RinneRadio

RinneRadio, a Finnish techno ensemble, earned their country's counterpart to the Grammy in the Jazz Group of the Year category by blending jazz's improvisational depth and cleverness with the vitality and forward-looking aesthetic of electronic sounds. Formed around saxophone player Tapani Rinne along with programmers Kajasto and Jari Kokkonen, DJ Ken One, and mixer Smoju, this five-piece outfit issued their debut self-titled album in 1988 via Leo Records in Finland. The follow-up, Dance and Visions, appeared in 1990 on the Pyramid imprint before the group transitioned to Aani. Their releases there, Joik from 1992 and Unik in 1994, reflected growing hip-hop elements. During a 1994 performance at the international Symposium of Electronic Art, RinneRadio performed live as a separate DJ handled a real-time remix of their tracks from another space, while visual programmer VSA generated live visuals for the group. This setup caught the attention of British CD-ROM producers, leading to the group's involvement in the Virtual Nightclub project. RinneRadio switched to Rockadillo Records by 1995, and their fifth album, Rok, came out early the next year.