Helsinki playlist on Spotify
Kiki Pau
Kiki Pau started their career with guitar-driven indie pop-rock. The first two albums contain many great songs suitable for dancing in indie discos. On their third album, Pines, Kiki Pau moved towards psychedelic and experimental song structures with sounds drawn from krautrock, folk and 60's psychedelia. The two phases in the band's life are very different, but both styles are definitely worth listening to.
Lemonator
Helsinki's greatest power-pop band. Lemonator's songs are filled with catchy melodies, melodramatic lyrics and American-style produced indie sounds. Lemonator's albums have different themes and moods. The first self-titled album and the latest Shake Shake Shake are fairly upbeat and happy, whereas, Grandpop and The Waltz have more melancholic and grand sound. One of my all times favourite Finnish bands.
Mummypowder
Now, when I said that Lemonator is Helsinki's best power-pop band I think Mummypowder shares the first place with them. Mummypowder has beautiful pop-melodies and vocal harmonies. There are a lot of similarities in sound to Teenage Fanclub and Nada Surf. Mummypowder has made only few albums during their almost 20 year existence, but every time a new album is out, it's sure to be great!
The Latebirds
The Latebirds plays beautiful americana folk-rock with great vocal harmonies and clear electric guitars. Their albums have really famous stars featuring on some songs. At least Wayne Kramer and Ken Stringfellow have visited on their albums. I don't know why The Latebirds has not become more famous globally, because they really should have.
The Scaramangas
This band that has gotten their name from a James Bond villain, plays amazing indie pop-rock, with some psychedelia elements and sounds familiar from surf-rock. Their first EP's sounded a lot like The Coral, but they have since moved towards more melancholic and beautiful sounds. The production on Don't Follow the Weak album is fantastic.
Koria Kitten Riot
Koria Kitten Riot is possibly the most promising folk-rock band in Finland at the moment. They have three terrific albums filled with melodic pieces of beauty. The lead singer's clear voice, use of multiple instruments and great songwriting make this band one of my favourites in Helsinki's current music scene.
Johannes Laitila
Johannes Laitila is a singer-songwriter playing melodic folk-pop with influences from both americana folk and British indie-pop. The first and the third albums have a more living room sound, whereas the second album is more produced. Johannes lives currently in London, so you might catch one of his gigs here.
Kaspar
Kaspar plays folksy dream pop with amazingly beautiful high-pitched vocals, acoustic guitars and authentic piano. This band is one of the most stylish folk acts in Finland. The music is really ballad focused, so it's good for lazy Sunday afternoons and romantic moments. Absolutely beautiful stuff.
Husky Rescue
Husky Rescue has probably changed quite a bit from the times I used to listen to them. They have changed vocalist in the meantime. I'm mainly talking about the old sound here. Their music is super cool indie-pop with experimental sounds and production techniques. Their songs range from beautiful ballads to danceable disco hits, all produced stylishly.
Aino Venna
Aino Venna's music draws influences from old jazz and French chanson, but is still mainly very pop. There are also some folk and country influences in her music. The atmosphere can be visualised with imagining a small dark club with red couches and tobacco smoke rising in twirls to the ceiling while these songs are sung live on a small stage in the corner.
Damn Seagulls
Everyone who has ever lived in Helsinki knows where the name of this band comes from. The arrogant and aggressive seagulls in central Helsinki can be a real nuisance. Damn Seagulls play modern rock n' roll with some influences from early 70's ska bands, such as Dexy's Midnight Runners and Madness. At least the horn sections sound like that. Their first album was named after a small pub in Helsinki with seats only for about ten people.
Hurriganes
Hurriganes is one of the most famous Finnish bands from the 70's. Their music is influenced by early rock n' roll and most of the songs are really straightforward rockabilly songs. They do, however, have some more melodic songs that have the steel sound of Shadows. This music is for all you 50's rock n' roll fans out there.
Hanoi Rocks
Hanoi Rocks is one of the most successful Finnish bands of all times. Their hard rock has been said to have influenced the rise of Guns n' Roses more than any other band in the world. Hanoi Rocks was one of the first 80's hard rock bands combining punk sounds to glam rock. These guys are Finnish rock legends.
The Flaming Sideburns
The Flaming Sideburns is really aggressive and straightforward garage rock n' roll. Their music is all about attitude. There are musical similarities to Swedish The Hives. Raunchy guitar riffs, skilful solos and aggressive drumming make this one of the most professional Finnish bands ever. Their gigs are quite amazing.
