Lauri Ylönen

Photo: Venla Shalin

## Muscial career

### Genres

Rock, alternative rock, alternative metal, gothic rock, electro house, rap rock (early), funk rock (early)

### Labels

Playground Music, Warner Music Finland, Universal Music Finland, Dynasty

### Website

amanda.fm

Lauri Ylönen is one of the co-founders and lead singer-songwriter of The Rasmus since it's formation in 1994.

## The Rasmus

When Lauri and Eero Heinonen started at Suutarila High School in the early 1990s, they met Pauli Rantasalmi and later Janne Heiskanen. Ylönen initiated the project of The Rasmus (then called just "Rasmus") in 1994, along with Eero (bass) Pauli (guitar), and Jarno Lahti (drums), with Lahti subsequently being replaced by Heiskanen. First, they called themselves Trashmosh, then Anttila, and at last, Rasmus. They played their very first show before the winter break in school, 1994. They played songs with a style of rock and funk. Lauri became the lead singer, composer and songwriter of the band. He quit school because the band took too much of his time.
In 1998, after having released three albums, Janne left and in 1999 Aki Hakala became The Rasmus' new drummer. In the same year, the band's former manager Teja Kotilainen left their current record label, Warner Music Finland, and the band signed to Playground Music Scandinavia soon afterwards.

## Discography

### The Rasmus

* *Peep* (1996)
* *Playboys* (1997)
* *Hell of a Tester* (1998)
* *Into* (2001)
* *Dead Letters* (2003)
* *Hide from the Sun* (2005)
* *Black Roses* (2008)
* *The Rasmus* (2012)
* *Dark Matters* (2017)
* *Rise* (2022)

### Solo

* *New World* (2011)
* *She's a Bomb* (2013, single)
* *My Favorite Drug* (2013, single) [released under pseudonym *Amanda*]
* *My House* (2013, single)
* *A New Day* (2015, single)

## General Facts

### Personal

* Full name: Lauri Johannes Ylönen
* Nicknames: Lintu ("bird" in English)
* Date of birth: April 23, 1979 (age 43)
* Place of birth: Helsinki, Finland
* Current residence: Miami, Florida
* Hair colour: Brown (often dyed black)
* Eye colour: Green
* Star sign: Taurus
* Chinese zodiac sign: Goat
* Marital status: Engaged
* Children: 3 (2 sons, 1 daughter)
* Pets: 1 dog (Dachshund called Mauno)

### Music

* Lauri's favourite bands/musicians include Björk, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and Muse.
* Even though Lauri rarely plays an instrument at live shows, he can play guitar, bass, drums, piano and keyboard. He mostly uses instruments when writing and recording new music.
* Lauri took piano lessons as a child for a few years, but didn't enjoy them.
* Lauri features his vocals on an alternate version of Killer's song, *All I Want*, released in 2001.
* Lauri and Siiri Nordin of Killer feature on Kwan's song, *Chillin' at the Grotto*, which was released as a single in 2003. They performed it live at the 2003 EMMA Gaala award ceremony.
* Lauri and Ville Valo feature on Apocalyptica's song, *Bittersweet*, released on August 15, 2004.
* Lauri featured on another Apocalyptica song, *Life Burns!*, released on April 11, 2005.
* Lauri features on the Tom & Hills track, *No Brakes*, released on May 23, 2014.
* Lauri contributed vocals to the song, *Lohtu*, which was released as part of the Live Aid ULS2017 project - a fundraising campaign to help build a new paediatric hospital in Helsinki, Finland. The single was released on May 9, 2014.

### Movies

* Lauri's favourite movies include The Crow, Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.
* Lauri scored some of the soundtrack for the 2008 Finnish movie, Blackout.

### Other

* Lauri used to smoke and drink alcohol, but he quit both in 2009 and has been teetotal ever since.
* Lauri used to be a vegetarian, but it's unclear if this is still true or not.
* Lauri has two tattoos; one of the word "Dynasty" on his right forearm, and a black swan on his left shoulder. He used to have a tattoo of Icelandic musician, Björk, but he covered this with the black swan in January 2022.
* Lauri's ex-wife is Finnish musician, Paula Vesala. They started dating in 2004, married in 2014 and divorced in 2016. They have 1 son together.
* Lauri is currently engaged to Finnish model, Katriina Mikkola. They have 2 children together.
* Lauri likes to skateboard and snowboard, and his favourite sportsman is reportedly Tony Hawk.
* Lauri has previously lived in Helsinki, Los Angeles and Hawaii.