Shamrain

Biography

Shamrain from Finland creates dark atmospheric rock blended with ethereal, dreamlike soundscapes. In October 2000 Matti and Janne come up with an idea of a band playing slow, dreamlike material. During the winter, some songs were written and recorded. As they needed someone to vocalize their words scribbled down in distress, they asked Mika to try it out. Mika's voice fit the music perfectly and in autumn 2001 this trio gave birth to the first ShamRain release. Pieces EP saw the light of day Fe...

Shamrain from Finland creates dark atmospheric rock blended with ethereal, dreamlike soundscapes.

In October 2000 Matti and Janne come up with an idea of a band playing slow, dreamlike material. During the winter, some songs were written and recorded. As they needed someone to vocalize their words scribbled down in distress, they asked Mika to try it out. Mika's voice fit the music perfectly and in autumn 2001 this trio gave birth to the first ShamRain release. Pieces EP saw the light of day February 2002.

In 2002 more songs were written and the first permanent guitarist, Kalle, joined the band. Later the band signed a deal with Watch Me Fall Records. The recordings of the debut album, Empty World Excursion, took place during the summer and autumn 2003. By this time, the band's music evolved into a combination of dark melancholic rock and slow, ethereal elements. EWE is put out by WMF in December and gains a lot of good reviews.

The following year, the band recorded a few unused songs written for EWE and a The Cure cover song. These were released on a The Cure tribute album and a 7" vinyl, simply called the ShamRain EP. New songs were written during the spring and summer. In autumn 2004, demo sessions for the 2nd album began and 13 new songs were recorded. At this time a second guitarist, Mikko, was recruited to enforce the band. The deal with WMF dissolves and a new deal was made with Firebox Records. In December recordings of a new album finally started at Akun Tehdas and the sessions stretched to last almost 4 months, before getting the final touch at FinnVox studios. The album is titled Someplace Else and was released in June 2005. It includes some new elements, still being a logical sequel to EWE. And as EWE, Someplace Else also gained a lot of great feedback, including many 'full points' reviews.

During autumn 2005 Shamrain recorded demos of new songs, which together with unused songs from the Someplace Else sessions formed the next release, Deeper into the night MCD. During the winter ShamRain recorded the MCD and finally played their first gigs. Deeper into the night was released April 2006 revealing ShamRain more uptempo than ever, whilst maintaining the quiet and slow moments that make their sound unique.

While getting the songs together for the 3rd album, Shamrain was offered a deal by Spikefarm Records. As soon as the deal was sorted out, the band escaped the summer brightness to the studio. The sessions turned out to be the hardest recording sessions ever. It took a lot of despair and disagreements, not to mention time, to get the album finalized, but it seems to be worth it. The new album represented the band more challenging and varieting as never before. The basic, ethereal Shamrain elements are still there, while the progress was getting the band into more rocking scales in the vein of British legends like Radiohead, The Cure, Placebo and Porcupine Tree. The album is titled Goodbye to All That, released 31.10.2007.

In 2011 Shamrain released Isolation, the first album featuring new female singer Minna Sihvonen

Line-up

Minna Sihvonen - Vocals
Kalle Pyyhtinen - Guitars, keyboards
Mikko Kolari - Guitars
Matti Reinola - Bass guitar, keyboards
Jukka Laine - Drums

Past members

* Janne Jukarainen - Drums
* Mika Tauriainen - Vocals
* Risto Ylönen - Keyboards


Published albums

* Pieces - MCD (2/2002)
* Empty World Excursion (12/2003)
* ShamRain (EP/2004)
* Someplace Else (6/2005)
* Deeper into the Night -EP (4/2006)
* Goodbye to All That (2007)
* Isolation (2011) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.