RinneRadio
Encyclopedia
RinneRadio is group of electro jazz pioneers from Finland
. Operating on the boundaries of jazz
and electronic music
, the output of RinneRadio has been described as "some jazz, plenty of techno and ambient influences, a few poppy melodies, and hints of world music" http://www.rockadillo.fi/rinneradio/engarticles.htm. The biography on the band's website provides this description of the music they produce: "RinneRadio fuses electronic underground beats with progressive jazz. As the rhythms of drum’n’bass and hip hop are fermented with dark dub, lush ambient soundscapes and timeless soprano sax textures, the resulting brew becomes equal parts sexy trance jazz and surreal dance music." http://www.rockadillo.fi/rinneradio/biography.html RinneRadio currently consists of Tapani Rinne
(reeds), Verneri Lumi (electronics), and Juuso Hannukainen (percussion).
's legendary Sound & Fury workshops in Helsinki
, and during these workshops the band started to form.
RinneRadio's eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and it featured a stellar cast of Finland
's current jazz elite, including Raoul Björkenheim
and Iro Haarla.
The second album Dance and Visions was released in 1990 and the album featured the Sami
yoik singer
Wimme Saari
for the first time in RinneRadio's history. Dance and Visions also introduced Jari Kokkonen as a member of RinneRadio. He continued in the group until 2001.
In 1992 RinneRadio released the album Joik, where another long-time collaborator of Rinne, Kimmo Kajasto appeared for the first time. The same year Tapani Rinne garnered the Finnish Yrjö award for Jazz Musician of the Year, given by the Finnish Jazz Federation.
The group's fourth album, Unik was released in 1994 which followed an EP
titled DiorInNera, released in 1993. Unik received one of the highest record industry accolades in Finland
, the Jazz Emma Award
, which could be called the Finnish equivalent of the Grammy. By this time, word had spread about the new concoction of jazz
, techno
and ambient
sounds played by RinneRadio, and the band toured extensively in Belgium
, Denmark
, Germany
, Estonia
, Japan
, Spain
and Sweden
.
The band's core group was now Rinne, Kajasto and Kokkkonen and this trio continued to develop the sound further during the next two releases, EP
Joulu which featured new interpretations of famous Christmas
carols and particularly RinneRadio's fifth album RoK (1996) . Their sound consisted of influences from hip hop, drum & bass and jazz.
In 1997 they released another EP
, called pfft which was a collaboration with Pan Sonic
's Mika Vainio, based on an earlier live remix project where Vainio remixed one of RinneRadio's live shows. In 1997 they also played a show at Knitting Factory
in New York
from where the audio signal was sent live to Finland
and Pori Jazz
Festival where DJ Spooky
made a live interpretation of the concert for the festival audience.
After this, two more smaller releases, EP
Osaka and single
Juju, were on the plate, before RinneRadio started to work on a new full-length album, G. The album was released in 1998 and was important milestone because programmer Kimmo Kajasto had been replaced with DJ Ken-One (aka Jean Johansson).
Their collaborations with various DJ's culminated in the 1999 release B, which features RinneRadio tracks remixed by Finland's top DJs and remixers, including Jori Hulkkonen
, JS16
and Slow
.
Next year Rinne worked with DJ Slow on their Slowhill
project which resulted in an album called Finndisc, released by Blue Note Records
as well as his solo album Nectic.
DJ Ken-One was now replaced by percussionist Zarkus Poussa and later by Abdissa Assefa in the live performances. In 2002 Verneri Lumi and Juusonik (known also from Don Johnson Big Band
joined the band with Tapani Rinne
and RinneRadio was again a trio. The new line-up has been together ever since. Their first joint effort was the new album, Lumix (2003). This album was followed by Pan in 2004. Pan features again interesting range of guests, Pekka Kuusisto
on violins and Siiri Nordin
of Killer
fame, among others.
In 2005 RinneRadio concentrated on touring and performed with Herbie Hancock
at Barbican Arts Centre in London
as well as in the Dutch
North Sea Jazz Festival
. In 2006 they were invited to play at the 40th anniversary opening night of Midem
in Cannes
. After Midem the band was ready to release their thirteenth album, simply called +. Acclaimed violinist Pekka Kuusisto
returns as a guest, as well as well-known Finnish rapper Tommy Lindgren from Don Johnson Big Band
.
In September 2007 RinneRadio released album On. It features Sanni Orasmaa, Iceland
er Kira Kira, and Siiri Nordin
in vocals. The music video for the track untitled was nominated for Best Music Video Award at the AFIA Film Festival in Denmark
in 2008.
In 2008, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary by releasing a compilation album, titled "20" which features 20 tracks throughout their career. The tracks were chosen by radio and club DJ's who were asked to give a list of tracks of their personal dream RinneRadio album. The result was a two-CD album with tracks categorized into Side A(mbient) and Side B(eat).