Kevin
Kevin's music is fairly simple and conventional rock, but they also use some psychedelia sounds and progressive elements. Their music reminds me of early 2000's Helsinki's music scene, where guitar-rock was the biggest thing around. I listened to their album We Come In Peace quite a lot.
French Films
French Films is one of the most hipstery bands of Helsinki. Their music is danceable indie-rock with some experimental guitar sounds and electronic bits. It's all about young people who want to have fun. international comparisons include bands like The Drums.
Milesmore
Milesmore is really not well known even in Finland, but their indie pop-rock has many good features. They know how to make rising songs and how leave small quiet parts in between to make the rising parts sound even bigger. The sound is really cool mixture of intense drumming and riffing, but on the other hand calm and cool singing.
Poverty Stinks
Poverty Stinks is one of the few great Finnish power-pop bands that played through the 90's. The band was already founded in the 80's and their upbeat sounds have many similarities to international 90's power-pop groups, such as the Posies. I'm not too familiar with this band's music yet, but it definitely sounds like something worth listening to.
Ultrasport
Ultrasport's music is kinda cliché, but it works perfectly anyway. Melodic and cool indie tunes are combined with clear electric guitars and dreamy, slightly off-key singing. I don't know what it is but their simplistic sound and melody structures just really work.
Treeball
Two of Helsinki's really well-known music personas, Nick Triani and Astrid Swan, sing in this very British sounding power-pop group. The sounds are full of summer and sunshine. The melodies are simple, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Astrid Swan
Astrid Swan is a rarity in Finland's music scene, making classy female singer-songwriter music with piano playing the main part in the instrumentation. Her music may be compared to likes of Regina Spector and Feist.
Red Carpet
Red Carpet's melodic indie pop-rock is among the best Helsinki bands in this genre. The melodies are very simple, but they still have some hooks that you don't expect making it more interesting than your average band. The instrumentation is a mixture of acoustic and electronic instruments.
Them Bird Things
Despite of their weird name, this band is to be taken very seriously. Dreamy folk takes you to another world. The vocals are really strange, but in a good way. They have a very unique sound that can hardly be compared to other sounds out there. In addition to traditional acoustic instruments, there are some experimental sounds.
SlowHill
SlowHill is extremely cool mix of jazzy saxophone playing and funky band backgrounds topped with DJ-style beats and sounds. Their debut album Finndisc even received the blue note mark. The sounds are urban and beautiful. Really one of a kind sound.
Kingston Wall
This 90's psychedelic and shamanistic guitar rock band is one of the most impressive Finnish acts of all times. The trio knows their instruments and can really play impressively. Songs range from intense rock jams to beautiful ballads. The frontman Petri Walli killed himself by jumping from church tower after the success followed by their three amazing albums.
Murmansk
One of the few Finnish post-rock bands out there. The sound is darker and heavier than most equivalents' such as Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky. The music is not completely instrumental, but mostly it's all about big guitar sounds and echoey drums. Definite work of art in experimental music making.
Plain Ride
I only just learned that this band existed. The first plunge into their music got me really interested. Band uses acoustic and electric instruments making organic sounding melancholic pop with great raunchy vocals. The album House on the Hill sounds really good and I think this album will become much more familiar to me in the future.
Echo Is your Love
Echo Is Your Love plays shoe gaze influenced pop-rock. There are similarities to bands like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Veronica Falls. I didn't even know something like this existed in Finnish music scene until I heard their song One Perfect Second, which blew my mind.
Antero Lindgren
Antero Lindgren is a singer songwriter making melancholic and dark pop-rock with some electronic sounds. Lindgren's baritone works perfectly for his dark songs. The first album, Mother, is fantastic, but the second album has lost something essential in terms of the mood.
Underwater Sleeping Society
Underwater Sleeping Society is one of the biggest names in Finland's indie circles. Their alternative rock has many progressive elements. Very few songs have the traditional drum beat. Vide array of instruments is used in innovative ways.
Rinneradio
Rinneradio's music is a weird mixture of ambient, jazz and electro. Above the innovative electronic backgrounds, sores the saxophone of Tapani Rinne. The songs aren't catchy at all, but they manage to hypnotise the listener and take them to another world. I guess that's the aim of ambient music anyway.
Siinai
Siinai is, at least mostly, instrumental post-rock band. Where many other post-rockers use buzzing guitars, Siinai makes more melodic approaches with pop-drumming and organ melodies. This band is fantastic live, so take the chance if you have it.
