HEIKKI

Heikki's pure pop joy is no more evident than in their song, "Former Hero". A breezy three minutes and change that feels like the summer we are all waiting on.

Jari Haapalainen (guitars) and Maria Eriksson (vocals) are the Swedish pop pair, Heikki, a duo with an impressive pedigree. Maria is a member of Swedish pop superstars, The Concretes, while Jari is a member of acclaimed Swedish band, The Bear Quartet, but that's not all--Jari has a thriving career as a producer. Twiddling the knobs (I've always hated that phrase, but I've come across it so often it just popped out, so I'll just go with the flow) for acts like Ed Harcourt, Nicolai Dunger, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Kristofer åström & hidden truck, Laakso, Moneybrother, Stella Rocket, Honey is Cool, and of course, Maria's band, The Concretes. This would explain the great production that is evident even with this 128 kbps mp3... check out the accordion, giving this pop gem a barely there old-timey feel.

The duo have put out two full lengths since getting together in 1999.

+ former hero
+ i always knew

Heikki state some of their influences on their Swedish label site, Westside...

We are definitely influenced by all kinds of music, currently we're listening to:
Mary Gauthier, Barbro Hörberg, Mary J Blige, Bert Jansch, Dirty Three, Miles
Davis, Brian Eno, The Triffids, John and Beverly Martin, The Roches, Jim
O'Rourke, Kate Bush, Townes Van Zandt, Sandy Denny and hundreds more...

Westside (Swe)
Magic Marker Records (US)

*Heikki can be downloaded at emusic.com