I'm a Finnish singer/songwriter-musician living in Helsinki.
I was born and raised at the countryside of Finland.
Our family moved around the Savonia area several times, my father, a forest engineer, had to move frequently due to his job...
Rautalampi, Nilsiä, Enonkoski, Rantasalmi; all those little villages I lived in my youth.
At an early age I had I happened to hear the sounds of piano coming from our neighbour; my friend there had a piano and I just loved it .
So I was able to have my first piano lessons at their house.Later on we got our own piano. Even then I made my first little tunes.
When I turned nine years old I enrolled at the Savonlinna Music Institute and started playing violin there.
I was singing in the choir and participating in different musical projects while in elementary school and sometimes I performed on violin.
In the beginning I was horrified; I really didn't like performing in front of the audience. At one point I actually swore that I'd never become any kind of musician, I'd rather become a gym teacher… well, here we are :))!
At the age of 15 I got my first guitar, a little nylon string acoustic. I had always sang a lot, I liked it and made my little songs.
I have three brothers who all have good voices; we used to sing in harmony during long car trips.
When I was 17 I finally drummed up the courage to sing one of my own songs in front of an audience at one art happening. It was a great relief to be able to do so despite the terrible nervousness I encountered when I had to be on stage.
I had a chance to travel the world at the age of seventeen. I spent a year as an exchange student in London, Ohio. While there my English greatly improved.
While there I sang in the school choir and performed in a talent show.
I loved to be able to listen to all those music channels on the radio..in the US they had sooo many of them, in Finland just couple of channels with very little to choose from at that time.
When I returned back to Finland there was a choir in our high school for which I had the chance to sing a solo part in a Christmas show.
One guy from our school, who had his own band, heard me singing and asked if I wanted to join their band FARGON.
So that's how I got into my first rock band, we made our own songs and even had one self published single that was selling in local stores .
We were so proud!
After my graduation I moved to Helsinki to study pop music.
At that time there was only one school for music in Finland, Oulunkylä Pop-Jazz Institute. I studied pop-singing and theory for three years and also played some drums, sustaining myself by working in a bakery shop and a restaurant at the same time.
I also joined a band from Porvoo, about 30 miles from Helsinki. I travelled there about three times a week to practice. We performed our own material and made some demo tapes.
We sent our demo tape to EMI Finland and soon a guy from EMI called and said he liked the tape and wanted to meet me! I just about choked on the bun I was eating in the back room of the bakery shop!
So we met and he showed me some songs written by a guy named Twiggy Oliver. That is how my career started, I made my first solo album, MARIA DOLORES, at that time.
I was never very comfortable in the shoes of "Maria Dolores"; that didn't last long but it allowed me to get my voice heard. They played my music on the national radio quite a lot and some shows on TV ,too.
That kind of opened the door to the world of the Finnish music "business."
So all this has been leading to where I am now...
Throughout the years I've been co-operating with many Finnish and international artists, touring with them, singing and playing on their records; some artists are Michael Monroe, Dave Lindholm,Pelle Miljoona, Jukka Tolonen, Havana Black, Hector, Mannhai,Liisa Akimof,Gösta Sundqvist etc.(see DISCOGRAPHY below).
I have written a couple of solo albums in Finnish and English with my band EXTRA VIRGIN, I've been a featured artist for many bands too.
Free Image HostingBob Margolin with Maria H.
My main instrument is my voice but I also play bass, violin, guitar, piano, percussion and some drums, too.
I might not be very known to the general public but I think this is the best way for me... to be able to work with many different people for different occasions and projects.
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MY BANDS (active) AT THE MOMENT (2008):
-PELLE MILJOONA UNABOMBER - bass player,vocals
-H.A.R.P. - lead vocalist
-MARIA HÄNNINEN DUO (with Ilkka Kaikkonen on guitar)- lead vocal, acoustic guitar, violin
-MARIA HÄNNINEN BAND (Ilkka Kaikkonen guit&voc, Jarkko Rantanen drs, Maria bass,vocal)
-HÄNNISONS (activated when needed) - Maria lead vocal, Risto Hänninen Rhodes&lead vocal, Pertti Hänninen guitar&lead vocal, Ville Hänninen drs, Risto Piutunen bass
I'm also making new material for my upcoming album in English this time.
check out also:
Maria's home pages ::: These pages are in Finnish
EXTRA VIRGIN ::: Check Out EXTRA VIRGIN in Myspace!!!
