Love Records was a record label from Finland, which would release in its time 384 LPs, 253 C-cassettes, 347 singles and 24 EPs. They were a pioneering label in Finnish rock music but would also release jazz, political songs, ethnic music and so on. A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record somtimes, somewhat inacurately, black record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... For the meaning of cassette in genetics, see cassette (genetics). ... An extended play or EP, is the name given to vinyl records or CDs which are too long to qualify as singles but too short to qualify as albums. ... Finnish rock is a musical style as varied as in any modern-day European country. ... Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ...

Love Records was founded in October 1966 by journalist Atte Blom, jazz drummer Christian Schwindt and composer and all-round music personality Otto Donner. The first release was an LP consisting of the songs of Kaj Chydenius, sung by such people as Kalle Holmberg and Vesa-Matti Loiri. One of the most important rock bands of the early Love Records was Blues Section, which later on spawned such classic bands of Finnish progressive rock as Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti, who would also release their records on Love. The famous Love Records logo (the equivocality of which also stirred some controversy) was designed by Harri Manner. Kaj Chydenius (born 16 October 1939) is a Finnish composer probably best known for his political songs interpreted by various artists. ... Vesa-Matti Loiri (born January 4, 1945, Helsinki) is a Finnish actor, musician and comedian. ... Blues Section is considered a seminal and ground-breaking band in Finnish rock music. ... Progressive rock (shortened to prog, or prog rock when differentiating from other progressive genres) is an ambitious, eclectic, and often grandiose style of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the early 1970s, and continues as a musical form to this day. ... Wigwam is a Finnish progressive rock band formed in the late 1960s, after the split of seminal Blues Section where the key members of Wigwam had played before. ... Tasavallan Presidentti was a Finnish progressive rock band. ...

In the 1970s Love Records would release virtually most of the important Finnish rock bands and artists: Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940, Pekka Streng, Rauli Badding Somerjoki, Hector, Hurriganes, Dave Lindholm, Juice Leskinen, Kaseva, Maarit; more progressive rock bands such as Tabula Rasa, Finnforest and Piirpauke; "the godfather of Finnish underground", M.A. Numminen; and later on also such punk and new wave artists as Pelle Miljoona, Briard and Maukka Perusjätkä. Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940 was a provocative Finnish rock band in the years 1969 and 1970. ... Pekka Streng (April 26, 1948 - April 11, 1975) was a Finnish musician. ... Rauli Badding Somerjoki (born as Rauli Aarre Tapani Somerjoki) (August 30, 1947, Somero - January 14, 1987, Helsinki ) was a Finnish rock singer. ... Heikki Veikko Harma (born April 20, 1947, Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer-songwriter who has also distinguished himself as a translator of song lyrics. ... Hurriganes is a Finnish rock n roll band, which is very popular in Finland. ... Pauli Matti Juhani Leskinen (born February 19, 1950 in Juankoski, Finland), better known as Juice Leskinen, is one of the most prominent Finnish singer-songwriters of the late 20th century. ... Pelle Miljoona (b. ...

Of the political bands signed to Love Records, some of the most notable are Agit-Prop and Kom-Teatteri. Also Kaisa Korhonen, Aulikki Oksanen and Kristiina Halkola were some female singers known for Love's political albums, where songs were often penned by such people as Kaj Chydenius and Eero Ojanen. Often these were cabaret-type songs in the tradition of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill or even Finnish translations of the songs by Brecht and Weill. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue - a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht (February 10, 1898 – August 14, 1956) was an influential German dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century. ... Kurt Weill, a photo taken in Salzburg, Austria, 1934 Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York, was a German composer active from the 1920s until his death. ...

Love Records went bankrupt in 1979. Their last release was Kari Peitsamo's album Pölypilleri. Atte Blom continued after Love with his new label, Johanna. Love Records' back catalog has been re-released on CD by a company called Siboney. Kari Juhani Valdemar Peitsamo (born 26 August 1957 in Nokia, Finland) is a Finnish musician who style has changed along the years from acoustic avantgarde pop to electric rock. ...

There is also a book detailing the history of the label, named Love Records 1966-1979 by Miska Rantanen. (Helsinki: Schildts 2005, ISBN 951-50-1528-6)

Official link

• Official Love Music website

Unofficial links

• Love Records discography
• Partial Love Records discography @ pHinnWeb