Quintessence

Country: England
Genre: finnish jazz soul progressive rock chillout
Lyrics: Quintessence lyrics

Biography

There are at least three bands named Quintessence: 1) a British psychedelic band of the 60's/70's; 2) a Finnish nu-soul/jazz/funk band; 3) a French black metal band.

Quintessence (1) (also found on the page The Quintessence - but their music is here) was formed in 1969 by flautist Raja Ram. Quintessence were an indo-prog/raga rock group from Notting Hill, London. They played a mixture of Indian ragas, progressive rock and jazz, with mystical overtones. After signing to Island Records, they released three lavishly packaged LPs: In Blissful Company (1969), Quintessence (1970), and Dive Deep (1971). They then signed with RCA for a further two: Self and Indweller (both 1972).Quintessence (2) They were well known on the festival circuit in the late 60's/early 70's, appearing at the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1971 (and appearing in the subsequent film of the event).

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Quintessence (2) started out as a three-person project in a Helsinki basement-studio. Guitarist Aki Haarala and DJ/programmer Jouni Helminen (nowadays known worldwide as DharmaOne) asked vocalist Emma Salokoski to sing on a couple of tunes. In 2001 the first "White Light" EP was released on the Dorado label. It could soon be found on the playlists of DJ's such as Gilles Peterson and Trevor Nelson.

For live gigs the band was extended to a six-piece. After a relatively short search-period the right people were found (Mikko Kaakkuriniemi (drums), Heikki Laine (bass), Verneri Pohjola (trumpet) and Tuomo Prättälä (keyboards)). The band developed such a distinctive and strong groove, that Helminen decided to step aside, leaving room for a more organic sound. In November 2002 Quintessence released its full-length debut "Talk Less Listen More" on Finland's hippest indie-label, Texicalli Records.

Their unique mixture of nu-soul, jazz, funk and Scandinavian cool found its way into the hearts, ears and record collections of music lovers and critics alike. Through extensive touring, their fan base has grown even stronger, as Quintessence is now known as one of Finland's coolest, yet grooviest live bands. In addition to clubs they have performed at numerous rock and jazz festivals. Also, they opened for The Roots on the main stage of Finland's biggest jazz festival, Pori Jazz, in 2003.

September 2004 Quintessence came out in Finland with their second album "5 AM". This instant classic takes the Quintessence-formula to a new level of deepness, adding sweet soul sounds of the seventies and echoes of pulsating afrobeat.