In 2009, RinneRadio released again material in the form of the album "Pole Stars".
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Operating on the boundaries of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, the output of RinneRadio has been described as "some jazz, plenty of techno and ambient influences, a few poppy melodies, and hints of world music" http://www.rockadillo.fi/rinneradio/engarticles.htm. The biography on the band's website provides this description of the music they produce: "RinneRadio fuses electronic underground beats with progressive jazz. As the rhythms of drum’n’bass and hip hop are fermented with dark dub, lush ambient soundscapes and timeless soprano sax textures, the resulting brew becomes equal parts sexy trance jazz and surreal dance music." http://www.rockadillo.fi/rinneradio/biography.html RinneRadio currently consists of Tapani Rinne
Tapani Rinne
Tapani Rinne is a Finnish musician, composer and record producer, who is known for his experimental and innovative style with the clarinet and saxophone.-Career:...
(reeds), Verneri Lumi (electronics), and Juuso Hannukainen (percussion).
Early history
The band was formed in 1988 by saxophone player/reedsman and composer Tapani Rinne, who still leads the band. Rinne participated in the composer and drummer Edward VesalaEdward Vesala
Edward Vesala , born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer....
's legendary Sound & Fury workshops in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, and during these workshops the band started to form.
RinneRadio's eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and it featured a stellar cast of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
's current jazz elite, including Raoul Björkenheim
Raoul Bjorkenheim
Raoul Björkenheim is an American jazz guitarist. He was born to Finnish parents. His mother is actress/singer Taina Elg . He lived in the USA until he was 15 years old, when his family returned to Finland...
and Iro Haarla.
The second album Dance and Visions was released in 1990 and the album featured the Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
yoik singer
Yoik
A joik, , luohti, vuolle, leu'dd, or juoiggus is a traditional Sami form of song.Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing...
Wimme Saari
Wimme Saari
Wimme Saari is one of the best known Sami yoikers from Finland. Wimme Saari combines traditional Sami singing with his own improvisations, usually to a techno-ambient accompaniment by members of Finnish electronic group RinneRadio...
for the first time in RinneRadio's history. Dance and Visions also introduced Jari Kokkonen as a member of RinneRadio. He continued in the group until 2001.
In 1992 RinneRadio released the album Joik, where another long-time collaborator of Rinne, Kimmo Kajasto appeared for the first time. The same year Tapani Rinne garnered the Finnish Yrjö award for Jazz Musician of the Year, given by the Finnish Jazz Federation.
The group's fourth album, Unik was released in 1994 which followed an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
titled DiorInNera, released in 1993. Unik received one of the highest record industry accolades in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the Jazz Emma Award
Emma-gaala
The Emma-gaala is a Finnish music gala arranged yearly by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland, awarding the most distinguished artists and music professionals of the year. It has been arranged since 1983, except for the years 1988–1990....
, which could be called the Finnish equivalent of the Grammy. By this time, word had spread about the new concoction of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
sounds played by RinneRadio, and the band toured extensively in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The band's core group was now Rinne, Kajasto and Kokkkonen and this trio continued to develop the sound further during the next two releases, EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Joulu which featured new interpretations of famous Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
carols and particularly RinneRadio's fifth album RoK (1996) . Their sound consisted of influences from hip hop, drum & bass and jazz.
In 1997 they released another EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, called pfft which was a collaboration with Pan Sonic
Pan sonic
Pan Sonic was a Finnish experimental electronic music duo consisting of Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen.-Music:...
's Mika Vainio, based on an earlier live remix project where Vainio remixed one of RinneRadio's live shows. In 1997 they also played a show at Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from where the audio signal was sent live to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Pori Jazz
Pori Jazz
Pori Jazz is a large international jazz festival, held annually in the coastal city of Pori , Finland. It is one of the oldest and best known jazz festivals in Europe, having been arranged every year since 1966...
Festival where DJ Spooky
DJ Spooky
Paul D. Miller , known by his stage name DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics or his fans as "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntablist, a producer, a philosopher, and an author...
made a live interpretation of the concert for the festival audience.
After this, two more smaller releases, EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Osaka and single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
Juju, were on the plate, before RinneRadio started to work on a new full-length album, G. The album was released in 1998 and was important milestone because programmer Kimmo Kajasto had been replaced with DJ Ken-One (aka Jean Johansson).
Their collaborations with various DJ's culminated in the 1999 release B, which features RinneRadio tracks remixed by Finland's top DJs and remixers, including Jori Hulkkonen
Jori Hulkkonen
Jori Hulkkonen, born 28 September 1973, is a Finnish DJ and a producer of house music, originally from Kemi, Finland. Hulkkonen started his career in the early 1990s when he worked with Jukka Hautamäki, Tuomas Salmela and Ari Ruokamo for their own label Lumi Records...
