Propaganda Records company and Propaganda label are an independent Finnish

record company "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

and a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

established in 1981. Since the beginning

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

-based Propaganda specialized in independent

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

music and hardcore. The label dominated the Finnish hardcore punk and underground scene from the early 1980s until 1986. Releases were soon distributed in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the United States. They soon began reissues in West Germany.

Propaganda history

The Finnish Propaganda Records was founded in the beginning of 1981 in Helsinki by Heikki Vilenius. The actual label logo Propaganda had already been created in the summer of 1979 for the Propaganda fanzine issues. Soon after the first releases the founder had a continuing radio program at Finnish

Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

with name Suomirock. The name has become as an important part of meaning of Finnish rock within the later decades. Quite soon after the first Propaganda compilation album, ''Propaganda - Russia bombs Finland'', in 1982 they announced co-operation with

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

shop Jensen Studio and Rockphone with a show at

Lepakko Lepakko or Lepakkoluola was a self-managed social centre and a music venue in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, Finland, functioning from 1979 to 1999. History The building was a paint company warehouse located at Porkkalankatu 1 in the Ruoholahti distric ...

luola, the former addict flophouse, with a pile of performing bands. Rockphone traded Propaganda issues well and imported actual punk rock until

The Lords of the New Church The Lords of the New Church were a British-American rock music, rock band. A Supergroup (music), supergroup, the line-up originally consisted of four musicians from 1970s punk rock, punk bands. This line-up comprised vocalist Stiv Bators (ex-th ...

from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

via aeroplane. Later Propaganda arranged several hardcore shows in the year by the same way. Puntala-rock 1983 was one of the same kind of festivals around Finland. The event has returned latest since 2000 and has always performers around the world. In the late 1982 album issues Valtion vankina (As Prisoner of State) from Riistetyt and Ei raha oo mun valuuttaa (Money Is Not My Currency) from

Appendix Appendix (: appendices or appendixes) may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (publis ...

were just what was needed to offer a total shot of Finnish hardcore. A small flat record Totaalinen Kaaos (Total Chaos] by Kaaos was enough for a while. Soon in 1983 the other

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

Herbert Egoldt from West German

Rock-O-Rama Rock-O-Rama Records is a Cologne-based German independent record label that operated between 1980 and 1994, established and run by Herbert Egoldt. Though initially dedicated to releasing and distributing left-wing or apolitical German and interna ...

Records was interested to reissue and issue a couple of dozen albums from Finnish Propaganda Records. If the reason began from Egoldt's rockabilly years with

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

in Britain since the late 1960s or comment by

, who wrote to Egoldt in May 1980: "One thing about the records. Why do German singers sing in English? Is it because it is fashionable? Or is it a marketing consideration? Whichever it is, I think they should sing in German anyway." Now those were singing in Finnish in West Germany and in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. That will make a lot of sense. The Bastards were among the first ones to tour in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Since beginning of 1984 the albums were distributed by new company the German

SPV GmbH SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...

to all of Western Europe. In the same time in 1983 Propaganda was already like hot stuff in

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...

as the American ''

Maximum Rocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and ...

'' from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

wrote reviews and articles. As the albums were at Top 10 lists on couple of dozens MRR

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

s all over United States including the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

stations in many states. Later

Terveet Kädet Terveet Kädet are a Finnish hardcore punk band. The group was founded in Tornio in January 1980. They have had a major influence on bands from all over the world, especially in Brazil (which some have claimed was because of a member from the le ...

appeared on ''Maximum Rocknroll'' international punk and hardcore compilation album, Welcome to 1984. But as much earlier The Bastards reached appearing on World Class Punk compilation from

ROIR ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. Background ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...

with 1982 material. Propaganda was a moment earlier for a while a local company for Reachout International Records in Finland as

Mykel Board Mykel Board (born January 31, 1950) is an American journalist, musician, and writer of English-language haiku. Bibliography * ''Even A Daughter Is Better Than Nothing'' Garrett Country Press (2005) * ''I A, Me-ist'' Hope and Nonthings Press ...

