Finnish Punk-Folk From Dark Bottle
- Written by Marky Edison
Dark Bottle is a punk-folk/country and doombilly band from Tampere, founded in 2015 when lead singer and banjo and resoguitar player L. Don Ōkami was fed up with the current state of the alternative roots scene and wanted to do something different from the usual sped up and screamed folk songs.
He gathered a crew of top musicians from varying backgrounds to realize a vision of music with feet firmly planted in both American traditional music and punk attitude, but without fear of musical competence or blinders to other styles of music like doom/stoner metal or krautrock.
The result is a kick-ass music they only half-jokingly call Doombilly. It rocks like a mofo, and the lyrics prove that the banjo can indeed be an antifascist instrument. And it’s no wonder: Don, originally from South Carolina, has been playing Americana for 45 years and banjo for over 30, and was already DJing in alternative radio in the 1970s; Teemu has played guitar with punk and artpop bands for decades; Janne was a top notch metal and punk drummer before deciding to dedicate his craft to doombilly; and Tero has played in a number of punk and indie bands and is the bassist for Finland’s number one bluegrass band.
Their second album Pimeä Pullo, produced by Jarkko Henrik Viinamäki (Autiomaa, Steve’n’Seagulls), is a big step forward from their already great (and almost sold out) first album, Five Euro Pizza, and will put sour mash into every mosh pit.
Check out Pimeä Pullo on Bandcamp
