Fantasia (Finland)

Fantasia (Finland) - same (1975, Hi-Hat Rec. - 2010, Rocket Rec.)

Undoubtedly they didn't have much of a recording budget, but they nonetheless managed to put together a fairly unique set of music. Blend Bardens-era Camel with Nuclear Nightclub-era Wigwam, subtract the virtuoso playing, add an unconventional approach to composition and an appreciation for brevity, and you get the idea. It's not a mind-boggler by any stretch, but it has a certain melancholic charm to it, and it deserves a better fate than to be dismissed out of hand.

FANTASIA 1973-1979

-72 / 73 St. Marcus blues band music turned more experimental. The new music style, progressive rock, became popular in the seventies. Bands like Genesis, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra were big fluences, and the name was changed to a more suitable name: Fantasia.
In the beginning the Fantasia members were almost the same as in Stmbb; Jukka "Juki" Halttunen guitar; Markku Lönngren bass; Paavo Osola keyboards; Karl-Erik Rönngård drums; Hannu Lindblom guitar and vocals.

Quite soon, because of musical disagreements, there was a configuration change, and in the end of 1973, the new band was born:

Roul Helantie: keyboards, violin, guitar
Hannu Lindblom: guitar, vocals
Harri Piha: bass
Karl-Erik Rönngård: drums

This band won the Finnish rock championship 1974 and got a lot of publicity and gigs. A record deal with Hi-hat was also a part of the victory.
The record was released in 1975, produced by Mikael Wiik and Ronnie Österberg .
The record called, "Fantasia", is today a popular collectible, often valued in hundreds of euros.
As the popularity of progmusic faded at the end of the seventies, and as Hi-hat records was not willing to make a new record, the frustration in the band led to another crew change.
Bassplayer Harri Piha joined the army, and like many others in this time period, he moved to Sweden, searching "for bigger events”.
Roul Helantie changed to bass and keyboard player became Paavo Osola, already known from early St.Marcus bluesband lineups.

In 1976 the band made a small Russian tour (Leningrad - Riga - Moscow), and was after the tour joined by a fifth member; keyboard player Mikko Laine. Roul Helantie could concentrate more on the electric violin and ARP syntheziser.

Shortly after this, drummer Karl-Erik Rönngård, keyboardplayers Paavo Osola and Mikko Laine left the band. New members were; drummer Thomas Lindström, guitar player Timo Hautamäki and keyboard player Ronnie Ehrs.

Lineup: 1976 - 1978
Hannu Lindblom: guitar,vocals
Roul Helantie: bass
Thomas Lindström: drums
Timo Hautamäki: guitar
Ronnie Ehrs: keyboards

The last (?!) lineup from 1979 did also contained some new members:
guitar, vocals: Hannu Lindblom
guitar: Pekka Jusslin
bass: Hannu Pirttimaa
keyboards: Ronnie Ehrs
drums: Thomas Lindström

After a few years, it was time to get " back to the basics" or musically back to the time before Fantasia, so Stmbb was recreated.
The double CD STMBB released 2007, called ”2 Sides”, contains songs that sound like done by Fantasia in the 2000 century. Even after the songs where recorded, a name change was considered, but the ”bluesy” over all feeling, left us with no choice: St.marcus bluesband, later shortened to STMBB.