Sielun Veljet
The gig Finland has been waiting for
Ask just about any Finnish music fan which Finnish band they would like to see before the grim reaper's eventual visit, and the reply is always the same: Sielun Veljet.
Sielun Veljet is a legendary band, and even this term does them no justice. Sielun Veljet, whose career started in 1982, published six studio albums, six of which were groundbreaking, raw, and rebellious, and changed the Finnish rock music for good. Words such as shamanistic and post-punk give you some kind of an idea about what their music was like. However, the band was best known for their performances. Their gigs were more like ritualistic gatherings during which almost anything could happen. Sometimes the listeners would see a gig, other times something closer to a theatrical drama - but always the intensity of it all would surpass anything you ever saw before. There was an aura of danger, unpredictability, and recklessness about the band that the Finnish society of the 1980s was not able to handle. And still isn't.
Sielun Veljet was ahead of their time, a pioneer group, and because of that they were outsiders. But they didn't let that stop them from doing their thing. In the middle of all the sensation, there was a foursome who played with sharp skill and beauty, and conquered completely new lands in the realm of creativity. They sang about paranoia and defecating on the Finnish flag, but equally about love and unbearable yearning. Even though some of their songs, such as Peltirumpu, are familiar to all and sundry in Finland, their music in general is certainly not for the big masses.
Sielun Veljet also recorded material in English, under the name L'Amourder: the EP Ritual came out in 1986 and the LP Shit-Hot in 1987. Around those times they toured in Europe as well, but did not make a big breakthrough. The album Softwood Music Under Slow Pillars (1989) was also sung in English, but published as a Sielun Veljet album and only in Finland.
In the early 90s, after publishing the 3-CD compilation Musta laatikko, the band threw their last public gig, and then the band members went their separate ways. They felt at the time that they had done everything they were able to do with Sielun Veljet.
The band members have all stayed in the music scene in one way or another. With his solo career, the lead singer Ismo Alanko has established himself as one of the Finnish rock icons, invariably recognised by the general public. The lead guitarist Jukka Orma has worked in many roles in the music scene, and has also published a solo album. The bassist Jouko Hohko and the drummer Alf Forsman have both also played in various bands.
In 2007, Sielun Veljet published a compilation of covers of songs by another Finnish rock legend, Tuomari Nurmio. They had recorded the material already in 1990, and then Jukka Orma finally rolled his sleeves 17 years later and remastered the songs into an album. This album both got under your skin at once and opened the old wound painfully: you still so badly wanted to see them on stage! Then, in 2008, they published a series of four live albums, and you're thinking, half unbelievingly; well, what's the next logical step? The faint hope was there, in the background.
Yes. We have been waiting for twenty years for Sielun Veljet to get back together. This summer our dream comes true. The fortieth Ilosaarirock Festival. The final performer on Saturday. Friends, it's Sielun Veljet!
