Signmark
Encyclopedia
Signmark is a deaf Finnish
rap artist. He describes his music as being party hip hop that takes a stand
. Born into a signing
family, Vuoriheimo feels that society should not treat the deaf as disabled people but as a linguistic minority with their own culture
and history
.
Although it was only in 2004 that Vuoriheimo started creating his own music, he has signed poetry and music since he was a child. Christmas carols were some of the first music he learned to sign.http://www.signmark.biz/site/en/bio When performing, he rhymes signs by ensuring that they have the same types of hand forms and signs. The bass line is important for him, as it helps him follow the music and time his rhymes. His facial expressions reinforce the signs, while improvisation is an essential part of the overall package.
His debut album, Signmark
was released on 29 November 2006. The album included the soundtrack on CD and signed music videos on DVD
. The album had eight songs on it, many of which dealt with the history, culture and rights of the Finnish signing community. His songs are freeform signing, even though the vocal versions rhyme. His goal is to incorporate more rhyming signed lyrics on his next album.
Signmark was one of the artists competing in Finland’s national qualifications to represent it in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest
. Signmark won his qualifying round on January 23, 2009 with Speakerbox, which he performed with Osmo Ikonen, as he received 46.5% of the votes. At the finals on January 31, Signmark placed second behind Waldo's People
with 41.2% of the votes.
The original Signmark group split up in May 2009, after which Signmark signed a record deal with Warner Music as a solo artist. His record deal was a historic moment as he became the first deaf person to sign a recording contract with an international record company.http://www.signmark.biz/site/en/bio
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...
rap artist. He describes his music as being party hip hop that takes a stand
Music and politics
The connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in music, has been seen in many cultures. Although music influences political movements and rituals, it is not clear how or even if, general audiences relate music on a political level...
. Born into a signing
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
family, Vuoriheimo feels that society should not treat the deaf as disabled people but as a linguistic minority with their own culture
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
.
Although it was only in 2004 that Vuoriheimo started creating his own music, he has signed poetry and music since he was a child. Christmas carols were some of the first music he learned to sign.http://www.signmark.biz/site/en/bio When performing, he rhymes signs by ensuring that they have the same types of hand forms and signs. The bass line is important for him, as it helps him follow the music and time his rhymes. His facial expressions reinforce the signs, while improvisation is an essential part of the overall package.
His debut album, Signmark
Signmark (album)
Signmark is the first album from Signmark, a Deaf Finnish rapper. The album was the first hip-hop DVD that was written in a sign language.-Track Listing:# Tuu Viittoo# Nyt On Aika Juhlia# Kahleet# Carl Oscar Malm# Maahan Lämpimään# Meidän Elämä...
was released on 29 November 2006. The album included the soundtrack on CD and signed music videos on 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....
. The album had eight songs on it, many of which dealt with the history, culture and rights of the Finnish signing community. His songs are freeform signing, even though the vocal versions rhyme. His goal is to incorporate more rhyming signed lyrics on his next album.
Signmark was one of the artists competing in Finland’s national qualifications to represent it in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
. Signmark won his qualifying round on January 23, 2009 with Speakerbox, which he performed with Osmo Ikonen, as he received 46.5% of the votes. At the finals on January 31, Signmark placed second behind Waldo's People
Waldo's People
Waldo's People is a Finnish Eurodance band. The lead singer of the band is Waldo, whose real name is Marko Reijonen. They represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, with the song "Lose Control". It won a place for the Eurovision final on May 16 as the jury's chosen act...
with 41.2% of the votes.
The original Signmark group split up in May 2009, after which Signmark signed a record deal with Warner Music as a solo artist. His record deal was a historic moment as he became the first deaf person to sign a recording contract with an international record company.http://www.signmark.biz/site/en/bio