THE FANTASIA
YEARS
Extremely rare Finnish prog album from 1975. First time in CD-format.
You can order this record abroad from Record Shop X >
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.
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. 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.
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.
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. |
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Quite soon, because of musical disagreements, there was a configuration change, and in the end of 1973, the new band was born:
Bassplayer Harri Piha joined the army, and like many others in this time period, he moved to Sweden, searching "for bigger events”. 
Lineup: 1976 - 1978
