Biography
Kerkko Koskinen entered the world on January 7, 1973, in Espoo, Finland, and grew into a hesitant luminary within the country’s pop landscape. Serving as bandleader, principal songwriter, pianist, and a central founder of Ultra Bra, he later launched an independent path once the ensemble dissolved.
The group itself came together in 1994 specifically to compete in a contest backed by the Democratic Youth Union of Finland. What began as an unserious diversion among student-intellectuals turned into a sustained project after the victory. Their opening EP, Houkutusten kiihottava maku (“The Exciting Flavor of Temptations”), appeared in 1995 and quickly led to a contract with the prominent Johanna imprint. The debut full-length, Vapaaherran elämää (“Life of a Free Lord”), followed in 1996 and earned album-of-the-year honors from at least one prominent music publication; Koskinen supplied every composition and handled the keyboard parts. The second album reached triple-platinum status, and the third and fourth releases matched that commercial achievement. At the peak of its success the band called it quits in 2001, the same year four other Ultra Bra members formed Scandinavian Music Group; Koskinen himself stepped out as a solo artist the next year.
His initial solo outing, Rakkaus viiltää (“Love cuts”), arrived in 2002 and showcased a circle of sympathetic collaborators, drawing immediate purchases from listeners in search of continued Ultra Bra material. Although he had already dabbled in film scoring, Koskinen immersed himself more deeply in the discipline after that first record. In 2003 he received the Jussi Award—Finland’s equivalent of the Oscar—for best original song written for the motion picture Nousukausi. His second album, Lolita, surfaced in 2005 to only moderate critical response and modest sales; while the music retained curiosity, the decision to fuse classic poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca and others with an eighties pop aesthetic struck many as misjudged. Because Koskinen had never been celebrated for his singing voice, the 2007 release Agatha—composed and arranged for the UMO Jazz Orchestra—proved a shrewd redirection. Drawing inspiration from the novels of Agatha Christie, the project offered an engaging, if occasionally imitative, venture into the spy-jazz terrain long occupied by figures such as Lalo Schifrin and Henry Mancini.
The group itself came together in 1994 specifically to compete in a contest backed by the Democratic Youth Union of Finland. What began as an unserious diversion among student-intellectuals turned into a sustained project after the victory. Their opening EP, Houkutusten kiihottava maku (“The Exciting Flavor of Temptations”), appeared in 1995 and quickly led to a contract with the prominent Johanna imprint. The debut full-length, Vapaaherran elämää (“Life of a Free Lord”), followed in 1996 and earned album-of-the-year honors from at least one prominent music publication; Koskinen supplied every composition and handled the keyboard parts. The second album reached triple-platinum status, and the third and fourth releases matched that commercial achievement. At the peak of its success the band called it quits in 2001, the same year four other Ultra Bra members formed Scandinavian Music Group; Koskinen himself stepped out as a solo artist the next year.
His initial solo outing, Rakkaus viiltää (“Love cuts”), arrived in 2002 and showcased a circle of sympathetic collaborators, drawing immediate purchases from listeners in search of continued Ultra Bra material. Although he had already dabbled in film scoring, Koskinen immersed himself more deeply in the discipline after that first record. In 2003 he received the Jussi Award—Finland’s equivalent of the Oscar—for best original song written for the motion picture Nousukausi. His second album, Lolita, surfaced in 2005 to only moderate critical response and modest sales; while the music retained curiosity, the decision to fuse classic poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca and others with an eighties pop aesthetic struck many as misjudged. Because Koskinen had never been celebrated for his singing voice, the 2007 release Agatha—composed and arranged for the UMO Jazz Orchestra—proved a shrewd redirection. Drawing inspiration from the novels of Agatha Christie, the project offered an engaging, if occasionally imitative, venture into the spy-jazz terrain long occupied by figures such as Lalo Schifrin and Henry Mancini.
Albums
Singles