Joensuu 1685
This band plays almost scary, haunting post rock. Guitars with whirring and buzzing effects make up weird sound worlds, while drums and bass keep the haunting pounding in the background. There are some vocals, but main stage is given to artsy guitar sounds.
Villa Nah
Villa Nah is Helsinki's classiest electronic act. Even though the sounds are extremely modern, there are strong links to early 80's electronic music and New Wave. The clear baritone, that sometimes is a bit off-key reminds perfectly of 80's rise of the electronic music. This is great music for clubs.
Sin Cos Tan
Like Villa Nah, Sin Cos Tan also looks into 80's industrial dark electronic music. The music is really cold and stripped of any acoustic sound. I usually don't like music this clean, but the melodicity and dark mood make up for the industrial sound.
Uusi Fantasia
Uusi Fantasia (New fantasy) is an extremely innovative band using influences from many different musical genres. there's electronic instrumentation, funky jams, pop-melodies and even some ethnic influences. Very classy indeed.
The Five Corners Quintet
One of Helsinki's best jazz combos. Their music is filled with hectic jams and sometimes they sneak in some rock n' roll-like beats. Some of the songs have that 30's hot jazz sound that takes you back to prohibition times and speakeasies.
U-Street All Stars
Another jazz band that has absolutely fantastic horn section. Some of the songs are really funky and there are some absolutely amazing jams in their songs. The whole band works brilliantly together, but still individual instruments manage to impress. Excellent jazz!
Trio Töykeät
Probably the most well-known Finnish jazz band. Despite of their 'hard to pronounce' name, they are fairly well-known also outside of Finland. And it's easy to see why. the trio is absolutely fantastic in their skills. All three play really impressively. Piano has a huge role in this band.
Laika & the Cosmonauts
This instrumental band plays western style jams resembling the songs of The Shadows. The songs are more innovative in style though than that. As the name of the band suggests, there are also some influences from Russian folk music in the melodies. These guys are awesome live.
Poutatorvi
Poutatorvi is really difficult to define. It's all over the place hectic jamming with influences from ska, computer music and electro. Some of the songs sound like 90's Nintendo themes. Every song sounds like they have a rush to get somewhere and the themes change all the time. This band definitely needs to be experienced live.
Silvio
Like Poutatorvi, Silvio also plays a bit all-over-the-place music. They, however have also weird lyrics in their songs and their music is more acoustic-driven. There are similarities to bands like The Coral. The music is more than anything weird and hectic.
Accu
Accu is one of the most acclaimed electronic bands of Finland. Some of their songs are really cold and stripped of real instruments, but at best, they come up with fantastic jams. Definitely great stuff to play at clubs.
Wigwam
Wigwam was one of the biggest Finnish bands in the 90's. Their music draws influences from progressive rock movement, but the songs are more pop-oriented than many others in the same genre. Their songs range from jazzy jams to beautiful ballads. It's a shame they were never really famous outside of Finland.
Tasavallan Presidentti
The name translates to President of the republic. This 70's progressive rock band has many jazz elements in their music, but there is also some very impressive rock singing and amazing electric bass work. The players in this band could be considered the greatest virtuosos of all times in Finnish music.
Larry & the Lefthanded
Later on titled only ...and the Lefthanded. This music is definitely weird. The songs are mainly instrumental pieces that could be heard in the background of action film car driving scenes. The sounds are urban and messy.
Minä ja Ville Ahonen
The first Finnish singing artist on this list. Minä ja Ville Ahonen is great folk/art rock act with amazingly atmospheric melancholic songs. Some parts are quiet, almost silent, and some parts rise high to massive sound waves. Amazing sounds even for those, who don't understand the lyrics.
Risto Juhani
Risto Juhani is one of the masters of melancholic folk in Finland. His picked guitar sounds fantastic and doubled vocals remind of Elliott Smith's delicate voice. There are amazing string arrangements or horns in some of the songs. This singer-songwriter has two fantastic albums of melodramatic folk.
Suomen Zorro & Elämän paineet
The name roughly translates to Finland's Zorro and the Weights of the World. The songs are folk and country influenced pop songs. Most of the melodies are fairly melancholic and dreamy. The sound is mainly acoustic, even though there are some electric guitars etc. there.
Pimeys
Pimeys is gets their influences from quite traditional Finnish pop and rock music, but nevertheless they manage to make great songs and lyrics (in Finnish though). Songs range from melancholic slow songs to more upbeat rock numbers.
