Tasavallan Presidentti
Encyclopedia
Tasavallan Presidentti (in English
President of the Republic) is a Finnish
progressive rock
band. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Jukka Tolonen
and drummer Vesa Aaltonen. Other founder members were Måns Groundstroem (bass) and Frank Robson (vocals), previously of Blues Section
. Juhani Aaltonen
(saxophone/flute) had earlier played in Soulset; he was replaced in 1970 by Pekka Pöyry. Eero Raittinen replaced Robson as a vocalist in 1972, the same year as the album Lambertland was released in UK. The album was a tight fusion of jazz and folk rock with highly inventive and imaginative lyrics. Tasavallan Presidentti disbanded in 1974, but nowadays it is active again.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
President of the Republic) is 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...
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...
band. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Jukka Tolonen
Jukka Tolonen
Jukka Tolonen is a Finnish jazz guitarist. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the band Tasavallan Presidentti...
and drummer Vesa Aaltonen. Other founder members were Måns Groundstroem (bass) and Frank Robson (vocals), previously of Blues Section
Blues Section
Blues Section are a Finnish rock music group. They started in 1967, formed around the vocalist Jim Pembroke, a British expatriate song-writer now living in Finland. The other members of the band were Eero Koivistoinen , Ronnie Österberg , Hasse Walli , and Måns Groundstroem...
. Juhani Aaltonen
Juhani Aaltonen
Juhani Aaltonen is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and flautist.Born in Kouvola, Finland, he began playing professionally at the end of the 1950s. He played in a sextet led by Heikki Rosendahl during that time, and then studied flute performance at the Sibelius Academy and in the U.S. at the Berklee...
(saxophone/flute) had earlier played in Soulset; he was replaced in 1970 by Pekka Pöyry. Eero Raittinen replaced Robson as a vocalist in 1972, the same year as the album Lambertland was released in UK. The album was a tight fusion of jazz and folk rock with highly inventive and imaginative lyrics. Tasavallan Presidentti disbanded in 1974, but nowadays it is active again.
Albums
- Tasavallan Presidentti (1969)
- (Pekka StrengPekka StrengPekka Valter Mattias Streng was a Finnish musician who had a notable influence on progressive rock in Finland....
(with Tasavallan Presidentti): Magneettimiehen kuolema (1970) - Tasavallan Presidentti (II) (1971)
- Lambertland (1972)
- Milky Way Moses (1974)
- Classics (compilation) (1990)
- Tasavallan Presidentti (2000)
- Still Struggling For Freedom (live) (2001)
- Tasavallan Presidentti Six (2005, EP)
- Six Complete (2006)
Singles
- Time Alone With You / Obsolete Machine (1969)
- Solitary / Deep Thinker (1970)
- (Kirka BabitzinKirka BabitzinKirill "Kirka" Babitzin was a popular Finnish musician.-Biography:Kirill Babitzin was born in Helsinki in 1950 to a Russian emigrant family. He first got into music at the age of five when his grandmother gave him an accordion. He won an accordion competition at the age of ten, but soon ditched...
& Tasavallan Presidentti: Saat kaiken / Kaukainen valo (1970) - Sisältäni portin löysin / Selvä näkijä (1972)
Band members
- Vesa Aaltonen, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Jukka TolonenJukka TolonenJukka Tolonen is a Finnish jazz guitarist. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the band Tasavallan Presidentti...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Måns Groundstroem, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1969–1972, 1983–2002) - Frank Robson, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1969–1972, 1983-) - Juhani AaltonenJuhani AaltonenJuhani Aaltonen is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and flautist.Born in Kouvola, Finland, he began playing professionally at the end of the 1950s. He played in a sextet led by Heikki Rosendahl during that time, and then studied flute performance at the Sibelius Academy and in the U.S. at the Berklee...
, saxophoneSaxophoneThe 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...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(1969–1970, 1983-) - Pekka Pöyry, saxophoneSaxophoneThe 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...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(1970–1974) - Eero Raittinen, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(1972–1974, 1995, 2000) - Heikki Virtanen, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1973–1974, 2002-) - Esa Kotilainen, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1974, 1990, 1995)