Eicca Toppinen
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Eicca Toppinen |
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Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen is a Finnish cellist, songwriter, producer, arranger, and (as a hobby) drummer. In 1993 he formed the quartet Apocalyptica.[1]
Biography
Toppinen grew up in Vantaa's Hakunila and has three sisters and one brother.
He attended the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he met Paavo Lötjönen, Antero Manninen and Max Lilja. When he attended Sibelius, Eicca couldn't get an apartment or student support money because he lived too close to Helsinki, where the Academy resides.
After graduating, he played for several orchestras, including "Radio Symphony Orchestra" and "Avanti". He's also a founding member of the Sibelius Academy's Cellosextet.
The members of the young Vivo Symphony Orchestra got to witness how their orchestra mates played 3 songs from one of Metallica's albums, Ride the Lightning. Two years later, Apocalyptica performed at Helsinki's Teatro Heavy Metal Club.[2] A week later, Kari Hynninen of Zen Garden Records contacted Eicca to discuss a deal to make their very first record: Plays Metallica by Four Cellos.
Perttu Kivilaakso replaced Antero Manninen in 1999. Max Lilja left the band in 2002 and in 2006, Mikko Sirén, who had played with the band on recordings and on tour, was made a permanent member of Apocalyptica.
Toppinen married Kirsi Ylijoki, a Finnish actress, in 1997. They live in an expansive rural area in Sipoo, Finland. They have 2 children: Eelis, born in 1999 and Ilmari, born in 2002.
After first writing songs for Apocalyptica, Toppinen also became involved in the writing of music for various other projects, such as the theatrical performance of Paper Rain and the Finnish Film Milja.
In 2007, Toppinen composed the soundtrack for the Finnish movie Musta Jää (Black Ice). He has since been nominated and, on February 3, 2008, won a Jussi Award for writing the score. He also wrote the movie's main theme, sung by Hanna Pakarinen.
In December, 2007, Toppinen was invited to the Finnish Independence Day Presidential Reception in Helsinki. He attended with his wife, Kirsi, and was prominently featured in several news articles and interviews. Unfortunately, he had to miss Apocalyptica's sold-out show in Strasbourg, France, the first time he had ever missed a performance by his band in 14 years.
Toppinen says his biggest achievement is Apocalyptica.
Toppinen's Idols
Equipment
Lupot (1787) Postiglione (1857)
Guillaume A. Vigneron
Tomastik Infeld Spirocore
References
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Apocalyptica". AMG. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.apocalyptica.com