The Valkyrians is currently considered to be Finland´s smartest and most successful Ska-/Rocksteady outfit. Their musical inspiration stems from 60´s Jamaican music, and from the British 2 Tone releases of the 70´s and 80´s. To all these spices the band adds a spoonful of their own brilliant pop sensibility which results as an extremely positive and energetic dance music. The Valkyrians has conquered a deserved status on the forefront of the Finnish musical scene. As a proof there are several high praised live reviews and all kinds of awards: ”The Most Dancable Act of 2006”, ”Best Song Of 2006” to name just two. The word got around in ska circles and soon they had to take their action to mainland Europe too. Now, a couple of years later they can actually think of Berlin as their second home town.
Their debut album ”High And Mighty” (2006) reached #26 on the national Finnish album chart and got a lot of air play on dozens of radio stations all over Finland. It was also released in Germany, Benelux countries and Spain in 2007.
Stupido Records released the band’s second album, The Beat of Our Street, in 2009. It climbed up to number 29 in the charts. The band went on a tour that lasted the best part of a year: Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Holland, Belgium, and Sweden all received the gospel of skanking to the beat.
Come late 2010 and the band started thinking about album number three. They wanted to try something different and decided to approach the songs they’d loved in their youth from a different perspective. A Valkyrian perspective. Eventually it boiled down to covering punk and new wave classics from the late-70s and the early-80s and infusing them with some rhythmic Caribbean magic. After some fairly brutal arranging sessions, the band retired to Seawolf Studios on the fortress island of Suomenlinna. It was a very snowy and cold December. The Valkyrians, mixing engineer Petri Majuri and recording engineer Pasi Hartikainen worked until June of 2011.
It’s all about punk dressed in rudeboy garb, with rocksteady, ska and reggae rhythms. The album is an homage to the classics of past decades and the people who created them. They’ve all had a major impact on the musical and spiritual development The Valkyrians and its constituent parts. The roots of the band are in punk.
Some artists worth mentioning: The Clash, Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello, 999, Devo, The Only Ones, Misfits, Sham 69, Wire… And many more. The future sure is bright. And the band is now thinking about what to do for album number four.