The classic set of the 60's had a 4, 5, 6 or 9-channel mixer with volume faders, treble, bass and echo volume pots for each channel, + the Ackuset echo, + two 60 watt Dynakit tube powered amps, + two cabinets with one 12", two 10" and two 8" speakers each. All speakers had double cones, producing a fantasticly wide sound with a treble range never heard before. Later Ackuset designed their own 300 Watt transistor powered amps. The production of complete Ackuset PA:s started in 1962 and continued until 1982.

English bands touring Sweden were amazed by the sound, and famous artists like The Hollies, Blind Faith, Sandy Shaw, and the Australian Bee Gees soon bought their own Ackusets. During visits to Sweden by big bands like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, Dieke provided the equipment and did their mixes. Also The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix were among such artists. Swedish bands with Ackuset included Jan Rohde and The Adventurers, Lenne and The Lee Kings, and The Shanes. Finnish artists with Ackuset included Jormas, Blues Section, Topmost, Roosters, Eero ja Jussi and The Boys, Johnny Liebkind, and Danny.

Hasse met Gerard Dieke in Stockholm in May 2013 for a lengthy discussion over coffee and pastry. Dieke was amazed and pleased that so many in music business nowadays have expressed their appreciation for his work. Vintage Ackuset modules are very sought after nowadays, and the sound still baffels people. A story in Swedish on Ackuset can be found here: http://www.fuzz.se/artikel/ackuset



29th March 2013: New Links and Discography updated
Lots more links added to the links page and the discography is updated with more covers.


23rd January 2013: New Links added on Science & Discoveries
We've updated the Science & Discoveries section and added some new interesting links. Check them out! The discography has also been updated.





27th November 2012: Jimi Hendrix 70th Birthday
Jimi Hendrix's fans celebrate what would have been Jimi's 70th Birthday on this day. Happy Birthday Jimi!






26th October 2012: Hasse Walli 50 years on the road
This autumn Hasse celebrates 50 years as a performing artist. He started on drums at 9 years of age in 1956, at first concentrating on Jazz music. He then became a big fan of Elvis Presley, and started listening to Rock records of the time.
In autumn 1962 Pepe Willberg asked Hasse to join his new group The Islanders, and there the gigs started.
That band played mostly The Shadows-inspired instrumental guitar music, but later switched to Beatles tunes fom their 1st LP. Thus Pepe, who played rhythm guitar, started his singing career.
Hasse later continued on drums with The Nameless in 1964 (see Photo Gallery, Videos menu, and the new DVD Live At Tavastia, which can be ordered on line).
In 1965 Hasse joined The Typhoons on guitar, and in 1966 he went professional with Jormas, one of the top bands in Scandinavia in the mid 60's.

15th October 2012: Hasse's new DVD released
"Hasse Walli Live At Tavastia" contains exciting performances of Hasse's legendary bands, filmed at Tavastia Club, Helsinki between 1996 and 2010. Includes a 24 page booklet with details of the bands featured on the DVD.

To order online please click here








12th October 2012: HasseWalli.com receives 100.000 hits!
Once again Hasse wishes to thank everyone who has visited the web site for their continued support over the years. There will be lots more content added to the site over the next few weeks so please keep checking back for new updates.







20th May 2012: 45 years since Jimi Hendrix played in Finland
On May 22nd, 1967 Jimi Hendrix played at the House of Culture in Helsinki, Finland. This was only a few weeks before his international breakthru at the Monterey Pop Festival in USA. Jimi totally stunned the audience with his super modern style that he had created himself. Local musicians were numb and speachless after the concert, which turned out to be one of the best ever witnessed in Finland. Tour fatigue was not bothering the band yet, and recordings for the second album, Axis: Bold as Love, had already started in London.
Before the concert, a playback TV session was videotaped by YLE, but that tape no longer exists. To view the only existing footage of the concert, please click here.


22nd February 2012: Hasse Walli's music in Aki Kaurismäki's new film 'Le Havre'
A recording from April 1992 by Hasse's Senegalese band 'Hasse Walli & Asamaan' appears in Kaurismäki's much awarded new film 'Le Havre'. The Premier was in September 2011. The song is called 'Jambaar (Heroes), with music by Meissa Niang & Hasse, arrangement by Hasse and lyrics in Wolof language by Meissa, who also sings. The track was originally released on the 'Teranga' CD in 1993. The album was also released as two cassettes in Senegal, with the song 'Bamba' being the major hit there (check it on YouTube). Jambaar was re-released in 2008 on the CD 'The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan' (HCD - 06).
To hear the music, please click here.


