UltraNoir
Encyclopedia
Finnish synthpop
/ gothic rock
/ post-punk
trio.
Started as a pop group UltraNoir is influenced by shoegaze and post-rock
as well as early eighties post-punk
acts such as Joy Division
, The Cure
along with the Sisters Of Mercy
and Bauhaus
. These elements blended with political (anarchist) lyrics.
UltraNoir's themes considered bleak visions of fascism, globalisation, social classes, sexism and existential complications of western moral codes over dreamy melody streams and laconic vocals.
Their first single "Reach Me, Helen Keller" (2006) reached chart position #4 in Finland.
After former guitarist Jan left the group to form Heroin and Your Veins the remaining members Anton, Utu and Jesi continued to tour without a guitarist. Eventually Jesi too parted ways with the band leaving Anton and Utu to perform as a duo and reducing the sounds to a bleak wall of nihilism. In 2009 Niki Vaan from Cherry Stained and Nokia Missio joined their ranks, first as a tour guitarist and then as a recognized member of the band. In early 2011 Janne Perttula rejoined UltraNoir leading the group working on its second album.
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
/ gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
/ post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
trio.
Started as a pop group UltraNoir is influenced by shoegaze and post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
as well as early eighties post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
acts such as Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
along with the Sisters Of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
and Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
. These elements blended with political (anarchist) lyrics.
UltraNoir's themes considered bleak visions of fascism, globalisation, social classes, sexism and existential complications of western moral codes over dreamy melody streams and laconic vocals.
Their first single "Reach Me, Helen Keller" (2006) reached chart position #4 in Finland.
After former guitarist Jan left the group to form Heroin and Your Veins the remaining members Anton, Utu and Jesi continued to tour without a guitarist. Eventually Jesi too parted ways with the band leaving Anton and Utu to perform as a duo and reducing the sounds to a bleak wall of nihilism. In 2009 Niki Vaan from Cherry Stained and Nokia Missio joined their ranks, first as a tour guitarist and then as a recognized member of the band. In early 2011 Janne Perttula rejoined UltraNoir leading the group working on its second album.
Discography
- UltraNoir/Romantic Vision 7" split Godspeed For Good/Worldwide Panic (2004)
- Compilation New Dark Age vol.3 (Strobelight, 2005)
- CDs Reach Me, Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
(Quiet Life, 2006) - Album Suffer No Fiction (Quiet Life, 2006)
- Compilation Independent Rock (Bianca-Pop, 2007)
- Compilation Smoke and spotlight vol. 5 (Inside Agitator, 2011)