Ismo Alanko

Ismo Kullervo Alanko (born November 12, 1960, Helsinki, Finland) is a popular Finnish rock singer/songwriter.

Raised in Joensuu, Finland, he catapulted to fame in 1980 in a band called Hassisen Kone (Hassinen's Machine, after a local sewing machine shop), which won the Finnish championship in a band competition. In the year 1982, the band started experiencing internal problems and broke up. Alanko started a new band called Sielun Veljet (Soul Brothers). Sielun Veljet's style was completely different from Hassisen Kone's one, and some fans protested, but Sielun Veljet was a great success mainly for its famous live-shows. In 1997, after Sielun Veljet broke up, Ismo Alanko started the originally named Ismo Alanko Säätiö (Ismo Alanko Foundation). Säätiö has continued to be a very popular band. Even though Säätiö is a band, it can be said that it is a solo-performance of Ismo Alanko, as members of the band have changed rapidly.

The latest version of this so-called band is Ismo Alanko Teholla (Ismo Alanko on intensive care). In practise it is a project by Ismo Alanko and Teho Majamäki. Their latest release is Blanco Spirituals (2008)