Uniklubi
Encyclopedia
Uniklubi is a Finnish
alternative rock
band
. It was founded in 1999. The band became well known for its hit Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa in 2004. The band's lyrics are in the Finnish language
. All members are from the town of Hämeenkyrö
, except the bassist Teemu Rajamäki, who is from Ikaalinen
. Originally they called themselves 'Pincenez' but they did not get much positive feedback about it, so they renamed their band 'Uniklubi', a Finnish word that means 'Dream Club'.
By playing their first gigs, they earned some money they used to go into studio and record their first demo-tapes.
While recording the first album "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa" (Love and Barbed-Wire) the drummer left the band. Antti Matikainen replaced him and is a part and parcel of Uniklubi ever since.
The first single was "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa". It was voted by YleX as the most popular song of the year. The album got into the charts (Top 4) and Uniklubi got their first important award: They won an Emma Award
(Newcomer of the year).
"Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa" reached platinum in Finland (They sold more than 30,000 copies of the album).
Other releases of "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa": Kylmää, Näiden Tähtien Alla and Totuus.
The second album, "Kehä" (Circle) was released on November 2 and the album entered the charts at number one. It stayed in the charts for more than 20 weeks in the Top20 and even the first release of the album "Kaikki Mitä Mä Annoin" (All that I gave) entered the charts at number one.
The second release was "Kiertää Kehää" and entered the charts at number ten.
During summer 2006, the singer was diagnosed with a bump on his vocal cords, after losing his voice repeatedly during concerts. The band had to cancel a tour in Germany, which would have been their first outside Scandinavia, for Jussi to undergo throat surgery. Everything went fine, and the few gigs performed during the Christmas holidays were marked by a beautiful, new clear voice.
The band entered studios again at the beginning of 2007, and have already released their first single, "Vnus", in May, along with the track "Aurinkoni" (My Sun) as a b-side. The new album, titled "Luotisade" (Bullet Rain) was released in August 2007.
On March 4, 2009 the band released a new album titled "Syvään valoon." The first single off of the album was "Polje". They later released "Kukka" as the new single.
During the summer 2010 Uniklubi had several gigs added with the unique group of musicians. They had one pianist, two violinists, altoviolinist and cellist.
On September 22, Uniklubi released their fifth studio album titled "Kultakalat" (Goldfishes). On 31 September the band started their album release tour which will last out until the late summer of 2011.
Jussi Selo, singer for Uniklubi, has previously sung for Lovex
, as well as guest backing vocals on some of Negative's tracks. More recently, he participated with backing vocals to the cover of Queen's "Too Much Love Will Kill You", interpreted by Negative's Jonne Aaron, Sir Christus
and Larry Love, Jann Wilde and Rose Avenue's Jann Wilde
and Dead By Gun's Christian. Ville Liimatainen, younger brother of Jonne, also contributed to the backing vocals. In Bloodpit
's 2007 video "Wise Men Don't Cry", Jussi played a vengeful brother, alongside Antti Anatomy of Negative. He has also sang backing vocals on several songs for Finnish rock band, Sisu.
Janne Selo previously sang for the band Bitch So Sweet, a quartet he left as Uniklubi took more of his time. He also replaced Entwine
's guitarist for 5 concerts in their spring tour in Germany.
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...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
. It was founded in 1999. The band became well known for its hit Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa in 2004. The band's lyrics are in the Finnish language
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
. All members are from the town of Hämeenkyrö
Hämeenkyrö
Hämeenkyrö is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
, except the bassist Teemu Rajamäki, who is from Ikaalinen
Ikaalinen
Ikaalinen is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
. Originally they called themselves 'Pincenez' but they did not get much positive feedback about it, so they renamed their band 'Uniklubi', a Finnish word that means 'Dream Club'.
Members of the band
- Jussi Selo (Born: January 21, 1985 in Tampere, Finland) - vocals
- Janne Samuli Selo (Born: April 16, 1980) - guitars
- Pasi Viitala (Born: March 6, 1983) - electronic guitar
- Teemu Rajamäki - bass guitar
- Antti Matikainen - drums
History
The band was founded in 1999 by Jussi and Pasi. The name "Uniklubi" didn't exist at the time; they went by the name Pincenez (type of glasses without spectacles; it's a French word). The first songs they played were covers of their favorite bands, in English. However, as they began writing their own songs, Jussi felt more confident with his mother tongue, Finnish. They eventually changed the name to Uniklubi ("dream club"), which has no significance for them, really.By playing their first gigs, they earned some money they used to go into studio and record their first demo-tapes.
While recording the first album "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa" (Love and Barbed-Wire) the drummer left the band. Antti Matikainen replaced him and is a part and parcel of Uniklubi ever since.
The first single was "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa". It was voted by YleX as the most popular song of the year. The album got into the charts (Top 4) and Uniklubi got their first important award: They won an Emma Award
Emma-gaala
The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990....
(Newcomer of the year).
"Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa" reached platinum in Finland (They sold more than 30,000 copies of the album).
Other releases of "Rakkautta Ja Piikkilankaa": Kylmää, Näiden Tähtien Alla and Totuus.
