Ultra Bra

Ultra Bra has definitely been one of the most important bands in Finland. Their stylish crossover between pop and rock music touched people from both popular and underground music audience, so it's no wonder that they sold more albums than any other rock artist in the '90s. Ultra Bra's diverse sound is a result of multi-instrumentalism -- they have a wide collection of players from traditional rock to string orchestra. Also it's not surprising that their music is quite popular among highly educated young people, because of the politically left-oriented lyrics. For that reason Ultra Bra had serious problems in getting rid of their politicized status. Actually Ultra Bra was politically branded when they attended a political music contest arranged by the Finnish Social Democratic Party in autumn 1994. Ultra Bra was formed just for this contest, but because they won it, they received an offer to record a single as a prize. So was born Houkutusten Kiihoittava Maku EP, which became a big hit in Finland. Ultra Bra didn't do anything else for a while, but slowly their reputation grew by itself. And it was obvious that a band like Ultra Bra would get a recording contract. So by the summer of 1995, they spent their time in the studio, recording their debut album, Vapaaherran Elämää. This album contained many hits, including "Sankaritar," "Ken Saro-Wiwa On Kuollut," and a song from the previously mentioned contest, "Taksi, Veturi, Valtamerilaiva." It was not only these songs that kept Ultra Bra's reputation growing -- the whole album and extremely successful live concerts amazed all of Finland. Even the critics were satisfied -- Vapaaherran Elämää was chosen the Album of the Year in Finland in 1996. Ultra Bra toured the following autumn and spring, and in summer 1997 they started...