22nd February 2012: Hasse Walli a professional musician for more than 45 years
In Spring 1966 Hasse joined Jormas, the top band in Finland at that time. Originally a drummer, he had switched to lead guitar and played with The Typhoons in early 1965. With only one year of experience as a guitarist, he played his first concert with Jormas on April 21st, 1966 at The House of Culture in Helsinki. Several recordings and extensive touring in Scandinavia followed, and Hasse never looked back. He has now performed in more than 20 countries, and has been an independent producer since year 2000.

Kim was the leader of rock group The Renegades from Birmingham, England.
Dressed in American civil war uniforms, they were brought to Finland by promoter Leo Heinonen in 1964.
The Renegades took Finland by storm, and during their first tour they recorded their first single "Cadillac", which was later covered by Swedish band Hep Stars, led by Benny Andersson (later of ABBA fame).
Having returned home, the boys got word that Cadillac had rocketed to number 1 on the Finnish charts, and the band returned to Finland for a victorious tour, followed by several others.
More hits followed: "Seven Golden Daffodils", "Do The Shake", "My Heart Must Do The Crying", and "Matelot", which is the opening and closing music in Aki Kaurismäki's latest film of 2011, Le Havre.
Do The Shake appears on Kaurismäki's earlier, Oscar nominated film A Man Without A Past, of 2002.
In the late 60's The Renegades performed in Germany, and then moved to Italy, where they also had huge success and several hits.
Kim and his band returned to Finland in 1997, and performed at several 60's festivals and on tours. He also started living permanently in Helsinki.
In January 2000 Kim started performing with Hasse Walli.

Kim Brown will be deeply missed by his family, friends, musicians and fans. He has a special place in the hearts of every Finn and Italian.

Rest in peace, Kim!

(Please go to Photo Gallery, The 90's / The Renegades, for more info. Also check out The Renegades on YouTube.com)

19th April 2011: New audio tracks online
Three versions of Piirpauke's classic Konevitsan kirkonkellot (recordings from 1975, 1996, and 1999), plus Piirpauke's Imala Maika and Hasse Walli & Asamaan's Crazy Rap are all now available to listen to on the
audio page.









28th January 2011: Two new videos and links added
Two new videos have been added to the videos page - Blues on a Hot Day and Boogie for Marko (with Johnny Lundin), plus some new links in the Science and Discoveries section.



23rd December 2010: New radio interview online
Hasse Walli was interviewed live on Youssou Ndour's RFM radio station in Dakar, Senegal on May 14th, 2009. You can hear the Wolof language broadcast on the audio page.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2011 to everybody!

19th December 2010: Two new videos online
Two new videos are now online - Who The Hell and The Nameless both filmed at Hasse's 60th Birthday Concert on Feb 13th 2008 at Tavastia Club, Helsinki, Finland. Check the VIDEO section for more details.




17th November 2010: Hasse Meets African superstar
West African singer Oumou Sangare from Mali played a big concert at The Helsinki Festival on August 28th, 2009 to a packed audience. After the concert Hasse met up with her backstage for a chat. Oumou also received "The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan", Hasse's latest CD with his Senegalese band.



17th November 2010: Hasse Walli meets 60's idol
for the first time
Hasse Walli visited his big guitarist idol Johnny Lundin in Stockholm on Oct. 20th, 2010. Hasse saw him perform with Jan Rohde and The Adventurers in the early 60's, and has possibly shared the same venues a few times. Lundin backed Rohde and also played the instrumental Jenkka hits that became so popular in Finland in those days. The hit records assured them a good working situation, allthough they were foremostly a very swinging Rock 'n' Roll band with impressive movements on stage. (To find photos at the Gallery, click here) Hasse and Johnny talked for 6 hours straight, and didn't have time for a jam then, but the following day Hasse had a chance to play with Johnny's band.



17th November 2010: HasseWalli.com receives 90.000 hits!
Hasse wishes to thank everyone who has visited the web site for their support over the years. Please check back for more updates over the coming months!

14th November 2010: New photos in the Photo Gallery
We have added over 60 new photos in the gallery from various years, including Jan Rohde & The Adventurers, Oumou Sangare, Johnny Lundin, plus more family background photos.

3rd November 2010: Hasse Walli at WOMEX
Hasse participated at the WOMEX World Music Expo in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 29th - 31st. He took part in a panel discussion about the possibilities to arrange tours for World Music artists at present difficult times. During the expo he met many artists and other people in the business, and had a jam with Senegalese singer Sherif Mbao.