EXTRA VIRGIN ::: OUR GREAT HARD-ROCKIN' TRIO!!!
maria h- blog :::Check out my new blog (in English)
..
Discography:
1986
- solo MARIA DOLORES (Twiggy Oliver..s songs) JUSSI KETTU "Tuli rautatie"
1987
- LIISA AKIMOF & AKIMOWSKAJA SISTERS & BROS "Alkava Pimeä vuodenaika" EEKI MANTERE "Synnyin kiertämään" 22 PISTEPIRKKO "The Kings of Hong Kong"
1988
- FREUD, MARX, ENGELS & JUNG "Jokainen hakee juomansa itse" HECTOR "Varjot ja lakanat" FME&J "Takamehtien mekatähtiä"
1989
- FREUD, MARX, ENGELS & JUNG "Siunattu Hulluus" PEPE AHLQVIST & HARP RIKI SORSA "Roomanpunaista" ESA ELORANTA "Kipinä" TUMPPI VARONEN "Kuuma rakkaus" MAAN HILJAISET "Tähän on tultu" Single: JUNNU VAINIO "Kaiken yllä aarnikotka liitää"
1990
- NIKO AHVONEN & HOT SHOTS "Showtime" LIISA AKIMOF "Teen maailman"
1991
- JYRKI "SPEEDY" SAARINEN "Don't bother the neighbours"
1992
- TORTILLA FLAT "Nightshift"
1993
- PPPETELIUS & MIKKO KIVINEN "A' la maailmanmusiikkia" PELLE MILJOONA "Abc" KANUUNA "Aistiharhaa" FREUD, MARX, ENGELS & JUNG "Anjovissalaattia"
1994
- own solo MARIA & MANTA RAYS "Ai sua mua"
1996
- AVANTI! WITH FRIENDS "Rockover" HEINÄSIRKKA "Rautaa ja magneettia" SMILERS "Take five" PEKKA MYLLYKOSKI & TOILET DOORS
1997
- DAVE LINDHOLM, LADY & CANPAZA GYPSYS "Hot"
1998
- HEINÄSIRKKA "Valon lapsi" PROBLEMS "Niin että riittää.." PATE MUSTAJÄRVI "Jukeboxin luona" COLME COWBOYTA "Kuuden tähden Hotelli" JOLLY JUMPERS "Ruis" TONI ROSSI & SINITAIVAS "Karavaani kulkee" KAPSAEK "First and last" DOOBIE TWISTERS "Black or white" Single: WOLF LARSEN "The ballad of Arkadi"
1999
- RISTO HÄNNINEN "Juhlien jälkeen" MILESTONES
2000
- MATTI KERVINEN "Flutter" TOPI SORSAKOSKI "Evergreens"
2001
- BALLS "Skinny Dipping" LIISANPUISTO "Mun kaupunki" RADIO SUOMIPOP "31 kotimaista" Single: MARIA HÄNNINEN "Niinpä niin" Single: MISSING LINK feat. MARIA "Sunshine"
2002
- LEEVI& THE LEAVINGS "Onnen avaimet" Single: NUOSKA FEAT.MARIA "Sunny Sunday" Single: MISSING LINK FEAT. MARIA "Paradise"
2003
- HANOI ROCKS "Twelwe shots on the rocks" MICHAEL MONROE solo-cd "Whatcha Want" LEEVI& THE LEAVINGS "Hopeahääpäivä" MARIA HÄNNINEN "Kaikki muuttuu...jotakin jää" ARTO VILKKO "Arto Vilkko"
2004
- MANNHAI "The Exploder" THE GRAMMERS "Money& Glory" THE BLACK CLOWN "Big City Drive"PELLE MILJOONA & ROCKERS " Setä Samulin Sirkus"
2005
- KARI PEITSAMO & FREUD, MARX, ENGELS & JUNG "Amerikkalaisia unelmia" VERENPISARA "Irtileikattu" PAX ROMANA "Trace Of Light"
2006
- EXTRA VIRGIN "Extra Virgin" BABY WOODROSE(Denmark) "Love Comes Down" EERO KOIVISTOINEN MUSIC SOCIETY "X-Ray" ÄRRÄPÄÄ ORCHESTRA "On The Loose" DAVE LINDHOLM IN ENGLISH "Live 2006 quot; THE SOULSHAKERS "FRI 13th "
coming out 2007
- BRIGHT LIGHTNING"Taking A Vacation From Me (coming in spring 2007)" THE GRAMMERS "No Redeemer(spring 2007?)"
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