by Antti J. Ravelin
Recovering from '80s punk wave in Finland, there spawned two very complex but innovative rock groups,
Cmx and
Yup. Although
Yup was founded in the late '80s, a later version of
Yup dates to the early '90s. This young but creative trio (consisting of vocalist/guitarist
Jarkko Martikainen, bassist
Valtteri Tynkkynen, and drummer
Jussi Hyyrynen) formed
Yup against their art school's jazz bands. Very soon they created their own progressive style to combine all forms of rock and later
Yup's first independent LP in Finnish,
Huuda Harkiten, with their new keyboard player
Tommi Kärkkäinen, was released creating both interest and hatred among the tight Finnish rock subculture.
On 1993's
Toppatakkeja Ja Toledon Terästä,
Yup's punk rock was still quite progressive, though the complete sound wasn't so rough anymore. The band's new lineup with drummer
Janne Mannonen and guitarist
Jussi Hyyrynen (who had formerly played drums) raised
Yup's playing to a whole new level and its old jamming sound was disappearing. Also, the band's small success on the Finnish charts showed that it was time to move on to a bigger recording label.
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