29th June 2010: More links added
A few more links have been added to the links page about Nikola Tesla and Coral Castle.

21th June 2010: New links added
Hasse has added a couple of interesting reincarnation links to the "Science and Discoveries" section of the links page called Soul Survivor. The most compelling evidence so far for reincarnation?

28th April 2010: Hasse back from Senegal
Hasse arrived in Helsinki on April 14th (luckily!), just one day before the volcano disaster started. Having finished the recording project in Dakar Hasse filmed a video as well, and you can now view it on the VIDEOS page. It is also available on YouTube and MySpace.

The song, called Chey!, is a Senegalese adaption of Hasse's song "Smile" (from the 2005 Sweet Nina album) with lyrics translated into Wolof by Hasse and the singer As Bara. Hasse also made a new arrangement and added a new part with an Oriental melody mode. Lots of dramatic percussion breaks are also added.


12th February 2010: Hasse working on new album in Senegal
Photo: Hasse with technician Moussa Diagne at Mobil Sound Studios in Dakar, doing final touches to a new song which will be released alongside video clip in Senegal.





10th February 2010: Guestbook fixed
Big Thanks to all friends and fans for all Birthday congrats! We had some problems with the Guestbook due to change of server. Should be OK now.
Iso kiitos kaikille ystäville ja faneille synttäri-onnitteluista! Oli pientä ongelmaa vieraskirjan kanssa serverin vaihdon yhteydessä, mutta pitäis olla OK nyt.
Hasse

28th January 2010: HasseWalli.com reaches 85.000 hits!
We have had over 85.000 visits to the site now! Hasse wishes to thank all the fans worldwide for the support. Please stay tuned for more things to come in 2010!

20th January 2010: Hasse's new DVD released
"Hasse Walli Live at the Lakeside Blues Festival" was filmed on June 26th, 2009 in Järvenpää, Finland. It contains the complete 80 min. concert, + over 35 min. extras with o.a. star guitarist Jukka Tolonen.

To order online please try some of the following web sites:
Order in Finnish: cdon.com | DiscShop.fi | Tehtaanmyymälä
Order in English: cdon.com | EDEL | Record Shop X | Epe's Music Store




20th January 2010: Hasse Walli is back in Africa
Hasse returned to Dakar, Senegal on Jan. 19th to continue work with his new band. Recording and video filming are on the agenda, along with club gigs and a big Asamaan reunion concert with original band members and singers. Hasse's phone number in Dakar can be found on the CONTACT section.

20th January 2010: Legendary Finnish drummer dies
Matti Oiling, one of the great Finnish drummers, died in Spain on November 5th, and was buried in Helsinki on December 1st with New Orleans burial protocol. Oiling had a substantial carreer in Sweden before returning to Finland in the mid 60's. He then joined the reformed Jormas in 1967, and also played with Hasse Walli Eternal Band. A long stint followed as a studio session drummer, until he formed Oiling Boiling Rhythm & Blues Band. Matti will be deeply missed by his family, friends and colleages.
Please find out more on www.oilingboiling.com

2nd July 2009: Hasse Walli awarded State Artist Pension
Hasse Walli has been awarded the State Artist Pension for outstanding contribution to Finnish culture. The Pension is awarded an artist as recognition of his remarkable career as a creative and performing artist. The acknowledgment came from The Minister of Culture and Sports, Stefan Wallin, in a personal letter dated May 25th, 2009. It was also reported in all Finnish media.

16th June 2009: 80,000 visits
We have had over 80,000 visits to the site since Friday 12th June! Hasse wishes to thank all his fans around the planet for their support. We are adding more videos and photos all the time so please keep checking back regularly.

26th May 2009: Hasse Walli back in Senegal
Hasse returned to Dakar, Senegal in April 2009 and is currently playing gigs with his new band that includes Youssou Camara on drums and Abdourahman Fall on bass. On Thursday May 14th he also appeared on a Live Radio broadcast in Wolof language on Youssou Ndour's RFM station. The 2 hour broadcast consisted of Hasse's biggest Mbalax hits with Hasse Walli & Asamaan, as well as Hasse playing the guitar live in the studio.

26th May 2009: New photos in the Photo Gallery
We have added some new photos from 2008 and 2009 with Hasse performing with Senegalese artists in Dakar.


24th March 2009: New Biography
Hasse Walli's Biography has been updated with lots of new information and is now available to download in three formats: Word, PDF and plain text. You can read the new text online or download it.

