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Artist
Olli Koskela
4+ albums
singer-songwriterrockkoskela
about
Born in rural Finland, Olli is the second child to a teacher couple. Growing up among many instruments, he soon starts showing interest towards music. While attending the school choir and taking trumpet lessons, he discovers a love for the 6-string. Plucking a simple melody on only one string, Olli is fascinated by the instrument. His father buys him an electric guitar as a Christmas gift and he starts rehearsing enthusiastically. Various school projects and bands follow with Olli on guitar as well as on lead vocals but he doesn..t feel comfortable singing in front of people. The small town far away from big cities and music business is starting to seem too isolated for the young man and eventually he heads for Southern Finland, towards Helsinki. Still suffering from the embarrassment of his vocals but at the same time ambitious for a musical career, Olli plays lead guitar on a glam band Plastic Tears while struggling to sing even backing vocals. He rehearses singing at home by himself and finally conquers his fears. He forms a band named Bill Skins 5th and after they split up, he forms Valerian with a drummer Tipi Andersson. Valerian gains minor success in the Helsinki area. After 11 Valerian years and line-up changes and as the band goes on hiatus, Olli feels the time is ripe for a solo career. Olli draws his inspiration from many decades and styles but at the same time stays true to his own voice and expression. His debut solo album "Deep River Dive" was released in Nov
