Happily Ever Blind
Finland
'The Black Friday Blues' (2016)
'The singles Pack' (2016)
'Pseudohappiness' (2017)
'You Are Dead' (2018)
2015
In Helsinki, Finland, at the beginning of summer something very special happened. Fellow expats from Australia; Jon Lawless (drums) and John Emslie (guitar/vocals) joined forces with local bass master Janne Mikkola to form a new music project where they could share their similar creative interests freely without concern for styles or trends.
The two Jons first met years before where they played together in a rock cover band called 'Moisture'. Prior to this they both performed in original bands in Australia. They soon met Janne on a local internet music forum and quickly discovered they shared similar writing styles and musical tastes. Janne is also the bass player for renowned Finnish Black Metal band 'Graveborne'.
Then one day the band got a name. After seeing a blind guy winning at pool, Janne came up with 'Happily Ever Blind!' The name also paired well with their lyrical content which is heavily critical of the state of mans existence in the world.
Initially John was to be on guitars but after recording vocals on his bedroom demos they thought it wise if he continued to sing as his voice was unique compared to other vocalists in heavy music. They jammed with many guitarists that year but couldn’t find even one that fully grasped their alternative style. So it was, John fulfilled guitarist duties and they quickly evolved from jamming his initial material to writing new tunes as a unit.
They started recording these songs in their practice room and by the end of the year their first proper demo 'The Black Friday Blues' was almost complete.
2016
Early in the year we saw the release of The Black Friday Blues; five songs that were a rough and ready preview of what was yet to come.
They began also to try out a few more guitarists with no luck of finding anyone suitable, but they kept moving forward and within a few short months they had released three follow up singles; 'Parasites', 'Chemically Lobotomized' and 'Fairytale Fuckers'. These songs were a natural progression in style and noticeably more mature.
Soon after this they scored their first well received live performance on the Helsinki radio station 'Spirit FM'. It was a good way to test the waters, but by this time they were itching to get out and play proper gigs. They needed a guitarist and with luck, their good friend Dane Stefuniuk of 'Flute OF Shame' fame, had some spare time to help out. Another Summer came and within a year of their inception they had local shows booked in esteemed venues such as 'On The Rocks' and 'Tavastia'.
They were also constantly writing new material and in the fall they went into the studio with a small budget to record 'Pseudohappines', their first full length album, comprising of twelve varied songs that had a much more experimental approach.
2017
In march, Happily Ever Blind debuted Pseudohappiness which was released via Secret Entertainment and received some great reviews by independent media and airplay on many radio stations. The plan was to gig extensively to promote this release but it was halted due to Dane’s commitments with his other projects.
So it was back to the drawing board with the guitarist search. In the meantime, as usual the songwriting was fierce and in no time the band had five new songs ready to record. This time the vibe was much more dark and heavy with a less experimental approach.
Recording then began with another modest budget at 'Kujalandia Recording Studio' in Lahti. The EP titled 'You Are Dead' is due for release early 2018 through 'Realm Records Finland'.
The fall of this year also saw another stroke of luck. Ilpo Kauppinen, a good friend of Janne’s whom he had played in with in previous bands, had some time for a new project. He quickly enlisted as guitarist and was up to speed with the set list in no time. They once again started to do what they enjoyed most, playing live!
2018
Big things are yet to come. Plans to tour, songwriting, music videos, new releases and much more. So stay tuned!
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