Ovali Virta

Ovali Virta was formed in Helsinki in the year 2000 by Ville Haimala, Taneli Mansikkamaki, Heikki Salonen. The name of the band was made up during the rehearsals of the group’s first gig in a local bar in Helsinki suburbs. It comes from a misspelled Finnish tango singer called Olavi Virta. The group’s first performances were in 2000 and they have been performing non stop in clubs and festivals ever since. Few years later a guitarist Olli-Pekka Lankinen came along with a twist of mad riffs and a producing will. Before his influence Ovali Virta had been keen on only playing gigs and making live experiences rather than recording.Ovali Virta’s music is a combination of ARTrock and electro performed with analog synthesizers, electric guitars, saxophones, samplers, sequencers and multiple effects. Music has been described as “Playing sax and twisting knobs, creating brittle, angular electro like they were in downtown New York circa 1983.” The music is organic and has lot of dramatic elements. It is played mostly live with lots of feeling based improvisation and flow. The group’s best known trademark is their awe-striking live performances which have been noticed internationally by the media and their cult-audience. One of the main drives behind Ovali Virta is making electronic music look, feel and sound different live, making it a one of a kind experience. In 2001 and 2002 they performed in Koneisto, the biggest festival of electronic music in the northern Europe, and were praised by WIRE magazine on many occasions, one of the biggest and most influential alternative music magazines. “Arriving on the Friday night, bloated on reindeer meat, I was greeted by an extraordinare performance from Ovali Virta, who played a dinky set of electronica above the entrance gate. The quartet was seated with their lo-fi kit in their laps on four bicycles welded together suspended about 15 feet above the ground.” Jerome Maunsell, Wire issue 223 All of the members of Ovali Virta have long musical backgrounds and have studied in different music and art schools like Helsinki Pop&Jazz Conservatory, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. One of the band members took part in Red Bull Music Academy-project in South Africa, where he was taught by a few of the pioneers in electronic music, including Bob Moog. Currently Ovali Virta is in close co-operation with the graphic design collective Vänskap that has made visuals for the group’s graphics and gigs. Vänskap is also supporting the band in the China tour in September 2005.