M. A. Numminen

Last updated

M. A. Numminen
Manumminen.jpg
M. A. Numminen in 1987
Background information
Birth nameMauri Antero Numminen
Also known asLa Kamarado, Ruotsin Kuningas, Viljo Kyttälä, Oriveden Kenkätehdas, Usko Suomalainen, E. Väline, Gommi
Born (1940-03-12) 12 March 1940 (age 84)
Origin Somero, Finland
Genres Jazz, tango, rock, schlager, children's songs, avantgarde, electronic music, hip hop
Occupation(s)singer, musician, composer, author, producer
Years active1963–present

Mies Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940 in Somero, Southwest Finland) is a Finnish artist who has worked in several different fields of music and culture.

Contents

Biography

In the 1960s, Numminen was known particularly as an avantgarde, underground artist, stirring controversy with such songs as Nuoren aviomiehen on syytä muistaa ("What a young husband should remember"; the lyrics of the song were taken directly from a guide to newly married couples, and included advice on foreplay) and Naiseni kanssa eduskuntatalon puistossa ("With my woman at the parliament house's park"). He was also a member of the band Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940. In his early days Numminen often successfully provoked people, for example with his interpretations of Franz Schubert's lieder, sung with his own idiosyncratically creaking voice, or creating a scandal at the Jyväskylän kesä festival of Jyväskylä in 1966 with his song lyrics taken from a sex guide. Numminen also composed music to the writings of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. In 1966, Numminen collaborated with Pekka Gronow to found the record label Eteenpäin! ("Forward!") to release Numminen's own music. Later Numminen records were published under the umbrella of the legendary Finnish label Love Records.

Numminen has been one of the unsung pioneers of Finnish electronic music. He is known for his collaborations with composer and inventor Erkki Kurenniemi who built him a "singing machine" Numminen used to participate in a singing contest in 1964, and the electronic instrument Sähkökvartetti ("the Electric Quartet") in the late 1960s, the performance of which wreaked havoc in a youth festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Sähkökvartetti can be heard on Numminen's track 'Kaukana väijyy ystäviä' (1968).

In 1970 Numminen founded the jazz band Uusrahvaanomainen Jatsiorkesteri ("the Neo-Vulgar Jazz Orchestra") with pianist Jani Uhlenius, taking its cues from the 1920s–1940s jazz, swing, foxtrot, etc. Past members of the band include Aaro Kurkela, Kalevi Viitamäki, Jari Lappalainen and Heikki "Häkä" Virtanen. As of 2020, the band's line-up consists of Numminen, Uhlenius, accordion player Pedro Hietanen and contrabassist Pekka Sarmanto. [1]

In the 1970s, Numminen became a popular favourite with his children's songs in the 1973 film Herra Huu – Jestapa Jepulis, Penikat Sipuliks, where he also played the main role, and in the 1977 TV series Jänikset maailmankartalle where he played a hare. At the same time, Numminen also gained success in Sweden with his song 'Gummiboll' (Numminen's Finnish version of this was called 'Kumipallona luokses pompin ain', and is an interpretation of the song "Rubber Ball" by Bobby Vee): [2] Numminen has recorded Swedish versions of many of his songs. He has also made several songs in English, German and Esperanto.

In 1989 Numminen released the vinyl album The Tractatus Suite, consisting of extracts from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus set to music, on the Forward! label (GN-95). The album was recorded at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki between February and June 1989. The "lyrics" (quotations from the Tractatus) were provided in German, English, Esperanto, French, Finnish and Swedish. [3] The music was reissued as a CD in 2003, M.A. Numminen sings Wittgenstein. [4]

In the 2000s, Numminen made a return to electronic music and modern club sound. In 2003 Numminen started M.A.N. Scratch Band featuring his long-time collaborator Pedro Hietanen with young jazz musicians Olavi Uusivirta, Lasse Lindgren and DJ Santeri Vuosara (also known as DJ Sane). The duo M.A. Numminen & DJ Sane was started in 2004.

Numminen has appeared on Radio Suomi since 1984 together with playwright Juha Siltanen on their night show Yömyöhä. In 1986 he published a book called Baarien mies ("The Man of the Bars") on Finnish keskiolut lager culture, for which he visited 350 bars around Finland. The book had a considerable role in the birth of 1980s keskiolut beer culture in Finland.

Numminen in 2008 M. A. Numminen - Ilosaarirock 2008.jpg
Numminen in 2008

Numminen has taken part in over 30 films, either as an actor, scriptwriter, composer or cinematographer.

Compilations discography

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jyväskylä</span> City in Central Finland, Finland

Jyväskylä is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately 148,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 191,000. It is the 7th most populous municipality in Finland, and the fifth most populous urban area in the country.

Jussi Pekka Pohjola was a Finnish multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. Best known as a bass player, Pohjola was also a classically trained pianist and violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anssi Kela</span> Musical artist

Anssi Kela is a Finnish singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist who has published six albums. During his career, Kela has sold over 230,000 records in Finland. He received four Emma awards in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Records</span> Finnish record label

Love Records was a record label from Finland established in 1966 by Christian Schwindt. It specialized in Finnish rock and also released jazz, leftist political songs, and ethnic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eero Koivistoinen</span> Finnish jazz musician (born 1946)

Eero Koivistoinen is a Finnish jazz musician and saxophone player, who started his career in the mid-1960s. Koivistoinen has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, producer and educator. He first heard jazz from the records his sailor brother had brought in from his travels. As a youngster Koivistoinen studied classical violin, saxophone and also composition at the Sibelius Academy, and later jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His first line-up featured the drummer Edward Vesala and bassist Pekka Sarmanto. Koivistoinen was also a member of the seminal Finnish rock band Blues Section in the years 1967 and 1968. In 1968 he released his first solo album, a "literary record" called Valtakunta which featured songs composed to the texts of such poets as Pentti Saarikoski, Jarkko Laine, Tuomas Anhava and Hannu Mäkelä; interpreted by the vocalists Vesa-Matti Loiri, Eero Raittinen and Seija Simola. Eero Koivistoinen's later solo albums such as Wahoo (1972) enjoy a considerable international reputation. His hip hop-influenced 2006 album X-Ray features such people as the vocalists Charles Salter and Bina Nkwazi, DJ LBJ and the rap artist Redrama.

