Lauri Tähkä

Biographie

Lauri Tähkä has been a star in Finland since the early 2000s, first rising to prominence with his band Elonkerjuu before launching his solo career with top ten single 'Syyskuun Kyy' in 2011.

Born in the city of Vaasa on the West Coast of Finland, Tähkä, Jarkko Suo, professionally known as Lauri Tähkä, trained as a chef but was inspired by local 1970s rock acts such as Eppu Normaali and Ismo Alanko and started out playing with his cousin Simo Ralli in a folk group called Kuudennusmiehet in the 1990s. They mixed rural traditional songs and poetry from South Ostrobothnia with modern soft rock jams and the band were later renamed Lauri Tähkä & Elonkerjuu. They released three number one albums and were named Finnish Artist of the Year five times in a row at the Emma Awards.

Wanting to further focus on his own songwriting, his first two solo albums 'Polte' (2011) and 'Hurmaan' (2013) were full of romantic, introspective ballads and both reached number two in the Finnish chart. Tähkä was reborn as a rootsy, Nordic Schlager singer and in 2014 embarked on a Christmas tour of churches, performing with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

He had his biggest success when fourth album 'Vien Sut Täältä Kotiin' reached number one in 2016 and produced the hit single 'Kipua', returning again with his most personal and emotionally raw album 'Meidän Tulevat Päivät' in 2019.

Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved