Biography
Ilkka Alanko, a Finnish singer and songwriter born November 21, 1969, in Joensuu, Finland, entered the album charts at the Top Ten level in 2009 via the electro-pop release Elektra. Prior to that breakthrough he had spent two decades leading the rock band Neljä Ruusua, whose string of chart-topping releases defined much of his earlier public profile. He is the younger brother of fellow Finnish rock singer and songwriter Ismo Alanko, another artist who achieved multiple number-one successes.
Alanko launched his professional path inside Neljä Ruusua, a group formed in Helsinki in 1982. The lineup features guitarists Petteri "Kode" Koistinen, bassist Jari "Lade" Laakkonen, drummer Kari "Kämy" Kämäräinen, and Alanko himself on vocals and guitar. The quartet issued its self-titled debut album in 1987 and continued releasing new material at roughly annual intervals thereafter. During the late 1990s the band issued two English-language projects, Mood in 1996 and Not for Sale in 1998. Its subsequent Finnish-language album Uusi Aalto arrived in 1999, reaching the top of the charts and generating the major singles “Varjo” and “Hunningolla.” That momentum produced the greatest-hits collection Popmuseo, which also topped the Finnish albums chart upon its 2000 release.
Later studio albums Valuva Taivas (2001), Karelia Express (2004), and Ensi-Ilta (2006) each reached at least the Top Five and yielded the respective hit singles “Missä Vaan,” “Popstars,” and “Tahdon.” A series of remastered reissues brought much of the band’s earlier catalog back into circulation during the same period.
Alanko began his solo career toward the end of the 2000s. His first solo recording, the single “Kesä Meidän,” appeared on EMI in 2008—the same label that had long supported Neljä Ruusua. He followed with the full-length Elektra the next year; the album entered the Top Ten and spawned the singles “Sattuu” and “Etsin Sua.”
Alanko launched his professional path inside Neljä Ruusua, a group formed in Helsinki in 1982. The lineup features guitarists Petteri "Kode" Koistinen, bassist Jari "Lade" Laakkonen, drummer Kari "Kämy" Kämäräinen, and Alanko himself on vocals and guitar. The quartet issued its self-titled debut album in 1987 and continued releasing new material at roughly annual intervals thereafter. During the late 1990s the band issued two English-language projects, Mood in 1996 and Not for Sale in 1998. Its subsequent Finnish-language album Uusi Aalto arrived in 1999, reaching the top of the charts and generating the major singles “Varjo” and “Hunningolla.” That momentum produced the greatest-hits collection Popmuseo, which also topped the Finnish albums chart upon its 2000 release.
Later studio albums Valuva Taivas (2001), Karelia Express (2004), and Ensi-Ilta (2006) each reached at least the Top Five and yielded the respective hit singles “Missä Vaan,” “Popstars,” and “Tahdon.” A series of remastered reissues brought much of the band’s earlier catalog back into circulation during the same period.
Alanko began his solo career toward the end of the 2000s. His first solo recording, the single “Kesä Meidän,” appeared on EMI in 2008—the same label that had long supported Neljä Ruusua. He followed with the full-length Elektra the next year; the album entered the Top Ten and spawned the singles “Sattuu” and “Etsin Sua.”
Albums
Singles
