| Sounds Like | PASSIONWORKS
Passionworks is a promising pop/rock band making music being simultaneously bombastically strong and sensitive. Singer Harry (Harriet) Hägglund’s soulful voice makes shivers go down your back. Melodies are supported by deep bad luck charm lyrics revealing real life experience. Even though Passionworks has been compared with bands like Evanescence and HIM, the band’s musical influences have been names like Muse, ABBA and Radiohead.
Passionworks’ long awaited second album Blue Play was released on April 26th in Finland by Rowan3 and distributed by Edel and it debuted at 37 in Finnish Top 40 Album Chart straight after its release. Blue Play is more pop than the aggressive debut album Passion Play (2003); the songs are simplier, more matured and the sound being bigger but more innovative. In Heikki Hilamaa’s words (The Head Of Music of YleX, the Finnish Broadcasting Company): “Passionworks has found its own recognizable sound in the difficult field of pop/rock music.” The album is produced by Anssi Kippo (Children Of Bodom, Entwine, Smak) with Harry & the bass player Kristian and mixed by a well-known professional Mikko Karmila (e.g. Nightwish, Amorphis, Stratovarius). The string orchestra appearing on the record is called Sinfonietta SOI.
Blue Play’s first single Falling (released on March 1st) shot straight to 1 in Finnish Single Top20 Chart staying 4 weeks in Top10! Debuting also at 1 in the Rock Hits Chart, Falling has now (week 40) been already 42 weeks on the playlists of several Finnish radio and music channels such as YleX, Radio X3M, Radio SuomiPOP and the video in MTV Finland’s Prime Time. Falling was at its highest at 11 in Rumba’s 50 Hits Chart (based on singles, album and compilation sales, radio and video airplay and club play in Finland.). The second single Flying followed the success of Falling and it went to playlists in May staying there the whole summer. Flying was released only for radio promotional use.
With the great new album and the professional appearance Passionworks has awaken the interest of foreign record- and publishing companies and releasing Blue Play and the following albums abroad is discussed at the moment. Passionworks was also represented at Popkomm in Berlin in September.
SHORT HISTORY
Passionworks was founded back in 1998; Harry and Kristian being the original members in the current line-up. The band was already noted in the media with its debut single Get Away/Invisible Child but the following EP Passion Play Vol. 0.3 really showed the musical capability of the band and the record was soon sold out! The EP got great reviews and the opening track Beating His Children created a buzz in the radio waves. With the convincing debut album Passion Play Passionworks’ fan base continued growing and during the summer 2003 the band played at several summer festivals in Scandinavia and were well received amongst the audience and critics.
PASSIONWORKS are
Harry (Harriet) Hägglund
(vocals)
Kristian Pihlajaharju
(bass)
Tomi Meriläinen
(guitar)
DISCOGRAPHY
Get Away (CDS), 1999
Passion Play Vol. 0.3 (EP), 2001
I’ll Never Be (Satisfied) (CDS), 2002
Passion Play, (CD) 2003
Falling (CDS), 2006
Blue Play (CD), 2006
Flying (Radio promotional CDS), 2006
Blue Play- German edition (CD), 2007
Angels Crossing 07 Mix (digital CDS), 2007
VIDEOS
Get Away, 1999
Prisoner, 2001
Falling, 2006
MANAGEMENT
Rowan3 Productions
E-mail: rowan3@saunalahti.fi
Tel. +358 (0)50 547 5147
More about Passionworks:
www.passionworksmusic.com |
