SAMULI PUTRO

Born on August 21, 1970, in Helsinki, Samuli Putro co-established the Finnish rock band Zen Café in 1992, serving as its vocalist and guitarist alongside bassist Kari Nylander and drummer Pete Parkkonen. The group enjoyed extended chart dominance under his leadership, issuing their debut album Romuna in 1997 before following with Idiootti in 1998, Ua Ua in 1999, and Helvetisti Järkeä in 2001. Each of the next three releases—Helvetisti Järkeä (2001), Vuokralainen (2002), and Jättiläinen (2003)—topped the charts and spawned the Top Ten singles “Aamuisin,” “Piha Ilman Sadettajaa,” and “Tavallaan Jokainen On Surullinen.” Later efforts Laiska, Tyhmä Ja Saamaton (2005) and Stop (2006) also fared well, reaching number two and number one respectively. Long renowned as Zen Café’s frontman, Putro delivered his own blockbuster solo debut, Elämä On Juhla, in 2009, an album that yielded the singles “Elämä On Juhla,” “Älä Huuda Mulle,” and “Mitäpä Jos.”