| Sir Elwoodin hiljaiset värit | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Helsinki, Finland |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Years Active: | –present |
| Current Members: | Juha Lehti Junnu Saaresaho Arttu Leskinen Jussi Virtanen Puppe Luomanmäki |
| Past Members: | Pete Loikala Riku Järvinen Hansu Saarinen |
Sir Elwoodin hiljaiset värit is a Finnish rock band, hailing from the Helsinki suburb of Kannelmäki.[1] [2]
The band formed in 1989.[3] Including Pete Loikala, they recorded their first demo tapes. Despite publishing records and touring regularly they did not get a major success until they released the single "Viimeisellä rannalla" (an homage to Nevil Shute's On the Beach) in 1993. They scored their biggest success in 1998 with the compilation "Varjoja, varkaita ja vanhoja valokuvia", selling more than 30,000 records (in a country of only 5 million), earning them a gold record. On 13 June 2004, the band was hit hard when Riku Järvinen, their bassist and occasional violinist, died in an accident. After having found a replacement in Järvinen's friend Puppe Luomanmäki at the tribute concert though, they decided to continue, and after releasing a second "greatest hits" compilation in 2005 the band released a new single, "Suomineito", in 2006, and a new record in 2007.
They are renowned for a distinguished style with heavy basement jazz influences. Some of their more successful songs are cover versions with adapted lyrics of well known classics ("Älä itke" ("Don't cry") is Neil Young's "Don't Cry No Tears", "Kaduilla Kallion" ("In the streets of Kallio") originates with Tom Waits as "In The Neighbourhood"), but they also feature many own songs. Their lyrics are often touched by melancholy and tell about every-day issues.
The band has yet to officially reveal the answer to the often asked question, how they came up with their name (literally "The silent colours of Sir Elwood"), and whether it has any deeper meaning at all.