7th March 2009: New video
Just added, a special version of Voodoo Child Live 2008 in the VIDEOS section. Voodoo Child has long been one of Hasse's favourites for adventurous improvising. In this version he moves into strange and hypnotic modal worlds, quite far from the initial framework. Recorded at Juttutupa, Helsinki last summer.



4th March 2009: Hasse Walli meets the President of Finland
Hasse Walli met Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, in Dakar, Senegal on March 4th, 2009. The Finnish President is on a West African tour, with her first stop being Senegal, where she is to meet the Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade. Hasse Walli had a brief discussion with Mrs Halonen, and gave her his latest CD release, "The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan". Mrs Halonen told Walli that his music was familiar to her from dance class, and asked for some more records. Click here to see a short video of the meeting.

18th February 2009: 60 photos added
Another 60 photos have been addeed to the Photo Gallery, including many photos from Hasse's family background and early years.

18th February 2009: New video
There is a new video in the VIDEOS section: Hasse Walli - Hey Hey Hey. Recorded at Gloria Club in Helsinki, Finland in 2008.






31st January 2009: John Martyn dies
The British singer-songwriter-musician John Martyn died on January 29th, 2009 at 60 years of age. He was a forerunner of modern Folk Rock, and much ahead of his time in many ways. His breakthrough came in the early 70's with the record Solid Air.

Martyn's music had influences of Jazz, Blues, Rock and Indian music. He often used sound effects usually connected with players of the electric guitar: tape echo, phasers, wah pedals, etc.

Several prominent musicians appeared on Martyns records, o.a. Steve Winwood.

John Martyn often used his voice in a more instrumental way, like a saxophone.

Hasse Walli was strongly influenced by John Martyn, especially through the Inside Out record of 1973.

John Martyn will be deeply missed by his family as well as by his fans all over the world.

19th January 2009: More photos online
New additions to the Photo Gallery, including photos from Hasse's family background, 40's, 50's, Jormas, Piirpauke, and recent photos from Senegal last summer with Mbaye Dieye Faye, Manel Diop, Pape & Cheikh, and Ma Sane.



19th January 2009: Hasse joins Mame Goor's band in Dakar
Hasse has recently joined Senegalese singer Mame Goor's 10-piece band in Dakar, and played the first concert on Sat. Jan. 17th. Hasse has jammed actively with several artists in the clubs in Dakar, including Yoro, James Gadiaga, Diop Thiam and Pape Niang, and he also continues work with his own new Senegalese Mbalakh-style band.

6th January 2009: New video
To start the new year we have added a new video in the VIDEOS section: Hasse Walli - Red Headed Lady. Recorded live at Tavastia in 2008.




15th December 2008: Hasse in Senegal
Hasse is back in Senegal continuing his project with the new band. You can reach him by phone on +221 77 575 87 36 until March 12, and also by email


5th December 2008: New live video
We have added a new video online, Once More For The Road live version by Hasse Walli, filmed by his fans at the Gloria Club in Helsinki, Finland on September 19th, 2008. This was the 40th Anniversary Concert for the Finnish Blues Society and their journal Blues News. Please go to VIDEOS to view the video.



27th November 2008: Jimi Hendrix Birthday
Jimi Hendrix's fans and followers celebrated what would have been Jimi's 66th Birthday on November 27th, 2008. Happy Birthday Jimi.

17th November 2008: HasseWalli.com receives 75.000 hits!
Hasse wishes to thank all his fans around the planet for their support, and for the very nice messages on the GUESTBOOK. We will add more videos, photos etc. regularly, and some new sections will also be introduced soon. Please also visit www.youtube.com for new videos and interviews, and www.myspace.com/hassewalli for new audio etc.

17th November 2008: Swedish drummer Kurt "Kurre" Mattson dies
The sad news have reached us that top drummer Kurre Mattson died in September 2008.

Kurre became famous in Finland and other Scandinavian countries when he toured with JAN ROHDE and THE ADVENTURERS in the early 60s.

The Adventurers were a Swedish band led by the late Norwegian singer Jan Rohde. Their success came partly for their very tightly swinging rock and pop music combined with a very fancy, action filled stage show, and partly (especially in Finland) for their modern renditions of Finnish "Jenkka" tunes, which they sang in English. This happened when the Finnish "Letkajenkka" craze was dominating the pop scene in Finland, and Rauno Lehtinen's "Letkis" was an international hit.

