Biography
In the early 1990s, several members of the Finnish alternative rock band Kumukameli formed Eläkeläiset one evening simply to occupy themselves after a gig by reworking popular songs through the addition of traditional Finnish humppa, also called oompah, performed on modern instruments. Onni Varis handled keyboards, Lassi Kinnunen played accordion, Martti Varis took care of bass, Petteri Terävä (later succeeded by Petteri Hanonen) contributed guitar, and Jouni Hukka sat behind the drums (later replaced by Kristian Voutilainen), while every member shared vocal duties. The group has issued a string of albums, among them 1995’s Humpan Kuninkaan Hovissa, 1996’s In Humppa We Trust -- Live! that captured the exuberance of their live show, 2000’s Humppa-Akatemia, and 2003’s Humppaelamaa, the first of the band’s records to include solely original material.
Albums
