The Rasmus are a Finnish rock band that formed in 1994 in Helsinki, Finland while the band members were still in high school. 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.
Today the band is one of Finland's most successful bands with more than 1,5 million sold albums worldwide, 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 "Guilty"
History
Early days (1994)
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 in the early 1990s, they met Pauli Rantasalmi and later Janne Heiskanen. In 1994 they decided to create their own band in school. They practiced a lot, and at the end of the year they played their very first show before the Christmas holiday. At that time they were initially known as Sputnik, then Antilla then Trashmosh and then simply Rasmus (a shortened version of "Thrashmosh").
Peep (1995-1996)
In 1995 they met their first manager, Teja Kotilainen, and recorded their first EP-single, 1st (released independently through Teja G. Records in late 1995) before signing with Warner Music Finland to release their first studio album, Peep, in 1996. 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.
Playboys (1997)
Rasmus released their second studio album, Playboys, in August 1997. This record also went gold in Finland, 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.
Hell of a Tester (1998-1999)
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.
Into (2000-2002)
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. 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.
Dead Letters (2003-2004)
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. 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. 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.
Hide from the Sun (2005-2006)
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.
Seventh studio album (2007-present)
NEW RECORDINGS HAVE STARTED
The Rasmus have started work on their new album, with a release date in March 2008. The title of the album is BLACK ROSES and recordings started in Helsinki on September 17, in The Rasmus' own Dynasty Studio. This time the band are working together with Desmond Child, one of the most successful songwriters and producers in the world, known for his work with Kiss, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, The Scorpions and many others. The Rasmus teamed up with Desmond Child in Greece and LA during the summer to write the songs for the new album together. Apart from Helsinki, recordings will also take place in Nashville, USA. Michael Wagener, producer for Metallica, Alice Cooper, Ozzy and many others, will mix the album in his studio in Nashville. Desmond Child is co-producing BLACK ROSES together with Swedish hitmaker Harry Sommerdahl.
The name of the band
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.
Music videos
The Rasmus have released a total of nine 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.
Band members
Lauri Ylönen
He is the lead singer and was born Lauri Johannes 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).
Pauli Rantasalmi
Pauli is the guitarist
Aki Hakala
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.
Eero Heinonen
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. |
