Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip
Biography Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip
Micke Bjorklof
is an award winning blues artist, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader from Finland. He has released 10 albums with his world-class bluesrock band Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip and acoustic power trio Micke & Lefty feat.Chef. Bjorklof with his bands are a well-established name in their native Finland and throughout Scandinavia where they have been Ambassadors of Blues music for over 30 years. To date they have toured into closer 20 countries all from Japan, USA and Europe. He´s also known from his collaboration with Finnish Slide Guitar Queen Erja Lyytinen.
Micke started as a drummer at age of 12-years. Later adding vocals, harmonica and guitar to his musical tools. Early days of his musical path went pretty much with rock music even though blues and roots music has always been in there by ZZ Top, Rory Gallagher, Stevie Ray Vaughan etc. But the serious big blues wake up call came in the beginning of nineties after touring with Finnish Blues legend Pepe Ahlqvist.
“This is a hard hitting blues band with very accomplished and focused musicians”, Grammy Award winning producer John Porter
1991 he formed Micke Bjorklof & Blue Strip with bass player Seppo Nuolikoski. The band is known from their energetic live shows from smoky blues clubs to large festival arenas, where they have been stirring up audiences wherever they go. Micke´s powerful vocals, Lefty Leppänen´s worldclass slide guitarwork and tight rhythm section has become their trademark. After a few minor changes during the early days, the recording line-up has remained unaltered since 1998. Initially an acoustic Blues-Rock cover band, they have now grown into a full fledged electric blues band electric with mostly original material; roots & blues music becoming their primary muse.
“I wanna keep the musical future as an open road. Blues has been the red thread for us but we have always been flirting with other rootsmusic styles too. We´ve been taking influences from anywhere, it can be rhythmical, sounds or with pushing genre boundaries. It´s all the blues for me! We are five guys with very different musical backgrounds, I think that´s our strength also to our distinct sound. We try to do our best to follow the path of Muddy and Howlin, they did not sound like anything that had been done in blues before. You’ve gotta keep that kind of fire and spirit going. You have to be who you are and find your own voice to your music”, says Bjorklof.
“Dynamite vocals backed up with worldclass slide guitar work”, Bluebird Reviews, USA
”When we started this band in the beginning of nineties we never, in our wildest dreams, would have thought that we would still be rolling after more than a quarter of century on the road. Through the years our music has taken us to so many cool places, from Tokyo to New Orleans, and all the way to world’s northernmost blues festival in Svalbard”, says Bjorklof.
In the beginning of 2000 Bjorklof formed as spin off from the band an acoustic project with guitarist Lefty Leppänen called Micke & Lefty feat.Chef. That came basically from the need to play acoustic delta and country blues. The music they both had strongly been influenced by. Specially now when the band was moving more towards electric bluesrock.
“I like to do all kinda stuff and play music with wide range as well as play various instruments. These two very different bands gives me a possibility to fulfill my musical needs. It also gives you more possibilities what comes to performing and touring”, explains Bjorklof.
“I really like Bjorklof´s vocals throughout and Leppanens slide guitar, it´s a tough combo to beat”, Bmans Bluesreport, USA
