Photo of The Valkyrians - ALBUM OUT NOW!

The Valkyrians - ALBUM OUT NOW!

Music

FEATURED SONG
  1. Play
  2. Play Next
  3. Add to queue
Album:
Released: Jun 7, 2011
Label:

General Info

  • Genre: Punk / Reggae / Ska

    Location Helsinki, Su

    Profile Views: 223542

    Last Login: 6/12/2012

    Member Since 6/3/2005

    Website www.thevalkyrians.com

    Record Label http://www.stupido.fi/recs/

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    Back in 2002, Angster, Moonhead, Big Deal, Letku Leroy and Gladiator met at a familiar watering hole in Helsinki, Finland. These musicians had known each other for years and on this night they decided to make a shared dream a reality. They were going to start a band that played the sweet, smoky rhythms that had for decades emanated from the island of Jamaica. The first gig was set up for Big Deal's and Leroy's birthday party. Ska, rocksteady and reggae, as well as 2Tone and punk classics had the crowd dancing like crazy. The gig was a success and the party exceeded all expectations. The Valkyrians were born. Their first release, an EP called Miracle by Semi Sounds/Fat Belt Records, came out in 2004. It featured I Don't Wanna Go Home, a real dance floor burner loved by audiences everywhere. The band started to seriously consider making an album. High and Mighty was released in 2006 (BALE/Fat Belt). With the crowd, as well as critics, going wild for the Jamaican sound, the band decided it was time to take the show on the road. They toured all around Finland and Scandinavia. They toured in central Europe. The album rose up to number 24 in the Finnish charts. The band won a slew of awards that year: a Femma (which is a kind of alternative to the Finnish Grammy Emma) for most danceable act of 2006. Finland's premier alternative rock paper Rumba agreed and gave them an award for setting the floor on fire, too. Do You Really Wanna Know was named song of the year by Funky Elephant, an association of Finnish lovers of the almighty groove. Stupido Records and Pork Pie Records released the band's second album, The Beat of Our Street, in 2009. It climbed up to number 29 in the charts. The band went on a tour that lasted the best part of a year: Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Holland, Belgium, and Sweden all received the gospel of skanking to the beat. Come late 2010 and the band started thinking about album number three. They wanted to try something different and decided to approach the songs they'd loved in their youth from a different perspective. A Valkyrian perspective. Eventually it boiled down to covering punk and new wave classics from the late-70s and the early-80s and infusing them with some rhythmic Caribbean magic. After some fairly brutal arranging sessions, the band retired to Seawolf Studios on the fortress island of Suomenlinna. It was a very snowy and cold December. The Valkyrians, mixing engineer Petri Majuri and recording engineer Pasi Hartikainen worked until June of 2011. Punkrocksteady was released 10.8.2011. It's all about punk dressed in rudeboy garb, with rocksteady, ska and reggae rhythms. The album is an homage to the classics of past decades and the people who created them. They've all had a major impact on the musical and spiritual development The Valkyrians and its constituent parts. The roots of the band are in punk. Some artists worth mentioning: The Clash, Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, 999, Devo, The Only Ones, Misfits, Sham 69, Wire… And many more. The future sure is bright. And the band is now thinking about what to do for album number four.
  • Members

    Angster (vocals) Letku-Leroy (bass) Big Deal (drums & back vocals) Gladiator (guitar & back vocals) Mr. Moonhead (Keyboards & back vocals)
  • Influences

    60s Jamaican ska & rocksteady, and the British 2 Tone releases of the 70s and 80s. The Clash, The Specials, Trojan Records, 77-punk...
  • Sounds Like

    .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ....The Valkyrians..............Promote your Page too....

Comments

Post a comment...
10 of 14More

Bio:

..FREE Myspace Codes
*************************************************************************************************************** The Rebirth Of Ska Starts Here! Something pretty unexpected is going on in Finland. All of a sudden deep, emotional, percussive and hugely enjoyable rhythm music is breaking through. There are bands who funk like brothers in the 70’s, there are bands who take their 60’s soul at least as far as the amy winehouses of this world have done. And then there are The Valkyrians who combine early reggae, ska and rocksteady to make music that nobody does any better. No wonder the world is getting ready to listen. First there was a wedding party. And five friends who had played in different kinds of bands all their lives; from post punk to grunge, combining jazz from hell to flowery pop. Suddenly they realised that people really want to get up and dance, ”free your mind and your ass will follow” as George Clinton once famously put it. So they just had to form this band. First a few clubs, then festivals and all kinds of awards: ”The Most Dancable Act of 2006”, ”Best Song Of 2006” to name just two. Then the word got around in ska circles and soon they had to take their action to mainland Europe too. Now, a couple of years later they can actually think of Berlin as their second home town. A tour in Spain is scheduled for October and it really looks like that Britain too is getting to know where the next Slackers or Aggrolites is coming from. So what is behind all this? What is their mission? As the mercurially fast front man Angster puts it: ”We want the people to get on their feet and move it. There is no other way to tell if the audience really is with us. Once they start to shake it, we just know it”. Their debut album ”High And Mighty” (2006) reached 26 on the national Finnish album chart and got a lot of air play on dozens of radio stations all over Finland. It was also released in Germany, Benelux countries and Spain in 2007. The second album to be released later this year will mix chinese taikonauts with eerie theremin sounds, massive rhythms, a in-your-face horn section and brand new self-penned songs. The album will remind everyone that ska music is being born again at this very moment. What time is it? Valkyrian time! *************************************************************************************************************** Suomessa riehuu rytmimusiikin buumi ja yksi hienoimpia esimerkkejä siitä on pian toisen albuminsa julkaiseva helsinkiläinen ska-ryhmä The Valkyrians. Aikanaan ihan vaan bailubändiksi perustettu The Valkyrians yhdistää musiikissaan varhaista reggaeta, rocksteadya, skata ja pitää sekoituksensa vanhan soulmusiikin tyyliin sielukkaana. Mikä on sitten The Valkyriansin missio? Se on yhdistää, ei erottaa ihmiset toisistaan. Luoda jotakin hyvää kaoottiseen maailmaan. Sielua, tunnetta. Irrottaa takamus penkistä, saada tanssilattia täyteen. Tuleva kakkosalbumi (15.9.), työnimeltään The Beat of Our Street yhdistää kiinalaisia taikonautteja, Mamba Affisan perkussioita, Jarmo Saaren soittamaa thereminiä ja räyhäkkäsoundista torvisektiota massiivisiin rytmeihin. Se myös vahvistaa entisestään The Valkyriansin mainetta ska-yhtyeenä, joka uskaltaa tehdä omiakin biisejä. Ensisingle Reggae Allnighter on jo nyt radioissa ja bändi kohta taas tien päällä klubilla tai festivaalilla lähellä sinua. ..  **************************************************************** iLike The Valkyrians

Member Since:

June 03, 2005

Members:

Angster (vocals) Letku-Leroy (bass) Big Deal (drums & back vocals) Gladiator (guitar & back vocals) Mr. Moonhead (Keyboards & back vocals)

Influences:

60s Jamaican ska & rocksteady, and the British 2 Tone releases of the 70s and 80s. The Clash, The Specials, Trojan Records, 77-punk...

Login

Forgot password?

Need an account? Sign up