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The Rasmus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 The Rasmus 2007 (from left to right): Pauli Rantasalmi, Eero Heinonen, Aki Hakala and Lauri Ylönen.
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| Background information | |
| Origin |  Helsinki, Finland |
| Genre(s) | Alternative [1] Rock [2][3] Funk-rock (early works) |
| Years active | 1994 – Present |
| Label(s) | Playground Music DRT Entertainment |
| Associated acts |
Hay and Stone Killer Kwan |
| Website | www.therasmus.com |
| Members | |
| Lauri Ylönen Pauli Rantasalmi Aki Hakala Eero Heinonen |
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| Former members | |
| Janne Heiskanen | |
The Rasmus are a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki while the band members were still in high school.[4] The original band members were Lauri Ylönen (lead singer/songwriter), Eero Heinonen (bass), Pauli Rantasalmi (guitar) and Janne Heiskanen (drums). The former drummer Heiskanen quit the band in 1998 and was soon replaced by Aki Hakala.
Before releasing their fourth studio album Into (2001), they were simply known as Rasmus, but changed their name to The Rasmus in order to avoid being confused with a Swedish DJ of the same name. Their 2003 hit "In the Shadows" made them famous worldwide.
The band is one of Finland's most successful bands with more than 1.5 million sold albums worldwide[citation needed], eight gold awards and five platinum awards.[5] They have released six studio albums, one 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" and "Sail Away"
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The history of the Helsinki-based rock band starts in the early 1990s. Lauri Ylönen and Eero Heinonen met each other in third grade when they both were nine years old, and have been close friends during the school years since. When they started at Suutarila high school (Helsinki) in the middle of the 1990s, they met Pauli Rantasalmi and later Janne Heiskanen. In 1994, the four of them decided to create their own band in school. Ylönen became the lead singer, Heinonen because the bassist, Rantasalmi because the guitarist and Heiskanen because the drummer. They practiced a lot, and at the end of the year they played their very first show before the Christmas holiday at school. At that time they were initially known as Sputnik, then Anttila and then simply Rasmus.
In 1995 they met their first manager and record producer, Teja Kotilainen, who saw them perform at Oranssi Club. He wanted them to record a few songs, and the band did. Soon they released their very first EP-single, 1st. It was originally released independently through Teja G. Records in late 1995 before signing with the record label Warner Music Finland. Rasmus and Teja Kotilainen kept on making songs and on September 23, 1996 they released their debut album, Peep. It went Gold as the band played over 100 shows in Finland, Russia and Estonia. Later in 1996 they won an EMMA (the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy) for Best New Act of 1996. They also released two more singles from the album: 2nd and 3rd. 3rd was the first single to hit the chart lists - it went to #8 at the Finnish Singles Chart.
Rasmus released their second studio album, Playboys, in August 1997. This record also went gold in Finland[4], along with its single "Blue". The album was quite similar to Peep, but they had more additional musicians this time. Many of them played saxophone and trumpet. This gave the album a mixed genre of rock, funk and ska. It was not produced by Teja Kotilainen this time. Their new producer was named Illka Herkman. Rasmus' grueling live schedule included supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog, and appearing at a festival at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in front of a crowd of 40 000 and on national television. They released a music video to the single " Playboys" which was directed by themselves and Illka Herkman.
The band's third studio album, Hell of a Tester, was released in 1998 with a video for the single "Liquid". It was in the Top 40 on Nordic MTV and was voted Song of the Year by Finnish music critics and fans. The band achieved further recognition supporting Garbage and Red Hot Chili Peppers when they toured Finland.
Rasmus became "The Rasmus" in 2000, after replacing drummer Janne Heiskanen with drumming merchandise-seller Aki Hakala. In 2001, they signed to Playground Music Scandinavia and took on Seppo Vesterinen as their new manager. They released the album Into in Finland, where it went double platinum, debuting at #1. This was their first album to be produced by Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen at Nord Studios in Stockholm, Sweden[citation needed]. Nord and Andresson also produced their next two albums. The first single from the album "F-F-F-Falling" was #1 in Finland for three months in early 2001. The second single, "Chill", was released in the Nordic countries, and reached #2 in Finland. Into was soon released in other European countries, including Germany, Italy, France and Spain. The Rasmus toured throughout Europe, promoting the album, and being the supporting acts to bands HIM and Roxette.
The band recorded Dead Letters at Nord Studios in Sweden and it was released in Europe in early 2003, reaching the top of the album charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as in Finland. Its European success led to the release of the album in other parts of the world and the album has sold 1.5 million copies worldwide[citation needed]. Dead Letters went Top 10 in the UK, and its first single, In the Shadows, went Top 3. Both also went Top 50 in the Australian ARIA charts in 2004, as well as topping the New Zealand singles chart. The single also reached the Top 20 of the American Billboard Heatseeker charts. In the Shadows gained Top 10 chart placings in eleven countries. Recently, iTunes Music Store offered the second track on Dead Letters, "In the Shadows", as one of its free singles. Guilty was the band's second single for the American and British market. The Rasmus' previous discography was released internationally too. The band toured a lot in 2004 and early 2005 before taking six months off to record their next album.
The Rasmus tend to provoke strong opinions in people[citation needed]. They made a notable appearance at the Reading Festival in 2004, where they were a victim of bottling, being pelted with plastic bottles and mud until they eventually walked offstage, immediate medical attention being required for bassist Heinonen's eye.[citation needed]
Their latest album is Hide from the Sun, which was released in 2005. Three singles have been released from it: "No Fear", "Sail Away" and "Shot". Hide from the Sun was released in the U.S. on October 10, 2006 from their new U.S. label, DRT Entertainment. In 2005, they won Best Nordic Act at the MTV Nordic Awards and at the NRJ Radio Awards and Best Finnish Act at MTV Europe Music Awards. They have toured with Lostprophets and Negative. On April 28, 2006 they received an exclusive statue at the ESKA Music Awards in Poland (it is their second ESKA statue, the first being in 2004) for the category Best World Rock Group.
