Maasto Records is a Finnish urban reggae and dancehall production company founded by musicians / producers Emil and Fellow M. The aim of Maasto is to blend different forms of urban bass music and spread reggae and dancehall to places where they are not normally heard. The love for tight bass and banging backbeats is a driving force in Maasto Records' activites. Good music should be celebrated because it's a vehicle that you can drive through and over any terrain. Hence the Finnish word for terrain = Maasto.
Emil has since 1995 been involved in different musical projects, when he entered the Finnish hip hop scene as a producer and emcee in the pioneering duo 'Fellaz'. Hopping in and out of some smaller initiatives Emil began in 2001 producing more organic music with the still ongoing trip hop collective The Dobson Unit. Trained as a piano player and at times functioning as a teacher, Emil is more active with melodies in Maasto productions even if the roles often overlap. At the moment Emil is also active as a musicology master student writing about dancehall reggae and sound systems.
Fellow M has worked with music in different bands since 1993. Today he is a versitile club promoter and DJ, mostly influenced by Jamaican and Brazilian music, afro beat, soul and different forms of electronic music. A 10 year experience as a drum teacher has also placed Fellow M in the centre of Maasto rhytms. In his drum production, he tries to maintain a fresh perspective and inspiration comes also from the visual arts field. Fellow M has been running a gallery, 'Klubigalleria', since 2002, where he combines music and contemporary visual art.