As did many Scandinavian bands (including o.a. Finnish band JORMAS), The Adventurers posed a surprising challenge as a support band to many British rock bands in concerts around Scandinavia in the 60s.

In 1964 Kurre fell in love with a Finnish girl, and moved to Finland. He replaced Hasse Walli on drums with The Islanders, who had acquired a new rising singer, Danny. Later, in 1965, The Islanders fused with The Beatmakers, and thus Jormas was born.

Jormas meant a big leap forward in Finnish pop music, and was the first band to reach a completely international level of professional sound and musicianship. The 5-piece band sang in four part harmony, and backed itself with a very gutsy instrumental sound with Kurre Mattson as the Big Engine.

In 1966 Jormas had a crisis with their lead guitarist leaving the group. In came Hasse Walli, who meanwhile had switched to lead guitar. With only one year's experience as a guitarist (with The Typhoons), he was now already professional, and playing alongside Kurre. Extensive tours followed in Scandinavia and several Top 10 hits were released. Interestingly, The Adventurers' bass player, Olle Nordström, had changed to become a manager, and was now Jormas' very efficient manager in Sweden.

Kurre Mattson brought a completely new style of dynamic drumming to Scandinavia. He was the first in the region to introduce the double drum kit, and his powerful and musical drumming often made him sound like the leader of the band. He also performed with several other top artists in Finland, including Eero & Jussi, Danny and Kirka.

Kurre Mattson will be deeply missed by his family and friends, as well as by all his fans and colleagues in Sweden, Finland and other countries.

Rest in peace, Kurre!

Hasse discussing with singer band leader Sidy Samb. Club Pen Art, Dakar, May 2008		Hasse with members of the legendary band Baobab. Club Just 4 U, Dakar, May 2008
Hasse with rapper-singer Carlou D. Club Just 4 U, Dakar, May 2008

10th June 2008: New video with Hasse Walli & Asamaan
Hasse has just finished his latest video of the song Kilifa, which was recorded in 1992, and released on the now legendary "Teranga" album. Hasse performs with singer Meissa Niang, and the video also includes dancing by some Senegalese friends, including Meissa's brother Abdou Niang. Please go to VIDEOS to view the video.


10th June 2008: Piirpauke prepares for tour
The original line up of the legendary World Music group Piirpauke, formed in 1974, will play concerts in major cities in Finland. The musicians are Hasse Walli, Sakari Kukko, Antti Hytti and Jukka Wasama. The group will also play several festival concerts in the Summer of 2009, when the band celebrates its 35th Anniversary. Please go to GIG GUIDE for more info on dates and venues. You can find a live performance of Churchbells of Konevitsa (Konevitsan Kirkonkellot) on the VIDEOS section. There is also an entry of the original 1975 recording of the song on YouTube.

2nd April 2008: 7.500.000 hits and three new videos online
According to Emule's stats, Hasse's YouTube version of the Red Headed Lady / Espan Lava video has had over 7.500.000 hits! You can find these videos from here including these two others recently added: Hasse Walli & Asamaan - Jamm, a brand new video from Hasse Walli & Asamaan (originally released on the Teranga CD 1992), filmed 16 years after the song was recorded, and Hasse Walli - Grandma Grandma, a song dedicated to Hasse's dear grandmother Elvira, who took care of Hasse during his childhood, from age 5 to age 10. She raised four children of her own, and lost her first child in the war.





5th March 2008: Hasse's Birthday Concert a big success
Hasse Walli held his 60th Birthday Celebration Concert at a packed Tavastia Club in Helsinki on Feb. 13th.

Hasse performed with The Nameless (on drums), Piirpauke (the original line-up), Hasse Walli Power Trio (with Mikko Vuorela on bass, and Topi Kurki on drums) and with his cousin bass player Jan-Olof Strandberg's band.

Other performers at the 6 hour concert were: Malang Cissokho (from Senegal), A-Gnary, Supernatural Bond, Dave Lindholm & Jake Yrölä, Samu Leminen & The Inner Light Orchestra, and salsa band Grupo Con Sabor.

There was also a surprise guest performance by the Senegalese percussion and dance group Baay Fall, led by Meissa and Abdou Niang.

DJ Joke Linnamaa, the evening's MC, played great music from the 60's during pauses, and held everything together, including schedules.

Hasse wishes to thank all participants for their great performances, and also all friends and relatives for all their support and birthday presents.

