Black vinyl, with 44 page booklet.

Two LPs of Finnish rarities from the era right after punk rock had surged over the land at the turn of the 1980’s. The 22 fervent artist and bands on this record were riding on top of the new wave. Among the 27 tracks a variety of the most imaginative sounds can be heard. The music varies from naive pop to deformed rock and from mod revival to synthesizer bliss to distorted noise. Most of the music originates from c-cassettes that previously have been – if circulated at all – duplicated only in tiny quantities to be distributed among the creators’ circle of friends. The recordings have been professionally restored and remastered for a sonic adventure in a previously unexplored realm in the history of Finnish popular music. The entity is supplemented by a 44 page booklet that reveals the background of the 22 artists and bands.

From the international and domestic cultural turbulence the new wave musicians picked up an encouraging message that seemed not only to say that “You can do it” but also to “Trust even your most outrageous visions”. One can only wonder whether their chosen form of art was also a battle cry against the grayness of Finlandization, restrictions on production of popular music and overall backwardness and narrowmindedness. Whatever the truth, the artists on this compilation rarely dared to dream of a recording contract. Even those who did sign one opted to ignore the star cult and cherished the creation of their own music on their own terms. The end result documented here is unparalleled music, which at times follows traditional song structures – and at other times has no point of reference at all.