M. A. Numminen
| M. A. Numminen | |
|---|---|
M. A. Numminen in 1987
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mauri Antero Numminen |
| Also known as | M.A. Numminen, La Kamarado, Ruotsin Kuningas, Viljo Kyttälä, Oriveden Kenkätehdas, Usko Suomalainen, E. Väline, Gommi |
| Born | 12 March 1940 |
| Origin | Somero, Finland |
| Genres | Jazz, tango, rock, schlager, children's songs, avantgarde, psychedelic rock, blues, progressive rock, techno, electronic music, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | singer, musician, composer, author, producer etc. |
| Years active | 1963 –present |
| Associated acts | The Orgiastic Nalle Puh Big Band, Viisi vierasta miestä, Suomen Talvisota 1939–1940, Sähkökvartetti, Gommi ja Pommi, Underground Rock Orchestra, Riemu-Trio |
Mauri Antero Numminen, often known as M.A. Numminen, (born 12 March 1940 in Somero, Southwest Finland) is a Finnish artist, who has worked in several different fields of music and culture.
In the 1960s Numminen was known particularly as an avantgarde, underground artist, stirring controversy with such songs as Nuoren aviomiehen on syytä muistaa ("What a young husband should remember"; the lyrics of the song were taken directly from a guide to newly married couples, and included advice on foreplay) and Naiseni kanssa eduskuntatalon puistossa ("With my woman at the parliament house's park"). He was also a member of the band Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940. In his early days Numminen often tried to provoke people. Here he succeeded well, for example by his interpretations of Franz Schubert's lieder, sung with his own idiosyncratically creaking voice, or managing to create a scandal at the Jyväskylän kesä festival of Jyväskylä in 1966 with his song lyrics taken from a sex guide. Numminen also composed music to the writings of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Numminen founded in 1966 with Pekka Gronow the record label Eteenpäin! ("Forward!"), which released Numminen's own music. Later, Numminen's records were published under the umbrella of the legendary Finnish label Love Records.
Numminen has been one of the unsung pioneers of Finnish electronic music, known for his collaborations with the composer and inventor Erkki Kurenniemi who built for Numminen a "singing machine" with which Numminen participated in a singing contest in 1964, and in the late 1960s the electronic instrument Sähkökvartetti ("Electric Quartet"), the performance of which wreaked havoc in a youth festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sähkökvartetti can be heard on Numminen's track 'Kaukana väijyy ystäviä' (1968).
In 1970 Numminen founded with the pianist Jani Uhlenius a jazz band called Uusrahvaanomainen Jatsiorkesteri ("Neo-Vulgar Jazz Orchestra"), which is still in existence; taking its cues from the 1920s-1940s jazz, swing, foxtrot, etc. Now retired from the band are the members Aaro Kurkela and Kalevi Viitamäki. The current line-up consists alongside Numminen and Uhlenius also of the accordion player Pedro Hietanen, the fiddler Jari Lappalainen and the bassist Heikki "Häkä" Virtanen.
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