  

  

5th March 2008: Two new records by Hasse Walli now released
In connection with Hasse's 60th birthday, two new CDs have been released:

"The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan" (HCD-06) is a remastered collection with Hasse's Mbalax style band from Senegal. It contains music chosen from three albums, with six tracks released for the first time on CD. It also includes two previously unreleased tracks, recorded live in Dakar, Senegal, prior to the band's first European tour in 1988. The 24 page booklet features the band's biography in English and French.

"Historia of Piirpauke, Vol. 1" (HCD-07) contains the first ever recorded sounds of the now legendary World Music band, formed in 1974. It contains live recordings from various venues, starting with the band's 2nd and 3rd gigs in Finland, as well as gigs in Sweden. The 12 page booklet features a biography written in English and Finnish by film guru Peter von Bagh.

Links to order these and other records by Hasse Walli on the Internet will soon appear on this site.



February 2008: Hasse's 60th Birthday Concert
February 13th Wed. Birthday Concert, Tavastia, Helsinki

Piirpauke, Dave Lindholm, The Nameless feat. Kim Brown, Supernatural Bond,
Jan-Olof Strandberg & Who The Hell, Samu Leminen & Inner Light Orchestra,
A-Gnary, Grupo Con Sabor, Malang Cissokho, Hasse Walli Power Trio
MC: Stadin Säkki Joke Linnamaa.

Doors open 19.00, Show Time 20:00 - 01:30
Tickets 10€

24th November 2007: Jimi Hendrix Birthday
Jimi Hendrix's fans and followers are celebrating Jimi's 65th Birthday on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007. All friends of Jimi's music, around the world (not only this solar system), are requested to raise a toast in his honor. May his music touch ever more souls in this and other universes!




15th November 2007: Two new videos online
Two new videos, There was a Man and My Babe, are now on the web site under the Videos section. Also, the Red Headed Lady / Live at London Pub video has also been remastered.




9th October 2007: New photos on line
We have again added lots of rare photos to the Photo Gallery. It now contains more than 250 different photos, each complete with background info texts, such as dates, venues, line-ups, guest artist details, etc. It also contains three rare videos from Hasse's childhood and early career.



25th September 2007: Hasse's Johnny B. Goode video receives 10.000 views!
Hasse Walli's Johnny B. Goode video on YouTube.com has been viewed over 10.000 times. Hasse would like to thank all his faithful fans worldwide. You can watch the video here.



13th September 2007: Hasse Walli's father, Aarno Walli, dies at 86
Hasse's father, pianist, bandleader and TV - producer Aarno Walli, died at his home in Helsinki on August 16th, 2007. He was buried at the Hietaniemi cemetery on September 8th. Walli studied at the Sibelius Academy of Music, and formed his first Big Band at age 17. During the war, he led several tours of concerts for soldiers, along the front line. After the war, he studied and graduated at the Helsinki School of Economics.

Alongside his musical activities, Aarno Walli had a long career with TV1 of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. His career started right at the beginning of TV broadcasting in Finland in the 50s. He was also involved in Finland's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest since early days, and worked as a live broadcast reporter on location.

Aarno Walli will be deeply missed by family members, friends and colleagues.

Hasse and his brother Aki wish to extend their deepest gratitude to all people, who have offered their condolences and support during these times of sorrow.

13th September 2007: New photos on line
We have added new and rare photos to the Photo Gallery, including photos from Hasse's childhood, as well as shots from gigs with some of the most famous artists in Finland.



13th September 2007: New videos on line
We have again added two more videos (Sweet Nina and Crossroads Blues) to the Videos section, expanding the total amount of videos on this site to 16. You can also find 3 videos, taken from 8 mm. film footage from the 50's and 60's, on the Photo Gallery.

5th July 2007: Ousman Sembene
The sad information just reached us that Ousman Sembene has passed away. He will be deeply missed by the whole world-wide film community, as well as by his compatriots, friends and family members. His contribution to the legacy of African film has been a great one, with a large production of films during his lifetime, always being at the forefront of motion picture making in Africa. The Finnish Film Archive, and the Finnish film maker community and enthusiasts, were very lucky to have him visit our country during the showing of his production in Helsinki, in spring 2006.

24th May 2007: Two new videos online
Two new videos, Kitchen Sink Blues and Voodoo Child, are now on the web site under the Videos section. The 'B All Over' video has also been remastered.




24th May 2007: New web site player
A new audio player has been integrated in to this site. It provides improved audio quality with extra controls for users to change the volume and pause or rewind the current song. The player can be found on the top left hand corner of each page (except the Videos page).

9th May 2007: Hasse Walli meets new Senegalese Ambassador
On May 8th Hasse Walli had a meeting with Henri Turpin, the newly installed Ambassador representing Senegal in the Nordic Countries.

