studio in Helsinki, where they recruit new Finnish talent.[16] Several members of Dynasty have tattoos with the Dynasty text; one can be found on Pauli's left and Lauri's right arm. Pauli and Eero also have instruments and gear bearing the Dynasty logo. Pauli has helped with the production of Kwan, winning an EMMA for Producer of the Year in 2001.[17]
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