Our Biography so far

BIRTH…

… of the group took place in the year 2008 when two childhood friends Anssi and Jaakko met each other after a long while. This was when Anssi popped the big question and asked if they could form a band since they had been enjoying and playing music together and apart since kindergarten. Anssi had some melodic good-mooded rock tunes waiting to be finished and Jaakko eagerly joined forces with him and the band was born.

GETTING NAMED…

…was an important part of growing an identity for the band. After a while it came to be clear that forming a band was a magnificent idea, but what to call the band? It didn’t take long for Anssi to come up with the name “Hope Shallows” and the kind of sentimental mystery that came with it got both of the friends convinced to keep the name.

GROWING UP…

..the time went on and the song library grew and it started to be essential for the band to have more players. As far as the yet non-existing rhythm section was concerned the guys were ever so lucky to know a highly skilled metal drummer Markus. Anxious to find out if Markus would be interested in also playing some softer music, they asked him to join. After hearing couple of songs A and J had done so far the progressive metal man gave the green light.

HOW THE SONGS WERE AND STILL ARE MADE…

… is a creative process and they have their own way of doing it. Things develop in a certain order. First Anssi comes up with the base idea for the songs meaning chords and melodies and sometimes part of the lyrics – in others words the foundation. After that Anssi presents the song to Jaakko and he writes the lyrics and comes up with occasional guitar melodies. The cooperation is almost symbiotic. The song is then perfected with Markus and his wild and groovy rhythms and the wide knowledge of nearly all musical genres known to man. This is – to keep it simple – the way the Hope Shallows magic is written.

BECOMING COMPLETE…

…needed one more brushstroke on the canvas. Studiosessions on the run and the first live gig looming in the horizon the band had yet again a shortage in players. It was – to be fair – close to impossiple for Anssi to play both guitar and bass at the same time when performing for a live audience. It was due to recruit a bass player. From Markus’s heavy metal band was the best place to start digging and so Tuukka was found – The man who makes the rest of the band look short and the bass pure velvet. The hairy monsterman had been listening to Hope Shallows tunes earlier and didn’t hesitate too long as Markus asked him to come play the bass for the debut performance. Originally the band intended only to add another player in the group only for live shows but after only few rehearsals it was ever so clear that Tuukka was a keeper.

TIME TO THRIVE…

… is yet to come and the band is working hard while hoping that the same wistful but happy atmosphere they season their tunes with comes across to people who listen to their music.


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