Laika & the Cosmonauts

Laika & the Cosmonauts were a Finnish rock band.  They were named for the Soviet Union space dog, Laika.

The band's genre was surf rock. A Boston Globe reviewer said their sound was "far beyond the limitations of any specific genre." They played mostly Finnish rautalanka (instrumental traditional) music. 

Laika & the Cosmonauts were not well known in the United States. They were well-liked by many musicians. These include Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mike Palm of the band, Agent Orange, and an early surf rock musician, Dick Dale.  Al Jourgensen of Ministry said they are "the best f**king band in the world."  

 History 
The band began in 1987. They still had the same members when they stopped making records in 2008. They toured the United States and Europe several times. The band also played several times on European television.

Laika & the Cosmonauts said in an email on April 23, 2008, that they were quitting after a twenty-year career. They ended with an American tour. The last shows were at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas in the autumn of 2008.   A compilation album, Cosmopolis, was released at the same time as the tour.

Discography
C'mon Do the Laika 1988
Surfs You Right 1990
Instruments of Terror 1992
The Amazing Colossal Band 1995
Zero Gravity (US compilation) 1996
Absurdistan 1997
Laika Sex Machine (live) 2000
Local Warming 2004
Cosmopolis 2008  (Compilation)
 References 

 Other websites 
2004 NPR interview
Finpop.net interview with Matti Pitsinki 
Review of band's live album from Atomic Magazine
mySpace - Laika & the Cosmonauts
Laika & the Cosmonauts Allmusic
Laika & the Cosmonauts MTV 

Category:Finnish musical groups
Category:Rock bands
Category:Musical groups established in 1987
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Category:1987 establishments in Europe
Category:1980s establishments in Finland
Category:2008 disestablishments in Europe