The formation of the Finnish prog scene was, to a large degree, made possible by the new forward-looking record company Love Records that started in 1966. One of the founders was OTTO DONNER (-), a notable figure in the Finnish jazz history. The label released jazz, lyrically oriented albums of the new (left-wing) song movement and eventually also rock, including the pioneering prog acts.

 

The first Finnish "prog" rock album is without a doubt the eponymous 1967 album by BLUES SECTION (-). It featured the English immigrant JIM PEMBROKE (-) as vocalist. Saxophonist EERO KOIVISTOINEN (-), another important jazz composer, was their member too, and Hasse Walli was the first notable Finnish rock guitarist.

 

The disbanding of Blues Section led to the founding of WIGWAM. Their debut Hard N' Horny (1969) was half written by organist-vocalist JUKKA GUSTAVSON (who was heavily influenced by Traffic's Stevie Winwood), half by Jim Pembroke, the more pop oriented of them. 1969 saw also the debut of TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI which featured another British vocalist, Frank Robson. TP's music is mostly jazz-rock, sometimes with blues flavour. The young virtuoso guitarist JUKKA TOLONEN, TP's central composer, started his succesful solo career emphasizing on instrumental Fusion two years later.

 

A very unique album worth noticing is Eero Koivistoinen's Valtakunta (1968) which he composed for modern Finnish poetry. Vocalists included Eero Raittinen, who by the way replaced Robson in TP for the albums Lambertland (1972) and Milky Way Moses (1974).

 

A band called CHARLIES (-), which was not on Love Records, is said to be Finland's first heavy rock band. Musiikkia elokuvasta Julisteiden liimaajat (1969) was made for a low-budget film which was never shown in public. Their English-language music was influenced by the British heavy pioneers and Jethro Tull.

 

And there were also the Underground movements of Helsinki and Turku. The former included the group SPERM (-) whose PEKKA AIRAKSINEN has later made a large solo discography of electronic music.

 

The early years of Finnish prog were very much dominated by the two legendary bands, Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti. They were highly respected and got some recognition abroad too, but their albums weren't any bestsellers. Right from the start Finland's prog had its own personality, ie. there weren't followers of bands like Genesis, Yes or ELP.

In 1970 Love Records released the debut Magneettimiehen kuolema by PEKKA STRENG, collaborating with Tasavallan Presidentti. Streng's personal music is psychedelic, mystic, folky and naiive in a charming way. The lighter and jazzier Kesämaa (1972) features e.g. jazz keyboardist Olli Ahvenlahti and reeds player Pekka Pöyry who was a member of Tasavallan Presidentti - and who appears also on Wigwam's classic albums Fairyport (1971) and Being (1974). The latter, emphasizing on Jukka Gustavson's complex composing style, is perhaps the most legendary of all Finnish prog albums.

 

The bass virtuoso PEKKA POHJOLA joined Wigwam for their second album Tombstone Valentine (1970) and released his extraordinary solo debut Pihkasilmä Kaarnakorva in 1972, which was followed by several other instrumental prog / fusion classics. Also JIM PEMBROKE (-) started to release solo albums, the debut Wicked Ivory (1972) under the pseudonym Hot Thumbs O'Riley.

 

APOLLO's eponymous, sole album (1970) is a Heavy Prog classic. The thick-voiced vocalist Harri Saksala sings also in the KALEVALA debut People No Names (1972), an eclectic work ranging from heavy to jazz-rock. Their line-up changed for the second and more uneven album Boogie Jungle (1975). ELONKORJUU's debut Harvest Time (1972) is a strong album mostly in Heavy Prog style. Led by guitarist JUKKA SYRENIUS (-) the band released their next album renamed as Harvest: Flyin' High, Running Fast (1978) is pure fusion, closer to jazz than rock.

 

The early 70's fusion scene included - besides those solo careers of prog band members - some other albums that can be mentioned in the prog context, such as Plastic Maailma (1971) by reeds player PARONI PAAKKUNAINEN (-), the sole album Taikakulkunen (1971) by short-lived WOODOO (-), and guitarist JUKKA HAURU's (-) Information (1972).