, JS16
JS16
JS16, real name Jaakko Salovaara, is a Finnish musician and record producer. He owns the dance music record label 16 Inch Records.His first release was the vinyl Hypnosynthesis at the age of 16...
and Slow
Slow (Producer & DJ)
Slow or DJ Slow is a Finnish DJ and music producer. His first encounters with hip hop acts such as Run-DMC, Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim led him to pursue career in DJing, later making music and remixing others tracks...
.
2000 - present
Work with Hulkkonen continued, as he was largely responsible for the producing the next RinneRadio album, Nao, along with Veikka Erkola in 2001. Nao became the group's most commercially successful album after RoK, reaching no. 32 on the Official Finnish Album Chart.Next year Rinne worked with DJ Slow on their Slowhill
SlowHill
SlowHill is a Finnish instrumental downtempo/lounge band project formed by the Slow and the award-winning saxophonist Tapani Rinne in 2002...
project which resulted in an album called Finndisc, released by Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
as well as his solo album Nectic.
DJ Ken-One was now replaced by percussionist Zarkus Poussa and later by Abdissa Assefa in the live performances. In 2002 Verneri Lumi and Juusonik (known also from Don Johnson Big Band
Don Johnson Big Band
Don Johnson Big Band is an alternative hip hop group from Helsinki, Finland. Their music blends influences from a variety of genres such as electronic music, funk, rock and jazz.- History :...
joined the band with Tapani Rinne
Tapani Rinne
Tapani Rinne is a Finnish musician, composer and record producer, who is known for his experimental and innovative style with the clarinet and saxophone.-Career:...
and RinneRadio was again a trio. The new line-up has been together ever since. Their first joint effort was the new album, Lumix (2003). This album was followed by Pan in 2004. Pan features again interesting range of guests, Pekka Kuusisto
Pekka Kuusisto
Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish classical and jazz violinist.Pekka Kuusisto began studying the violin at the age of three. His first violin teacher was Geza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute. In 1983 he enrolled in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He began to study there with Tuomas...
on violins and Siiri Nordin
Siiri Nordin
Siiri Nordin is a Finnish singer. She was the lead singer of the now defunct Finnish rock band Killer. In 2003 Nordin had a hit on her own with the song "Sydämeni osuman sai" included on the soundtrack of the movie Helmiä ja sikoja...
of Killer
Killer (Finnish band)
Killer was a rock band founded in 1999 in Helsinki, Finland. Although Killer was a quartet, vocalist Siiri Nordin was by far the most visible member...
fame, among others.
In 2005 RinneRadio concentrated on touring and performed with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
at Barbican Arts Centre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as well as in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
North Sea Jazz Festival
North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
. In 2006 they were invited to play at the 40th anniversary opening night of Midem
Midem
-MIDEM:Short for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at and around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967...
in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
. After Midem the band was ready to release their thirteenth album, simply called +. Acclaimed violinist Pekka Kuusisto
Pekka Kuusisto
Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish classical and jazz violinist.Pekka Kuusisto began studying the violin at the age of three. His first violin teacher was Geza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute. In 1983 he enrolled in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He began to study there with Tuomas...
returns as a guest, as well as well-known Finnish rapper Tommy Lindgren from Don Johnson Big Band
Don Johnson Big Band
Don Johnson Big Band is an alternative hip hop group from Helsinki, Finland. Their music blends influences from a variety of genres such as electronic music, funk, rock and jazz.- History :...
.
In September 2007 RinneRadio released album On. It features Sanni Orasmaa, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
er Kira Kira, and Siiri Nordin
Siiri Nordin
Siiri Nordin is a Finnish singer. She was the lead singer of the now defunct Finnish rock band Killer. In 2003 Nordin had a hit on her own with the song "Sydämeni osuman sai" included on the soundtrack of the movie Helmiä ja sikoja...
in vocals. The music video for the track untitled was nominated for Best Music Video Award at the AFIA Film Festival in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 2008.
In 2008, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary by releasing a compilation album, titled "20" which features 20 tracks throughout their career. The tracks were chosen by radio and club DJ's who were asked to give a list of tracks of their personal dream RinneRadio album. The result was a two-CD album with tracks categorized into Side A(mbient) and Side B(eat).
In 2009, RinneRadio released again material in the form of the album "Pole Stars".
Albums
- RinneRadio (1988)
- Dance And Visions (1990)
- Joik (1992)
- Unik (1994)
- RoK (1996)
- pfft (1997)
- Osaka (1998)
- G (1998)
- B (1999)
- Nao (2001)
- Lumix (2003)
- Pan (2004)
- + (2006)
- On (2007)
- 20 (2008)
- Pole Stars (2009)
Singles and Mini-CDs
- Dior In Nera (1993)
- Joulu (1994)
- Aromaa Alt (1995)
- Juju (1998)
- Affluenza (2000)
- Kuvala (2002)