The second album, "Kehä" (Circle) was released on November 2 and the album entered the charts at number one. It stayed in the charts for more than 20 weeks in the Top20 and even the first release of the album "Kaikki Mitä Mä Annoin" (All that I gave) entered the charts at number one.
The second release was "Kiertää Kehää" and entered the charts at number ten.
During summer 2006, the singer was diagnosed with a bump on his vocal cords, after losing his voice repeatedly during concerts. The band had to cancel a tour in Germany, which would have been their first outside Scandinavia, for Jussi to undergo throat surgery. Everything went fine, and the few gigs performed during the Christmas holidays were marked by a beautiful, new clear voice.
The band entered studios again at the beginning of 2007, and have already released their first single, "Vnus", in May, along with the track "Aurinkoni" (My Sun) as a b-side. The new album, titled "Luotisade" (Bullet Rain) was released in August 2007.
On March 4, 2009 the band released a new album titled "Syvään valoon." The first single off of the album was "Polje". They later released "Kukka" as the new single.
During the summer 2010 Uniklubi had several gigs added with the unique group of musicians. They had one pianist, two violinists, altoviolinist and cellist.
On September 22, Uniklubi released their fifth studio album titled "Kultakalat" (Goldfishes). On 31 September the band started their album release tour which will last out until the late summer of 2011.
Related bands
Like many other Finnish bands, Uniklubi can easily be linked to other groups, whether by friendships or collaborations.Jussi Selo, singer for Uniklubi, has previously sung for Lovex
Lovex
Lovex is a rock band from Tampere, Finland.- History :Lovex started in 2001–2002, when several members and one former member, who had previously played in other bands, decided to start their own band to play rock music and have fun. As of 2004 they have written and recorded a number of songs, and...
, as well as guest backing vocals on some of Negative's tracks. More recently, he participated with backing vocals to the cover of Queen's "Too Much Love Will Kill You", interpreted by Negative's Jonne Aaron, Sir Christus
Sir Christus
Sir Christus is a Finnish guitarist, best known as the former rhythm guitarist of the glam rock band Negative. His father was Arwo Mikkonen, guitarist of the legendary Finnish rock band Popeda...
and Larry Love, Jann Wilde and Rose Avenue's Jann Wilde
Jann Wilde
Jann Wilde is a Finnish singer/songwriter from Tampere, Finland. Born in 14 April 1982.Jann Wilde started his musical career when he released his demo EP Boys Out Of New York in 2004. On the early demos, he recorded all the instruments on most of the tracks...
and Dead By Gun's Christian. Ville Liimatainen, younger brother of Jonne, also contributed to the backing vocals. In Bloodpit
Bloodpit
Bloodpit is a Finnish hard rock band. Before 1998 the band has been named "RIP" and "Turmio". It was founded in 1994 by Matthau Mikojan , lead singer, and Paavo Pekkonen, guitarist. They released their first album Mental Circus in 2005, along with many singles, such as "Platitude", "Bad-Ass Blues",...
's 2007 video "Wise Men Don't Cry", Jussi played a vengeful brother, alongside Antti Anatomy of Negative. He has also sang backing vocals on several songs for Finnish rock band, Sisu.
Janne Selo previously sang for the band Bitch So Sweet, a quartet he left as Uniklubi took more of his time. He also replaced Entwine
Entwine
Entwine is a Finnish gothic metal band.-Biography:Entwine was originally assembled as a death metal band in 1995 by guitarist and vocalist Tom Mikkola, drummer Aksu Hanttu and bassist Taipale. In 1997 they decided to change Entwine's musical style to gothic metal. Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Panu...
's guitarist for 5 concerts in their spring tour in Germany.
Albums
- Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa (2004)
- Kehä (2005)
- Luotisade (2007)
- Syvään Valoon (2009)
- Kultakalat (2010)
Singles
- Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa (2004) (Love and Barbed Wire)
- Kylmää (2004) (Cold)
- Olemme Yhtä (2004) (We Are One)
- Totuus (2004) (The Truth)
- Näiden tähtien alla (2004) (Underneath These Stars)
- Kaikki mitä mä annoin (2005) (All That I Gave)
- Huomenna (Promotional Single) (2005) (Tomorrow)
- Kiertää Kehää (2006) (Rounding Circle)
- Tuhka (Promotional Single) (2006) (Ash)
- Vnus (2007) (Venus)
- Luotisade (Promotional Single) (2007) (Bulletrain)
- Polje (2009) (Box)
- Kukka (2009) (Flower)
- Aikasi On Nyt (2010) (Your Time Is Now)
Music videos
- Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa
- Kaikki mitä mä annoin
- Huomenna
- Vnus
- Luotisade
- Rakkaudesta hulluuteen
- Polje
- Kukka
- Mitä vittua?
- Aikasi on nyt
- Maailma Puhaltaa
External links
- Uniklubi.net (Finnish)
- Uniklubi.co.uk (English website)
- Uniklubi.de (German and English)
- Uniklubi-band.de.vu (German)
- Uniklubi Myspace