 

One of the most legendary and longest living of Finnish prog bands, HAIKARA, debuted in 1973. They play dark and complex Eclectic Prog. Their second album Geafar (1974) is another fine work, but the third one Iso Lintu (1975) is more uneven.

 

One non-prog band I'd like to mention is the vocal-oriented folk group PIHASOITTAJAT (-). They debuted with an EP Rocky Road to Dublin (1972) but turned into Finnish with very charming albums Hattukauppiaan aamu (1973) and Kontaten kotia (1975). Recommended to the friends of peaceful folk-rock!

 

 

Around 1974 the Finnish prog scene was turning a new page. TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI disbanded and both Jukka Gustavson and Pekka Pohjola left WIGWAM. Several new bands operated in mid-70's, even if the prog genre had slowly begun to lose its status. The more mainstream "Finn-rock" was strongly developing. The use of mother language was of high quality in the lyrics of e.g. Dave Lindholm, Juice Leskinen and Hector.

     (At this time heavily Bowie-influenced Hector - his real name is Heikki Harma - approached prog's artistic nature with his wonderful second album Herra Mirandos (1973). His fourth album Liisa pien (1975) failed commercially but it's very prog-oriented, and my favourite. It includes the Finnish-language covers of King Crimson's 'Epitaph' and Procol Harum's 'As Strong As Samson'.)

 

In 1977 the downhill of Finnish prog was getting very visible when it comes to the number of prog [related] releases. WIGWAM's Dark Album and KALEVALA's Abraham's Blue Refrain are far from their better works. JUKKA GUSTAVSON finally started his solo discography with Jaloa ylpeyttä yletän... ylevää nöyryyttä nousen...(1977), which is a brave "jazz symphony", followed by Valon vuoksi (1979) and Toden toistoa (1981). JUKKA TOLONEN continues making albums, though they are not as good anymore as earlier in the seventies. PEKKA POHJOLA joined with e.g. Olli Ahvenlahti to form a Fusion supergroup called THE GROUP (eponymous sole album, 1978) and Pohjola also continued his solo output with the fine albums Visitation (1979) and Kätkävaaran lohikäärme (1980). The guitarist Pekka Tegelman of FINNFOREST (their third album was Demonnights, 1978) had a short-lived Fusion group called JARGON (-), whose eponymous album (1979) is very hard to find; I haven't yet heard it.

 

These years are still not without some new good prog artists too. KAAMOS' sole album Deeds and Talks (1977) is very nice, melodic prog. Young T. T. OKSALA (-), who later became a notable producer, released Radio Storm (1978), an original combination of contemporary rock and lively Fusion. FAROUT (-) released one album of instrumentally oriented jazzy prog, Further Out (1979). SUKELLUSVENE (-) was an instrumental Prog / Fusion group whose too forgotten sole album Vesi- ja lintumusiikkia (1979) hasn't been released on CD. SCAPA FLOW's sole album Uuteen aikaan (1980) with female vocals clearly belongs to the 70's prog despite its late release year.

 

Singer Petri Pettersson (NB! when the artists are not typed in capitals, they don't belong to the prog genre at all or have any chance to be added in the Archives, and therefore they don't have (-) after them!) has released vocal music and several translations of international pop hits of the 60's / 70's. However his finest, partly poetry-based album Nuoruus (1977) - composed mostly by Pekka Tegelman - includes artistic depth that can be thought of as proggy, and to some extent also his next, weaker album Ehkä meille vielä jää aikaa (1979). Other non-prog popular artists to approach progressive thinking were Dave Lindholm, whose intimate and thoughtful classic album Aino (1982) was arranged for a small chamber orchestra by Otto Donner, and the punk-originated (!) rock group Hassisen Kone with their highly praised rock classic Harsoinen teräs (1982).

 

Before entering the hollow emptiness of the eighties, it's perhaps good to pick up the SCARAB album (1983) by the group that in the nineties became known as AGENESS! No other Finnish group has represented so unquestionably Neo Prog style with clear Genesis influences and all, but now I'm getting ahead of the timeline... I haven't got Scarab yet, but I guess it must have been an odd release in the musical climate of its time.