The Contest for New Music (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu), UMK 2013, reaches its elimination stages. Tonight, the first of two qualification shows takes place. These are the six acts that compete in the first one:
Iina Salin - Last Night (Iina Salin, Tommi Gröhn)
Last Panda - Saturday Night Forever (Last Panda, Henry Tikkanen, Aapo Immonen)
Mikael Saari - We Should Be Through (Mikael Saari, Kai Poutanen, Tuomas Vertanen)
Ilari Hämäläinen - Sytytä Mut Vaan / Light Me Up (Ilari Hämäläinen)
Rautakoura - Ilmalaivalla / Board On Air (Lauri Häme, Rautakoura)
Diandra - Colliding Into You (Sharon Vaughn, Patrick Sarin, Leri Leskinen, Janne Oinas, Leri Leskinen)
27-year old Iina Salin combines disco and soul with a pinch of modern pop. The strengths of this fabulous singer include versatility and the ability to hurl herself into new challenges. Last Panda represent the northern parts of Finland in this year’s UMK. This band’s music has no boundaries: you can hear a variety of influences all the way from the golden age of disco to catchy modern punk.
Mikael Saari is a charismatic singer-songwriter who draws inspiration from such things as English indie-folk. The music of this 24-year old has a strong emotional resonance. He’s got the voice, the looks, the moves and the charisma! Ilari Hämäläinen is a rocker with sentimentality – a mix most certainly to break some hearts. Ilari grew up with the hard rock heroes of the 1980’s.
All-acoustic instruments and a set of influences that include bluegrass and blues from North America: the four-piece Rautakoura has released five albums to date and all of the members are also seasoned buskers! The winner of the Finnish Idols in 2011, Diandra has a strong voice beyond her 18 years. Diandra has dreamt of being a professional musician since the age of 3 and it looks like her dream is no longer just a dream.
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Two of these acts will proceed straight to the final on the 9th of February in Espoo. Tonight's UMK show takes place at The Cirkus club in Helsinki and features a guest performance by Anssi Kela. Don't forget to watch it live through our WebTV Player starting at 19:40 CET.
