Free Spirit is a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band from

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

who write and compose their own songs. In 2009, the band released their debut album which was followed by the second album in 2014. Both albums were recorded and produced in the band's own studio facility. Taken from

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

's book '' The Antichrist'', the band's name describes a Free Spirit in chapter 13 as a person who is not bound to religion or politics.

Members

* Sami Alho –

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Vesa Yli-Mäenpää –

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 ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Marko Haapamäki –

Sami Hämäläinen Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise n ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Timo Alho – keyboards * Pasi Koivumäki –

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 ...

History

Formed in the mid-1990s, the original members of Free Spirit were Sami Alho, Pasi Koivumäki and bass player Sami Hämäliäinen, a day-one band member. The original line-up recorded a three-song EP "Rainmaker" 1998 for the Carpel Music label. After changing three of its six members, the musical direction of the band saw a dramatic change. The current line-up was developed from 2006 until 2008. After guitarist Vesa Yli-Mäenpää joined, the band started to record their first album. During the recording sessions, Vesa's childhood friend Markku Keski-Mäenpää joined Free Spirit. Timo Alho played the keyboards on all studio recordings and also became a full member of the band. Markku moved to Africa before the release of the debut album. He was replaced by Marko Haapamäki. During spring of 2010 “''Pale Sister of Light''” received good reviews from international media. In 2011 the album was released for the video games: Rock Band 2 and 3. Recording of the second album ''All the Shades of Darkened Light'' began midsummer 2010 and was finished in summer 2012. The final mix of the album was ready in February 2013. The first single, "Living Tattoo", was released mid October 2013. "Hysteria" was chosen as second single release. This song was also featured on the soundtrack of a Finnish werewolf-themed motion picture '' Anselmi: The Young Werewolf''. Lead singer Sami Alho plays one of the main roles in the movie. The follow-up album ''All The Shades Of Darkened Light'' also received positive feedback from international media. The band played its first shows at music festivals.

Music

The music of Free Spirit includes the essential elements of classic rock and adult-oriented rock, mixed up with progressive and heavy shades, Celtic and folk music blends and a contemporary touch. Strong melodies and harmonies as well as lyrical lead vocals and multilayer choirs are important characteristics of the band's music. In their lyrics the band tells stories about all the shades of human life, like euphoria, heartache or love. All the songs are written in English language.Interview with Sami Alho at Rocktopia.co.uk
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Discography

Studio albums * ''Rainmaker" P(1998; Carpel Music Oy) * ''Pale Sister Of Light'' (2009; Carpel Music Oy) * ''All The Shades Of Darkened Light'' (2014; Carpel Music Oy) Singles * ''Heroes Don't Cry'' (2005; Low Frequency Records) * ''Living Tattoo'' (2013; mp3 only) * ''Hysteria'' (2014; mp3 only) Official videos * ''Until The Night'' (2009) * ''Hysteria'' (2014) * ''Fever'' (2014) * ''Carry On'' (2014) Soundtracks * ''Hysteria'' (2014, released within “Anselmi, Nuori Ihmissusi”)

References

External links

Official webpage

Free Spirit at MusicBrainz
{{Authority control Finnish musical groups