was visited in Finland and made a promotion at Finnish broadcasting company Yle.

was as well a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

from ''Maximum Rocknroll'', but his own home district was at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

like for his own company Seidboard International and for

Neil Cooper (ROIR) Neil Cooper (1930–2001) was the founder and head of independent US cassette and record label ROIR."A record firm that zigs while all the rest zag" by John Milward in ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', Thursday, March 29, 1990

. In 1984 changed Riistetyt and The Holy Dolls were the first ones to tour around the United States from the east coast to the west coast with 30 gigs. They played at

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

with

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

at Olympic Hall,

Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...

. Italian

Raw Power ''Raw Power'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on February 7, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two ...

was the other band with the Riistetyt during the tour. The Brazilian punks were very keen on that foreign material, fashion stuff and bands. Later

was reissued there. It took until 2001 as Riistetyt toured in

for the first time. Since then there have been a lot of large tours around Brazil. In the late 1980s Propaganda made more Suomirock,

melodic rock Rock is a genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and made the incoming of Finnish

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 ...

The next century

Since 1993 have been many reissues on many labels and a pile of new bands performing with various

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...

Propaganda fanzine

Propaganda magazine, fanzine started in Finland in early 1979 and was in the beginning issued from

Häme Tavastia (; ; ; also called ''Yam'' (Ямь) or ''Yem'' (Емь) in Russian sources) is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa. History The province has been ...

. Later in 1980 it was located in northern Helsinki. A dozen of different zines have been reissued with reissued

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

s past the last two decades in Germany and Finland. During a couple of last years in Helsinki founded Oranssi ry. has made an

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

concerning around 300 fanzine issues from Finland and including yet some Propaganda issues. The

operation Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

is financed by the Finnish government via

Ministry of Education and Culture A ministry of education and culture is a cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the ministry of education and the ministry of culture are separate departments; in others, the ministry of education and culture al ...

and is run with Suomen Jazz and Pop Arkisto (JAPA). JAPA has 300 meters as archived material and it is administering DigiWiki-portal. The issues are still alive.

Co-operatives

Records, West Germany * Rough Trade, United States * Finnlevy,

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, ...

* Kråklund Records, Finland * Höhnie Records, Germany * Havoc Records, United States *

Playground Music Scandinavia Playground Music Scandinavia AB (PGM) is an independent record company from Scandinavia, founded in 1999. The company operates across Scandinavia with offices in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Additionally, it has established local distr ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

* Svart Records, Finland

Some of the roster

* Kaaos *

* Riistetyt * Bastards * Pyhät Nuket * Holy Dolls * Nuket * Massacre * 013 * Korroosio * Plastic Tears * Tinneri * Dave Forestfield * Jussi Kettu * Rudi * Kansan Uutiset * Vaurio * Destrucktions

References

Oranssi archiv - 300 fanzine issues
* JEeJEeJEe – suomalaisen rockin historia ( WSOY); pages 324-327 * JeeJeeJee/Radiomafia (Santtu Luoto, Yle); parts From Propaganda to hardcore and

Yö Yö () is a Finland, Finnish rock music, rock band, formed in 1981 in Pori. The band has had many line-up changes during their history, and almost 20 different musicians play or have played with the band. Yö's first line-up included singer O ...

-part *

, issues 1983-1984 * Suomipunk 1977–1998 (Jarkko Kuivanen, Yle); book * Jungle, record collector magazine; 1/1995 * Parasta lapsille - Suomipunk 1977-1984 (Mika Saastamoinen, Johnny Kniga); book
Suntuubi - Punk

External links

Propaganda Records official website

Propaganda discography at Discogs.com

Propaganda Records discography at Discogs.com
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1981 Post-hardcore record labels Punk record labels Hardcore record labels Indie rock record labels Alternative rock record labels Rock record labels Pop record labels Finnish record labels