Marko Saaresto

Last updated

Marko Saaresto
Marko Saaresto.jpg
Saaresto performing with Poets of the Fall in Krasnodar in 2019
Background information
Born (1970-12-05) 5 December 1970 (age 53)
Helsinki, Finland
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, lyricist
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitars
Years active2001–present
Labels Insomniac
Website www.poetsofthefall.com

Marko Saaresto (born 5 December 1970) is the founding member, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Finnish alternative rock band Poets of the Fall.

Contents

Early life

Saaresto was born in Helsinki, Finland. Saaresto was actively involved in music from a very young age and wrote several of his songs as a teenager. 'Change', from the band's fourth #1 album Twilight Theater , was written by Saaresto in 1990. 'Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day' from Carnival of Rust is even older, dating back to 1988. Saaresto took up a course in graphic design and worked as a graphic designer until he was in his early thirties. [1]

Music career

Saaresto formed a band called Playground in 2001, and wrote several songs with them. The songs were compiled into an album but they were unable to find a label to distribute it, and hence called it quits. Playground's primary members were Saaresto and Pohjoinen Syke jazz guitarist Olli Tukianen. One late evening in early 2002, Saaresto was approached by Sam Lake, the writer of the Max Payne series of videogames to write the lead single for the second installment in the series, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. Saaresto agreed. Lake gave Saaresto a poem he had written and asked him to make a song out of it. Saaresto modified it, and along with former Playground bandmate Tukiainen, wrote the now-famous single Late Goodbye. To assist them with production, Lake offered them the services of industrial musician Markus 'Captain' Kaarlonen. Together they recorded the song and upon the release of the game, the song garnered cult status. Thousands of requests were made by players all around the world to own a physical copy of the song. They then decided to formally create the band and named it 'Poets of the Fall'.

Discography

With Poets of the Fall

With Playground

YearSongArtistAlbum
1999"Millennium Of Insight"Lauri JärvilehtoTwilight Cinema [2]
2008"I Saved the World Today"Various ArtistsA non-album single for Plan International Finland charity [3]
2009"Lucky Star" Phoenix Effect Cyanide Skies
"King See No Evil"
"Taking a Vacation from Me"Bright LightningTaking a Vacation from Me [4]
2017"Striven"Jay RaySelf-Resonance [5]
"Feliz Navidad" Tarja From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a Dark Christmas)
2022"Upside Down"Larry SandmanMore Than Free [6]

Audiobooks

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References

  1. "'It feels good to be here'". Deccan Herald. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  2. Marko Saaresto Discography | Discogs
  3. PLAN - I Saved The World Today - YouTube
  4. ‎Taking a Vacation from Me - Album by Bright Lightning - Apple Music
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbBByd5UgzQ
  6. Larry Sandman Featuring Marko Saaresto - "Upside Down" (Official Music Video) - YouTube
  7. Flamelight – Audio Poetry Project