Ismo Alanko

Ismo Kullervo Alanko (born November 12, 1960, Helsinki, Finland) is a popular Finnish rock singer/songwriter. Raised in Joensuu, Finland, he catapulted to fame in 1980 in a band called Hassisen Kone (Hassinen's Machine, after a local sewing machine shop), which won the Finnish championship in a band competition. In the year 1982, the band started experiencing internal problems and broke up. Alanko started a new band called Sielun Veljet (Soul Brothers). Sielun Veljet's style was completely different from Hassisen Kone's one, and some fans protested, but Sielun Veljet was a great success mainly for its famous live-shows. In 1991, after Sielun Veljet broke up, Ismo Alanko started his solo career with an album Kun suomi putos puusta (When Finland fell from the Tree), which was also made as an art project to Helsinki City Festivals. After that there has been many albums, with different kinds of groups, ranging from weird euro-techno-kind-of sounds of "Jäätyneitä lauluja" ("Frozen Songs") to autumnal baroque feeling of "Taiteilijaelämää" ("Artist way of Life"). Since the album "Pulu" ("Pidgeon"), his band has been Ismo Alanko Säätiö ("I A Foundation"). Säätiö has continued to be a very popular band. Even though Säätiö is a band, it can be said that it is a solo-performance of Ismo Alanko, as members of the band have changed rapidly. The latest version of this so-called band is Ismo Alanko Teholla (Ismo Alanko on intensive care). In practise it is a project by Ismo Alanko and Teho Majamäki. Ismo Alanko Teholla has released two albums: the first being Blanco Spirituals (2008) and the latest being Onnellisuus ("Happiness") (2010).