Disco Ensemble was a Finnish

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, originating from the small town of Ulvila. They have been noted for their energetic sound and rhythm, original guitar riffs and electronic synthesizer sounds.

History

Early years (1996–2002)

The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist Jussi Ylikoski and drummer Mikko Hakila, who started by playing Metallica and AC/DC covers. Originally they were named simply ''DisCo.'' but they were forced to change their name to Disco Ensemble due to a Finnish electronic pop group having the same title. The band played small venues and quickly gained notoriety in the local music scene. In 2000, future singer Miikka Koivisto attended one of their shows as a fan and later joined the band, first as a guitarist and later switching to vocals. After the three band members moved to study in Helsinki, they went through a number of bass players until Lasse Lindfors joined the group as a permanent member. The band released their first EP ''Memory Three Sec'' in 2000. This was a lo-fi recording and it did not receive much attention. More notoriety came with their second effort ''Ghosttown Effect'', released in 2001. The band's first single "Turpentine", was released off this EP.

''Viper Ethics'' (2003–2005)

In 2003,

Fullsteam Records Fullsteam Records is an independent group of music companies whose activities include a record label, promotion and booking agency, festivals, a distribution company, rehearsal rooms, merchandising, publishing and management. Awarded as the "indep ...

signed Disco Ensemble and their first full-length album, '' Viper Ethics'', was released the same year. The album received critical acclaim and the single "Videotapes" was moderately successful, peaking at No. 17 on Finnish charts. This allowed the band to tour in Finland and around Europe as well.

''First Aid Kit'' (2005)

Disco Ensemble's second album, ''

First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...

'', was released in 2005. It was unquestionably the band's most commercially successful release. The album peaked at No. 9 on the official Finnish chart. The singles "Black Euro" and "We Might Fall Apart" both peaked at No. 6 on the singles chart. In the spring of 2006, following the national success of the second album, Disco Ensemble and Fullsteam Records signed a worldwide distribution deal with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. ''First Aid Kit'' was reissued and released first in

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and later in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The band toured heavily in promotion of the album. They embarked on the Antidote Tour with Danko Jones,

Bedouin Soundclash Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair, and various session musicians. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin ...

and Gogol Bordello They also played on

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

's Most Wanted tour and in 2007 joined the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

. Songs from this album appeared on the soundtracks of two

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

games—"We Might Fall Apart" was used on the game ''

FIFA 08 ''FIFA 08'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 08'' in North America) is a Association football, football Simulation video game, simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on all po ...

'', while "This is my Head Exploding" was used on '' NHL 08''. The song "Black Euro" was used on the game '' MotoGP '08.''

''Magic Recoveries'' (2008)

Their third studio album '' Magic Recoveries'' was released on 5 May 2008. The band have since reached number 1 in the Finnish Album chart with their new album. EP ''Back On The MF Street'' was released in spring 2009. The song ''Golden Years'' from the EP was used in the video game '' NHL 10''.

''The Island of Disco Ensemble'' (2010)

Their fourth studio album '' The Island of Disco Ensemble'' was released on May, 26th 2010. First single from the album ''White Flag For Peace'' was released and aired in the Finnish radio channel YleX on 15 February 2010.

''Warriors'' (2012)

Disco Ensemble announced the release of an album in 2012. The song "Your Shadow" was released ahead of the album in March. On August 20 the first single "Second Soul" premiered on YleX Radio. On August 21, the band revealed that the album was entitled ''Warriors'', with the album being released on September 21. "Second Soul" was then officially released on August 22.

''Afterlife (2017) and Farewell tour''

Disco Ensemble released their sixth album "Afterlife" on January 27, 2017, again through Fullsteam records. Their final tour, named the Last Nights Out – The Farewell Tour, was from 25 October 2018 to 8 December 2018. The final 9 days of the tour were held at the Tavastia Klubi in Helsinki, Finland.

Gallery

Image:Jussi_Ylikoski,_Disco_Ensemble,_Bochum_2007.jpg, Jussi Ylikoski -

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Image:Lasse_Lindfors,_Disco_Ensemble,_Bochum_2007.jpg, Lasse Lindfors -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Image:Miikka_Koivisto,_Disco_Ensemble,_Bochum_2007.jpg, Miikka Koivisto- vocal, DJ Keyboard Image:Mikko_Hakila,_Disco_Ensemble,_Bochum_2007.jpg, Mikko Hakila -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Discography

Albums

* '' Viper Ethics'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Magic Recoveries'' (2008) * '' The Island of Disco Ensemble (2010)'' * ''

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

'' (2012) * ''Afterlife'' (2017)

EPs

* ''Memory Three Sec.'' (2000) * ''Ghosttown Effect'' (2001) * ''Back On the MF Street'' (2009)

Singles

* ''Turpentine'' (2002) * ''Transatlantic'' (2002) * ''Mantra'' (2003) * ''Videotapes'' (2004) * ''We Might Fall Apart'' (2005) * ''Black Euro'' (2005) * ''Drop Dead, Casanova'' (2006) * '' Bad Luck Charm'' (2008) * ''Headphones'' (2008) * ''Back On The MF Street'' (2009) * ''Lefty'' (2010) * ''White Flag For Peace'' (2010) * ''Protector'' (2010) * ''Second Soul'' (2012) * ''Fight Forever'' (2017)

DVDs

* ''Video Vortex'' (2008)

References

External links

Disco Ensemble Official Site
at Rocklouder
Interview with Jussi Ylikoski
at Onemetal {{Authority control Finnish musical groups Post-hardcore groups Musical groups established in 1996