Artist description Aardvark is a band located in Helsinki, Finland, playing their own style combining AOR and progressive rock. In the past years the band was known as Cantor and performed playing well known cover rock classics at weddings, birthday parties and other similar occasions. Over time the members of the band got tired of playing cover material for people only interested at partying, not interested in the music. New inspiration was found in own production. Aardvark is a unique fusion of AOR and progressive rock. This unholy union of contradictory styles has lead to surprisingly positive results. Aardvark's challenging and complicated songs with progressive arrangements and traditional rock-style chorus parts have already got numerous fans in Finland. The material on the album "Nocturnal Mammal" is relating to the big AOR and progressive rock bands ofthe 80's: Journey, Saga, and Genesis. A tribute to Frank Zappa can also be heard in some songs.

Music Style Progressive Rock

Musical Influences Genesis, Asia, Yes, Deep Purple, Frank Zappa, Tasavallan Presidentti

Similar Artists We sound like our selves.

Artist History All of the members have several years of history in different bands. Aardvark writes its own material.

Group Members Virpi Portimo: lead vocals, Aimo Tattari: lead vocals and guitar, Ari Nääppä: guitar, Jari Leppäniemi: Bass, Ari Tamminen: Keyboards, Timo Sivula: drums & vocals

Instruments Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, drums,

Albums Nocturnal Mammal

Press Reviews The rock group Aardvark from Espoo, Finland releases their first long play album on the 19th of January 2001 at a album release concert in Helsinki, Finland. "Nocturnal Mammal" is released on the Internet in the spirit of the new economy.MP3.COM is releasing Nocturnal Mammal, a collection of scorching performances from Aardvark, the seminal Espoo breakout band who first forged the connection between Adult Oriented Rock and Progressive Rock in the late 1990's. One of the most potent concert forces on the planet, Aardvark consistently has filled clubs, arenas, and stadiums around Finland. Nocturnal Mammal is the first legitimate collection of Aardvark performances and the group's first Live electric offering (Nocturnal Mammal includes a live recording of One Day at Tavastia Rock Club in 1998 which upon release of the album reached 15th position on the MP3.COM global progrock charts and stayed in top 40 for over two weeks!) Nocturnal Mammal stands as testimony to the musical power, the emotional vision, and the psychic liberation of Aardvark, a band that fearlessly plumbed the darkness of the mature human soul to find the musical answer to give. "A new paper in the tissueroll of progressive rock has been revealed", said Aimo Tattari, the band spokesperson and lead vocalist, about the new album. When asked why the record took so long in the making Tattari answered: "We made a difficult decision to leave our demanding audience alone to be able to focus on the making of the record. We recognize that our audience has waited for this for a long time, and we are convinced that the record has been worth waiting for." "The album is a image of the present. We have spent time to paint a perfect portrait of our scattered time and the desire for uniqueness in it.", Tattari continued on the contents of the record." Tattari is unwilling to further comment the future of Aardvark: "We do not want to let our lives go passing by. Let's enjoy the moment and take tomorrow when tomorrow comes."

Additional Info See also http://www.colossus.fi/kalevala/Tribute.htm

Location Helsinki, Uusimaa - Finland

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