The name "Rasmus" does not actually mean anything; the band have said in interviews that they chose it because it sounds Finnish and it is easy to remember. However, bassist Eero Heinonen said in a Swedish interview that it came from the words "trash" and "mosh". In Norway, Sweden and Denmark "Rasmus" is a boy name. It was the ex-drummer Janne Heiskanen who came up with the name.[citation needed]
Following logos have been used for The Rasmus. The first one from Peep to Hell of a Tester (thought Hel of a Tester didn't have a certain logo) when the band were named just "Rasmus", the second one only for Into and the third one from Dead Letters to present.
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"The Rasmus" (2003-present) |
- For a complete list of the band's music videos, see The Rasmus discography.
The Rasmus have released a total of sixteen music videos (including three different versions of In the Shadows). Niklas Fronda & 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. The first video they ever made was the one to Funky Jam, 1996.
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He is the lead singer and was born Lauri Johannes Markus Paavo Ylönen in Helsinki on April 23, 1979. His parents names are Matti and Liisa Ylonen and he has an older sister called Hannah, who was the muse of the song "P.S.", a song about Lauri's love/hate relationship with his sister. Lauri is the main song writer 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 2005 Lauri and other Dynasty members opened their own recording label, Dynasty Recordings. Lauri has 7 nick names; Lintu, Lare, Birdy, Jumsala, Pauri (with Pauli), Baby Face and Lauki (with Aki).[citation needed]
Pauli is the guitarist. 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.
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 and his girlfriend welcomed their first child.[citation needed]
He is the bassist and was born Eero Aleksi Heinonen in Helsinki, Finland, on November 27, 1979. Eero is a great fan of Sahaja Yoga and is a quiet and well-balanced person, but also well-known for playing tricks on bandmates and others. He is currently the only member of the band who is married and he is also a father of two. 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.[citation needed]
- Further information: The Rasmus discography
| Years | Tour | Countries | Cities | Concerts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05 | Dead Letters Tour | 29 | 107 | 296 |
| 2005-06 | Hide from the Sun Tour | 36 | 110 | 249 |
| Year | Award | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Finnish Grammy Award | Best New Act |
| 1999 | Finnish Music Video Festival | Best Music Video (Liquid) |
| 2002 | Emma Gaala | Best group |
| 2002 | Emma Gaala | Best pop/rock album (Into) |
| 2002 | Emma Gaala | Best album (Into) |
| 2002 | Emma Gaala | Best song (F-F-F-Falling) |
| 2003 | MTV Music Awards | Best Nordic Act |
| 2003 | Hit Music Awards | Best Song (In the Shadows) |
| 2004 | Emma Gaala | Best Group |
| 2004 | Emma Gaala | Best Album (Dead Letters) |
| 2004 | Emma Gaala | Best Music Video (In My Life) |
| 2004 | Emma Gaala | Best Act |
| 2004 | TMF Awards | Best Rock |
| 2004 | World Music Awards | Best-Selling Album in Scandinavia (Dead Letters) |
| 2004 | MTV VMA Latin America | Best International Rock Artist |
| 2004 | MTV VMA Latin America | Best International New Artist |
| 2004 | MTV Russia Awards | Best International New Artist |
| 2005 | MTV Nordic Awards | Best Nordic Act |
| 2005 | NRJ Radio Awards | Best Nordic Act |
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007) |
The Rasmus were part of a brotherhood of Finnish bands known as "Dynasty", along with modern rock band Kwan and the now-separated hip-hop band, Killer. Dynasty also have a studio in Helsinki, where they recruit new Finnish talent. Several members of Dynasty have tattoos with the Dynasty text; one can be found on Pauli's left and Lauri's right arms. 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.
- ^ The Rasmus is described as alternative music on MSN Music
- ^ The Rasmus at All Music Guide
- ^ The Rasmus at Playground Music
- ^ a b Main source of the band's history: Åsa Werner and Mia Lindqvist, The Rasmus history at www.therasmus.se
- ^ The Rasmus.com - Official band biography Retrieved on 2005-09-18
- The Rasmus.com - Official band website
- Playground Music Scandinavia
- The Rasmus at MySpace
- The Rasmus at All Music Guide
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| Lauri Ylönen · Eero Heinonen · Pauli Rantasalmi · Aki Hakala Janne Heiskanen |
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| Studio albums | Peep · Playboys · Hell of a Tester · Into · Dead Letters · Hide from the Sun · Black Roses |
| Compilations | Hell of a Collection |
| Videos | Live Letters |
| Singles | "1st" · "2nd" · "3rd" · "Blue · "Kola" · "Playboys" · "Ice" · "Liquid" · "Swimming with the Kids" · "F-F-F-Falling" · "Chill" · "Madness" · "Heartbreaker/Days" · "In the Shadows" · "In My Life" · "First Day of My Life" · "Funeral Song" · "Guilty" · "No Fear" · "Sail Away" · "Shot" · "Keep Your Heart Broken" · "Immortal" |
| Tours | "Dead Letters Tour" · "Hide from the Sun Tour" |
| Related articles | Discography · Complete song list · Dynasty |
| Categories | Members · Albums · Songs |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | Articles needing additional references from November 2007 | The Rasmus | Alternative musical groups | Finnish musical groups | Quartets | European music groups | DRT Entertainment artists | Playground Music Scandinavia artists | Musical groups established in 1994 | 2000s music groups