Alamaailman Vasarat
Encyclopedia
Alamaailman Vasarat is a cult
avant-garde
Finnish
group. Their music covers a wide range of styles and influences and is therefore difficult to classify; on their official website they jokingly refer to their style as being "kebab-kosher-jazz-film-traffic-punk-music." Much of their music is reminiscent of klezmer music.
Alamaailman Vasarat is an off-shoot of Höyry-Kone created by drummer Teemu Hänninen and Jarno Sarkula, who played bass guitar
earlier but switched to soprano saxophone. The popularity of the band was partially ignited by the television presence of Jarno Sarkula
on the now defunct MoonTV
cable-channel which also aired the band's music videos from their debut album Vasaraasia.
The debut album "Vasaraasia" hit "Europe Top-20" chart, peaking at position #7.
Alamaailman Vasarat also has composed and performed film music: most recently for an award-winning animated movie called “Elukka” by Tatu Pohjavirta and for a forthcoming full-length movie about a Finnish painter Kalervo Palsa
by Pekka Lehto
.
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
group. Their music covers a wide range of styles and influences and is therefore difficult to classify; on their official website they jokingly refer to their style as being "kebab-kosher-jazz-film-traffic-punk-music." Much of their music is reminiscent of klezmer music.
Alamaailman Vasarat is an off-shoot of Höyry-Kone created by drummer Teemu Hänninen and Jarno Sarkula, who played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
earlier but switched to soprano saxophone. The popularity of the band was partially ignited by the television presence of Jarno Sarkula
Jarno Sarkula
Jarno Sarkula is a Finnish musician and one-time TV-personality. In the music-business he is known as a member of the underground-band Alamaailman Vasarat, he also became known as a TV-persona on the free cable-channel MoonTV...
on the now defunct MoonTV
MoonTV
MoonTV was a free Finnish cable network channel. It started off as a channel for programmes about computer and video games but later grew into a channel covering several areas of youth culture. In its prime it was the first interactive TV channel in the world. At its best MoonTV could reach 1.3...
cable-channel which also aired the band's music videos from their debut album Vasaraasia.
The debut album "Vasaraasia" hit "Europe Top-20" chart, peaking at position #7.
Alamaailman Vasarat also has composed and performed film music: most recently for an award-winning animated movie called “Elukka” by Tatu Pohjavirta and for a forthcoming full-length movie about a Finnish painter Kalervo Palsa
Kalervo Palsa
Hugo Kalervo Palsa , or Kalle was a Finnish artist in a style that has been described as fantastic realism....
by Pekka Lehto
Pekka Lehto
Pekka Lehto is a Finnish film director. He has directed fifteen films since 1976. He co-directed Flame Top with Pirjo Honkasalo and the film was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.-External links:...
.
Band members
- Erno Haukkala (tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, piccolo trombone) - Miikka Huttunen (pump organ, grand piano, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, melodicaMelodicaThe melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
) - Tuukka Helminen (celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
) - Santeri Saksala (drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
) - Marko Manninen (celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
) - Jarno SarkulaJarno SarkulaJarno Sarkula is a Finnish musician and one-time TV-personality. In the music-business he is known as a member of the underground-band Alamaailman Vasarat, he also became known as a TV-persona on the free cable-channel MoonTV...
(sopraninoSopranino saxophoneThe sopranino saxophone is one of the smallest members of the saxophone family. A sopranino saxophone is tuned in the key of E, and sounds an octave above the alto saxophone. This saxophone has a sweet sound and although the sopranino is one of the least common of the saxophones in regular use...
, sopranoSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, altoAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and bassBass saxophoneThe bass saxophone is the second largest member of the saxophone family. Its design is similar to that of the baritone saxophone, with a loop of tubing near the mouthpiece. It was the first type of saxophone presented to the public, when Adolphe Sax exhibited a bass saxophone in C at an exhibition...
saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, contrabass clarinetContrabass clarinetThe contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in BB, sounding two octaves lower than the common B soprano clarinet and one octave lower than the B bass clarinet...
, various ethnicFolk instrumentA folk instrument is an instrument that developed among common people and usually doesn't have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. It is a part of folk music...
woodwind instrumentWoodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s)
Discography
- Vasaraasia (2000) Wolfgang Records
- Käärmelautakunta (2003) Wolfgang Records
- Kinaporin Kalifaatti with Tuomari NurmioTuomari NurmioTuomari Nurmio is the artist name of Hannu Juhani Nurmio , a Finnish rock singer and songwriter.-Work:Since his debut album, Nurmio has been regarded as one of the most original Finnish singer-songwriters. His lyrics are filled with peculiar and arresting metaphors and expressions, some of which...
(2005) Johanna Kustannus Oy - Maahan (2007) Wolfgang Records
- Huuro Kolkko (2009) Laskeuma Records
- Haudasta Lomilla (DVD) (2010) Laskeuma Records