Lovex

Lovex is Julian´s main band and that´s where most of us know him from. Lovex is a typical Finnish rock band with catchy melodies and lyrics.

Back in 2001 the band started with a different drummer and Julian didn´t join Lovex until 2004 when he completed the final line-up. Things began to roll then; the band recorded a 4-track demo which was sent to record companies and, to the delight of their fans, leaked on the internet. The band´s first record deal was eventually signed with Emi Finland. The summer of 2005 brought their first official single "Bleeding" which did well on the Finnish charts and was followed by "Guardian Angel", their most popular release so far, a couple of months later.

The long awaited debut album "Divine Insanity", released in March 2006, contained the additional singles "Die a little more" and "Remorse". After excessive touring through Finland, the band finally signed their first international contract with the German record company Gun Records, a sub-label of Sony BMG. The band had high aims for 2007 but not all of them were met when they failed to win the national final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Lovex released two brand new songs, "Anyone Anymore" as well as "Wild and Violent", and made two successful club tours through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. After the Japanese company EMI Toshiba took interest in Lovex, too, "Divine Insanity" was released in Japan in July 2007.

More than two years after the release of their debut album, its successor "Pretend or Surrender" hit the stores in several countries. The album includes a song composed by Julian, "The End of the World". Concerts in Finland, Germany and even Japan followed, later that year another successful tour through Europe. More new material, namely songs called "Don´t let me fall" and "Got what I came for", was digitally released in 2009 and the band toured through Germany and Switzerland again. This tour featured an acoustic set unofficially called "Toro ja Julle Show" where Julian played cover songs by bands such as Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis on an acoustic guitar.

Lovex are planning to record a new album this year but so far no potential release date is known.

 

Other known projects/performances

• As of April 2009, Julian is taking part in "Joonas the band", a project initiated by Essentia fronter Joonas Lepistö. He plays drums in this project. More info can be found [here].

• Julian plays guitar in a band called NRO.83 [info].

• Julian, on guitar, recorded an acoustic ballad called "My only Love" together with Johnny Sky, singer of Trefoil, back in 2004. The song is not available anymore.

• In 2008 Julian, on guitar, has played an acoustic bar gig together with his older brother Jimmy Drain and Johnny Sky. You can watch a short clip of the performance on Lovex´s [Mobile Blog].

• Julian, on guitar, performed together with Kille Kuuleri [video].