Mr. Turpin, who now is based in Stockholm, Sweden, came to Helsinki to get acquainted with the Finnish capital and to meet some of his compatriots resident in Finland, as well as Hasse Walli, who has been an "Ambassador" for Senegalese music and culture since the late 70's.

Mr. Turpin, who has previously represented his country in USA and Italy, had a relaxed discussion about culture and recent topics with Mr. Walli and also invited him for a visit at his residence in Stockholm.

8th May 2007: HasseWalli.com receives 60.000 hits!
Hasse would like to thank all his faithful fans worldwide for visiting this web site and making it a real success. Please keep checking the site for more photos and videos to be put online soon!

24th February 2007: Hasse's Birthday
Hasse Walli spent his 59th birthday, on Feb. 10th, performing at Finnegan's, in Tuusula, Finland. He also served a delicious cake to the audience.

                 

The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan CD
The release of the new CD "The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan" has been postponed a little. The CD will contain a multipage booklet which will contain previously unreleased photos, plus the story of the band, both in English and French. With brand new masterings, the record will contain 12 songs, including live recordings from Dakar, never previously released. Total playing time will be almost 1hr 15min. The new release date of "The Best of Hasse Walli & Asamaan" is early February 2008 to coincide with Hasse's 60th birthday on Feb. 10th.

A brand new DVD will also be released at the same time, called "The Live Collection, Nr 1", which includes both old and brand new live films of Hasse with several different artists and bands.

Furthermore, there will be a big Birthday Celebration Concert at Tavastia Club in Helsinki, on Wednesday 13th, 2008. Among the performers, there will be the original line-up of Piirpauke, Jormas, The Nameless, Hassan Bah, Afro Line, Ave Hollender, Samu Leminen, and several other artists to be announced, plus surprise guests.

The guestbook is working
A recent server upgrade broke the guestbook but it is working once again. Apologies to anyone who tried to leave a message recently, please try again!

Hasse back from Africa
Hasse Walli returned on January 31st, 2007, from his recent trip to Dakar, Senegal. The one month stay, which was planned as a vacation, became a busy one, as his new Senegalese manager booked Hasse for numerous media engagements and live performances.

The media appearances included two TV Shows (RTS 1 TV, and 2S TV Channels), two Radio Specials on Youssou Ndour's radio station (RFM), a 2.5 hour long Radio Special on 7 FM Radio, and a morning broadcast on Radio Senegal International (RSI). All broadcasts were live.

Hasse also met briefly with Youssou Ndour, at Youssou's recording studio in Dakar.

During January, Hasse performed live in Dakar with the following groups and artists: Viviane Ndour, Fallou Dieng, Les Freres Guisse, Ceddo, Mame Goor, Yoro, Sidy Samb & Askane Wi, and Kairaba.

Hasse will return to Dakar, later in Spring 2007. Please stay tuned for more news and updates concerning Hasse's new projects in Africa!

To find out more on Senegalese media, please see the following web sites:
Sunuker.com, Seneweb.com, Rewmi.com and Xalima.com

Hasse performing with singer/guitarist Yoro. Club Just 4 You, Dakar, Jan. 2007	Senegalese superstar Viviane Ndour introduces Hasse to her audience. Club Yengoulene, Dakar, Jan. 2007
Viviane urges Hasse to play a burning solo, and Hasse delivers. Club Yengoulen, Dakar, Jan. 2007	Viviane and Hasse backstage. Club Yengoulene, Dakar, Jan. 2007

Famous Finnish singer dies
The popular singer Kirka (Kirill Babitzin) died on January 31st, in Helsinki.

His career started in the 60's, when he sang o.a. with The Creatures. He later became a major star, and had several Gold Records. In 1965 Hasse often performed with his group, The Typhoons, at the same venues, as Kirka did with The Creatures (which included legendary musician/singer Remu Aaltonen of The Hurriganes). In 1967 Hasse played guitar on Kirka's first single. Later, in the early 70's, Hasse played a tour with Kirka's band, and also performed on Kirka's first studio LP.

Kirka will be deeply missed by his family and friends, his fans, and by all the people who worked with him.

New video online
The brand new video of Hasse Walli, Hassan Bah & Afro-Line performing "Joli Na Jo", filmed 20 years after the original release is now available in the Videos section.