"Satumaa" is the quintessential Finnish tango. It was written by Unto Mononen, and published in 1955. The most famous recording is probably the one made by Reijo Taipale in 1962. The lyrics tell a story of a distant land beyond the sea – a happy paradise – however, the narrator can only reach it in his thoughts. The song has been recorded countless times, mainly by male Finnish tango singers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuli Edelmann</span> Finnish actor and singer

Samuli Casimir Edelmann is a Finnish actor and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow (DJ)</span> Finnish DJ and music producer

Slow or DJ Slow is a Finnish DJ and music producer. Slow is known for his nu-jazz style and for his production of commercial music for high-profile advertising projects for TV and cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carola Standertskjöld</span> Musical artist

Carola Christina Standertskjöld-Liemola, professionally known as Carola, was a Finnish jazz and pop singer. Her style was partially inspired by American singers of the 1950s. Simultaneously, it was in the spirit of the modal jazz scene going down in Europe in the 1960s. Mostly, Carola's jazz repertoire consisted in idiosyncratic versions of American songs in English, while her most famous jazz track "The Flame" was an original composition by Esa Pethman and the lyrics by the singer herself. As the vocalist for Esa Pethman's quartet and Hazy Osterwald's sextet in the early 1960s, Carola made fame in Finland and Sweden, and toured Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Switzerland. Her most significant recording is a session with the Heikki Sarmanto Trio from 1966, which the Finnish Music Information Centre considers among the original blueprints of Finnish jazz. Carola's recordings have been credited for the accosting tone of her contralto voice and her phrasing. The singer also co-produced the groovy approach of her supporting orchestras. In late 1960s and early 1970s, she performed in nine languages and a wide variety of styles, including chanson, schlager, Latin, rock'n'roll, and soul. After her death of Alzheimer's disease in 1997, Carola's music was revived in 2004 with two Best of albums and Carola & Heikki Sarmanto Trio reaching the Finnish charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kauko Röyhkä</span> Musical artist

Kauko Röyhkä,, is a Finnish rock musician, author and screenwriter. Since the early 1980s he has been a popular rock artist in Finland known especially as a strong lyricist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agents (Finnish band)</span> Finnish band

Agents is a Finnish band formed in 1979, playing rautalanka, schlager and rock'n'roll music. The head figure and musical director of the band is solo guitarist Esa Pulliainen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DR Big Band</span> Danish radio ensemble and big band

The Danish Radio Big Band, often referred to as the Radioens Big Band is a radio ensemble and big band founded in Copenhagen in 1964 at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SlowHill</span> Finnish instrumental band

SlowHill are a Finnish instrumental downtempo/lounge band formed in 2002 by Slow and award-winning saxophonist Tapani Rinne. The band fuses downtempo beats into easy listening jazz atmospheres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Souvarit</span> Finnish schlager band

Souvarit is a Finnish song and dance music ensemble founded in 1978, a schlager pop band that plays mainly Lapland-themed dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elonkorjuu</span> Finnish progressive rock band

Elonkorjuu is a Finnish progressive rock band formed in 1969. It was first active until 1978 and re-established in 2003.

<i>Ode to Booker Ervin</i> 1970 studio album by Ted Curson & Co.

Ode to Booker Ervin is an album by American trumpeter Ted Curson which was recorded in Helsinki and first released on the Finnish EMI Columbia label in 1970. The album features Curson with a band composed of local Finnish jazz musicians. The album is dedicated to tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin who died at the end of August 1970, a few days before the recording session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Måns Groundstroem</span> Finnish musician

Måns Ivar Åkesson "Måsse" Groundstroem [grʊndström] is a Finnish bass player, studio technician and music producer. He has recorded ca. 100 music albums and produced another 70 albums. Most of these albums were released by Love Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pekka Gronow</span>

Pekka Heikki Tapani Gronow is a Finnish ethnomusicologist and historian of the recording industry. He studied at Wesleyan University with David P. McAllester and Robert E. Brown and at the University of Helsinki and received his PhD from the University of Tampere. He was the head of the record library at Yleisradio 1989–2006 and an archiving specialist 2007–2008. Gronow became known in the 1960s for his radio programs on jazz and blues. In 1966 he founded with M. A. Numminen Eteenpäin, a record company which issued Numminen's works and other underground artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esa Pakarinen</span> Finnish actor and musician (1911–1989)

Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the Pekka and Pätkä films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self-taught accordion player.

References

  1. Skaniakos, Terhi (5 March 2020). "Parasta juuri nyt (5.3.2020): Jyväskylän kesä, Retkihaaste, Naisten maaliskuu, kansanmusiikkikurssit". Kulttuuritoimitus (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  2. "Gummibollen rullar ständigt in". Gefle Dagblad. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  3. "M.A. Numminen – The Tractatus Suite". discogs. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. Numminen, M. A. (2003). "M. A. Numminen Sings Wittgenstein. EFA SP 142". Zweitausendeins.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)