Deep Turtle

Deep Turtle was a Finnish band, active 1990–1996 and 2002–2003.

Promotional shot from 2002 by M.Saralehto.

Overview

Formed in 1990, Deep Turtle was a product of the burgeoning underground music culture of the city of Pori, Finland. Deep Turtle's music fused the energy of hardcore punk, the harmonies of jazz, latin rhythms, and the experimentalism of progressive rock into a style, which was sometimes dubbed jazzcore or weirdcore by listeners and reviewers. Signature elements of the band's music were an abundance of uncommon time signatures; frantic and abrupt mood changes between soft jazz tones and blistering punk assault; nimble bass guitar work providing a counterpoint to the guitar attack; and often indecipherable lyrics delivered both in Spanish and in English. Some comparisons have been made to bands like Cardiacs (Turtle's 1994 album in fact has a song titled Cardiako) and NoMeansNo.

Deep Turtle broke up in 1996 but reformed again in 2002, only to disband again in 2004 due to drummer Erjossaari's insurmountable difficulties with tinnitus, which forced him to quit the band.

Deep Turtle made Finnish music history by being the first Finnish band to be invited to do a John Peel session in 1994. Contrary to public belief, Peel was not present at the studio, and he never managed to meet the band in person.

Lineup

Throughout their career, the trio had a constant lineup:

• Pentti Dassum - guitar, vocals
• Tapio Laxström - bass
• Mikko Erjossaari (formerly Saaristo) - drums

Recordings

All recordings except the Peel session were engineered by the band members themselves, resulting in inconsistent recording quality.

• Deep Turtle 7" EP (1991)
• Snakefish 7" EP (1992)
• Satanus Uranus Tetanus 7" EP (1993)
• Ghoti 7" split EP with Uhrilampaat (1993)
• Riva! 2 x 7" EP (1993)
• There's A Vomitsprinkler In My Liverriver LP (1994)
• John Peel Sessions EP/MCD (1994)
• Rip-Off Dokumento CD (1995) - a compilation of the first four EPs and some bonus tracks
• Tungo/Born to Search Cheese 7" single (1995)
• Flutina 7" EP (1996)

• Tutina! MCD (2002) - Tungo and Flutina reissued on one disc
• VT/DT 7" split EP with Valse Triste (2003)
• Turkele! MCD (2003)

External links

• Zerga Records