New photos in the Photo Gallery
As promised, we have added lots of rare photos to the Gallery, starting with shots from the 40's, 50's and 60's. They are in chronological order, and grouped according to which band Hasse has been playing with. When reunions have occurred, they will also be found in the corresponding section chronologically. At the same time we are keeping and expanding the African Years section, which contains photos not necessarily found in the other sections.

There are over 200 photos online now, plus a 60's video. More photos and videos will be added in the near future, so stay tuned!

UPDATE March 7th: Another 30 photos added from across the years with more to be added soon!

Hasse Walli meets Africa's top film director
Senegalese film director Ousman Sembene visited Finland in March-April 2006, in connection with a retrospective screening of his films, arranged in Helsinki by the Finnish Film Archive. A film freak himself since the 60's, Hasse had an interesting discussion with Mr Sembene about films in general, and Senegalese culture in particular. They also found out, that they have been neighbours in the village of Yoff, near the airport of Dakar.

Mr Sembene rarely travels abroad nowadays, so it was a real treat for his fans to be able to hear him in person, telling about his carrier and his films.

Hendrix Anniversaries
On Tuesday 22nd May it will be exactly 40 years since The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their fantastic concert at Kulttuuritalo (The House of Culture) in Helsinki, Finland.

He blew the minds of everybody, and injected inspiration and enthusiasm into the souls of all the guitar players in the audience. Hasse's band, Blues Section, attended the concert, and they clearly drew a lot of influence from Hendrix's super modern rock sound. Hasse remembers, "We were about 10 musicians standing outside the main entrance after the concert, and we were all totally speechless, numb, for about 15 minutes. Nobody could utter a word. Like having seen a spaceship from another dimension. Then somebody said "wow", and everybody agreed, and silently scattered home into the beautiful night of what was the beginning of the Summer of Love."

Hendrix's legendary first LP (Are You Experienced) was soon to be released, and recordings for the second (Axis: Bold as Love) had already begun.

An 8mm film of the Helsinki concert has recently surfaced, and search is going on to find a cassette recording to match the film. All fans and music lovers, in Finland and elsewhere, are requested to raise a toast on May 22nd, in honor of the great man. May the inspiration he gave us live forever!

On 18th June it will be exactly 40 years since The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their first appearance in the USA at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Big Finnish promoter dies
Jorma Weneskoski, one of the biggest music and boxing promoters of the sixties, died on August 15th, 2006, at the age of 76. His stable contained all the top Finnish rock bands in the mid sixties, o.a. Jormas, Blues Section, Topmost and The Roosters. These bands also frequently toured the Scandinavian countries, largely due to Weneskoskis efforts to promote Finnish bands abroad. Jormas, which was on the top in 1965 - 66, was also a turning point for Hasse Walli, as he then turned professional, and had his first chances to perform abroad.

Weneskoski obtained a degree in Economics, but also studied the cello at the Sibelius Academy of Music. He later switched to bass, and led his own bands since the fifties. He discovered many talented artists, who have since became household names in Finnish popular music. He will be deeply missed by family members, his audience, as well as by a large legion of artists, who worked with him.

New videos online!
On this web site are new exclusive videos that have never been broadcast before, including 2 Asamaan video clips (Bamba and Subanna) that have only been broadcast on the national Senegalese TV, RTS, and the brand new video of Joli Na Jo, with Hasse Walli, Hassan Bah & Afro-Line.

The Tavastia concert from September 11th 1996 featured in a number of the videos was actually the promotion gig for the release of Hasse's biography book "Hehkuva Kitara" (Otava, 1996), and included 7 bands from Hasse's career: The Nameless, The Typhoons, Jormas, Blues Section, Piirpauke, Asamaan and the Power Trio. Hasse produced and financed the filming, mixing and editing of the concert, and offered it to Finnish national broadcaster YLE TV2. However, in spite of TV2 producer Jouko Konttinen's efforts, and for reasons unknown, YLE declined to make a deal, so these performances have never been seen before! To those of you who already have the "Todellinen Live" CD (HCD-02) and/or attended the concert at Tavastia, these live videos should be a treat! And there are more coming up soon!

Hasse's new email address is

New CD "Sweet Nina" out now
Hasse Walli and Steve Webb's new CD "Sweet Nina" (containing 13 new songs) was released in November 2005. The album contains several cross-over tracks with African influence as well as ballads and hard Rhythm & Blues. (Check the feedback on the guestbook!)

Emma Golden Guitar award
December 16th 2005 Hasse was awarded the Emma Golden Guitar award for outstanding contribution to the development of guitar music. The award was handed over at a reception at Katajanokan Kasino in Helsinki.