Egotrippi
This is one of the most well-known bands in Finland. Their music is quite traditional pop and rock with great melodies. With success, their musk has gotten a bit worse, but still they make some good songs here and there. Best albums are Helsinki-Hollola and Matkustaja.
Leevi and the Leavings
This band is nostalgic to almost every Finn of my age and older. The lyrics are absolutely brilliant descriptions of everyday problems, happiness and oddities. It's a shame that you non-finns won't be able to understand them, since the lyrics really make this, otherwise fairly traditional, pop-group great.
Don Huonot
Don Huonot was one of the biggest Finnish bands of the 90's. They've made some really awful songs, but also some really great songs. They use some shamanistic and psychedelic melodic structures in their pop-rock. The mood is darker and more innovative as most of mainstream pop rock groups' in Finland.
Soma
Soma makes Finnish pop-rock with a lot of influences from 90's and early 00's indie-pop groups. The high vocals and clear guitars combined with really well-made production make this music interesting even to people who don't speak Finnish.
Hector
Hector is one of the musical legends in Finland. his early career in the 70's was filled with folk songs, of which some were translations from international hits. The vocal harmonies and picked acoustic guitar sound beautiful at best.
Dave Lindholm
Dave Lindholm is fairly well-known musician from the 70's, but his music is a bit more experimental than some of his colleagues' of the time. The musical styles range from rowdy rock n' roll to beautiful string ballads.
Tuomari Nurmio
Tuomari Nurmio could be called Tom Waits of Finland. His songs are fairly experimental and there are dark blues and jazz influences in his songs. The rough voiced Nurmio sings some of his songs in old Helsinki dialect, which contains many weird words for young people or people outside Helsinki.
Raadelma
Raadelma's music is weird combination of jazzy sounds, hypnotic slow jams and dreamy dark melodies. Lyrics are not on the main stage here, so this music may be really interesting, even if you don't understand what they're saying.
Pekka Streng
Pekka Streng was a singer-songwriter in the 70's making slow and atmospheric progressive folk songs and with jazz influences. The lyrics are mainly nonsense even for those who understand Finnish, so if you just focus on the music, you're in for a strange treat.
Atlético Kumpula
This folk band makes good feel folk with great melodies. The sound reminds me immediately of Finnish summer of the childhood. Warm and light days that last forever when you could just stay outdoors and walk in forests and swim in lakes.
Kerkko Koskinen
One of the great Finnish songwriters makes massive pop-rock anthems with fantastic instrumentation. The musician's who play with Kerkko Koskinen are among the best in the country. The songs range from melancholic to happy.
Ultra Bra
One of the biggest Finnish bands in the 90's who originally got their sound from communist sympathiser bands during the cold war. There are amazing horns, vocal harmonies, and solos in these songs. The band has many members and all of them really know how to play their instruments.
Pariisin Kevät
Pariisin Kevät is a master in Finnish language indie rock taking influences from bands such as The Killers. The sounds are really big and melodies are full of sorrowful melancholia. Some of the songs are great party songs though.
PMMP
This duo rose to the charts almost immediately after the founding of the band. They stayed on top of Finnish music world for their whole career of approximately 10 years. The sounds are really strongly produced and there are heavy sounds, even though the songs themselves are fairly pop-oriented.
Sydän Sydän
This is one of the weirdest bands in Helsinki's music scene. Progressive and odd melodies are combined with strange lyrics. They have some really good songs, but then again the whole albums are really unevenly good.
The following bands are not on Spotify, so I'll add links to youtube for them:
Itä-Saksa
In English the name of the band means East Germany. It's difficult to know how much of this band is a joke and how much is made honestly. Them music is a mix of industrial metal and electronic sounds with weird themes from communist East Germany.
Prologue
Prologue did not record much music during their existence, but their indie pop-rock is among the best in Helsinki's music scene. The big sound and great vocals combine with great melancholic melodies. It's a shame there is not more of their music available.
Soul Captain Band
A Finnish reggae band making great dark and melodic reggae songs about revolution and politics. There are great horn sections and some rap parts in their music. Jokaiselle Tulta is their only album worth listening to, but that is really great.
Flannelmouth
Flannelmouth takes their influences from post-punk revival bands, such as Interpol and Editors. There are dark melodies and deep vocals in their music. I saw them once play an acoustic gig and I think their sound would benefit from going a bit towards that direction.
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