Hassisen Kone was a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band, founded in 1979 in Joensuu

Joensuu

Joensuu is a city and municipality in North Karelia in eastern Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of North Karelia region. It was founded in 1848...

. The young musicians rose to popularity in 1980 after winning the Finnish rock championship in the New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 category. They recorded three highly successful albums before disbanding in 1982. The singer/songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 Ismo Alanko

Ismo Alanko

Ismo Kullervo Alanko is a Finnish musician. He is known as the frontman of several bands, most famously Hassisen Kone, Sielun Veljet and Ismo Alanko Säätiö, as well as a successful solo artist....

 has led several bands since then and continues to be an influential name in Finnish rock music.

History

The idea of forming Hassisen Kone came to Ismo Alanko

Ismo Alanko

Ismo Kullervo Alanko is a Finnish musician. He is known as the frontman of several bands, most famously Hassisen Kone, Sielun Veljet and Ismo Alanko Säätiö, as well as a successful solo artist....

 in 1979, when he heard the Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales surpassing 1.5 million records...

 album Maximum Jee&Jee while working in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

. Alanko returned to Finland and started the band with guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Reijo Heiskanen and drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Harri Kinnunen. The band's name was based on a local home appliance

Home appliance

Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods...

 store of the same name. The three men had earlier played together in a progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 group called Sight. Kinnunen's little brother Jussi was hired to play the bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

.

In March 1980, the newly formed Hassisen Kone won the Finnish rock championship, an annual competition for young musicians held since 1970. The victory raised public interest for the band, and when their debut album Täältä tullaan Venäjä

Täältä tullaan Venäjä

Täältä tullaan Venäjä is the debut album of Hassisen Kone. It was released in 1980, shortly after the newly formed band had won the Finnish Rock championship. The outspoken lyrics of the opening track "Rappiolla" shocked, among others, Yleisradio reporters Anneli Tempakka and Maija Dahlgren, who...

was released in June, it was an instant hit. The ironic

Irony

Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...

 lyrics of the song "Rappiolla" caused some reporters to start complaining about indecency in rock songs.

The band's follow-up album Rumat sävelet

Rumat sävelet

Rumat sävelet is the second album of Finnish punk rock band Hassisen Kone. It was a successful follow-up to the group's debut Täältä tullaan Venäjä, and was certified platinum in 2005....

(1981) was considered a more serious and mature record than its predecessor. The album's harsh and sometimes personal lyrics reflected how the sudden rise to stardom had effected the then 20-year-old Alanko. The same year Hassisen Kone took part on the Tuuliajolla tour on Saimaa

Saimaa

Saimaa is a lake in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest in Europe. It was formed by glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age. Major towns on the lakeshore include Lappeenranta, Imatra, Savonlinna, Mikkeli, Varkaus, and Joensuu. The...

, with Juice Leskinen

Juice Leskinen

Juhani Juice Leskinen , better known as Juice Leskinen , was one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. From the early 1970s onward he released nearly 30 full-length albums, as well as writing song lyrics for dozens of Finnish artists...

 and Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales surpassing 1.5 million records...

. Material of the tour was included in the Kaurismäki

Kaurismäki

Kaurismäki is a name originating in Finland. It may refer to:* Aki Kaurismäki , Finnish film director and screenwriter* Mika Kaurismäki , Finnish film director...

 brothers film Saimaa Gesture.

For Harsoinen teräs

Harsoinen teräs

Harsoinen teräs is the third and final album of Hassisen Kone, released in 1982. Musically, the album has a progressive twist to it. The songs are more complicated than on the group's two previous albums, and the band's lineup was expanded to seven people for this album, featuring a new guitarist...

(1982), Jukka Orma replaced Reijo Heiskanen on guitar and some additional members were hired to work on the more rhythmic and progressive

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 album featuring saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

, xylophone

Xylophone

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...

 and keyboards

Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...

. The classical and prog background of Alanko was more and more evident in the songwriting. Harsoinen teräs was also translated into English and released as a promo

Promotional recording

A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...

 album called High Tension Wire in 1982.

Hassisen Kone disbanded in August 1982. Alanko and Orma went on to form Sielun Veljet

Sielun Veljet

Sielun Veljet was a Finnish rock band of the 1980s. They were formed soon after the disbanding of Hassisen Kone by its former frontman Ismo Alanko. Sielun Veljet never achieved the fame or the record sales figures of Hassisen Kone, but they became famous for their powerful stage presence and...

 shortly afterwards. Jussi Kinnunen had a six month break from music, after which he has played in several bands, including Tiina Tiikeri, Pertti Neumann's band and Ismo Alanko Säätiö

Ismo Alanko Säätiö

Ismo Alanko Säätiö was a Finnish rock group led by Ismo Alanko. The band featured an ever-changing lineup of musicians and can be considered an extension of Alanko's solo career. The band's name is Finnish for "Ismo Alanko Foundation"....

. Harri Kinnunen has played, among others, for Sleepy Sleepers

Sleepy Sleepers

Sleepy Sleepers is a Finnish pop/rock/punk band. The band released 19 albums between 1975 and 1989. Sakke Järvenpää and Mato Valtonen were the main members of the band...

 and Lapinlahden Linnut

Lapinlahden Linnut

Lapinlahden Linnut is a Finnish band which plays humorous rock/pop music. The band started as roadside musicians. In the beginning, the band used some original instruments such as a ring binder, and they still use an empty beer crate nowadays in their music...

.

Hassisen Kone has played several nostalgic reunion concerts after they disbanded. In 2000, they reunited for a concert on midsummer

Midsummer

Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...

 at the Joensuu Laulurinne. The concert was filmed and released as a DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 titled 20 vuotta myöhemmin (20 years later).

Studio albums

Released	Title	Chart Peak	Certification	Label
1980	Täältä tullaan Venäjä Täältä tullaan Venäjä Täältä tullaan Venäjä is the debut album of Hassisen Kone. It was released in 1980, shortly after the newly formed band had won the Finnish Rock championship. The outspoken lyrics of the opening track "Rappiolla" shocked, among others, Yleisradio reporters Anneli Tempakka and Maija Dahlgren, who...	-	Platinum (1997)	Poko
1981	Rumat sävelet Rumat sävelet Rumat sävelet is the second album of Finnish punk rock band Hassisen Kone. It was a successful follow-up to the group's debut Täältä tullaan Venäjä, and was certified platinum in 2005....	-	Platinum (2005)
1982	Harsoinen teräs Harsoinen teräs Harsoinen teräs is the third and final album of Hassisen Kone, released in 1982. Musically, the album has a progressive twist to it. The songs are more complicated than on the group's two previous albums, and the band's lineup was expanded to seven people for this album, featuring a new guitarist...	-	Gold (1982)
	High Tension Wire (English language promo Promotional recording A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available... LP)	-	-

Compilations

Released	Title	Chart Peak	Certification	Label
1982	Historia 1980-1982	-	-	Poko
1987	Poko-klassikko	-	-
2000	Tarjolla tänään	1	Gold (2000)

DVDs

Released	Title	Label
2001	20 vuotta myöhemmin	Poko

Singles

Released	Title	Label
1980	"Hassisen Kone"	Hilse
	"Muoviruusuja omenapuissa"	Poko
	"Rappiolla"
	"Kolumpia orkesteri"
1981	"Jurot nuorisojulkkikset"
	"On jouluyö, nyt laulaa saa"
	"Pelkurit"
	"Rajat"
1982	"Levottomat jalat"
	"Hiljaa virtaa veri"