Måns Groundstroem in the 1980s.

Måns Ivar Åkesson "Måsse" Groundstroem [grʊndström]^[1] (born April 23, 1949) is a Finnish bass player, studio technician and music producer.^[2] He has recorded ca. 100 music albums and produced another 70 albums. Most of these albums were released by Love Records.^[3]

Early life

Groundstroem grew up in the Töölö neighbourhood in Helsinki, in an educated bourgeoisie family. Even before he went to school, he was sent to piano lessons, but he was not excited about classical piano music. "I had absolutely no touch for playing classical music. In fact, I used to hate that form of terror. At that time, that is." However, his father bought him a guitar, and thus Groundstroem was able to "rebel with rock music, which at the time was turning young people wild". During these early years, Groundstroem played in bands called Typhoons, Pems and Roosters. Already in 1965 he was playing semiprofessionally, and the following year he made his recording debut on Jukka Kuoppamäki’s album Mitä kansa haluaa (‘What the people want’).^[3]

Career

Groundstroem played in three prominent Finnish rock bands in succession. These were Blues Section and the progressive rock bands Tasavallan Presidentti and Wigwam. Of these Blues Section was the first band to release a record through Love Records and Wigwam the last. In Wigwam, Groundstroem was the longest serving bass player (1974–2003).^[3]

Since 1971, Groundstroem became known as a music producer and audio engineer. He produced albums for e.g. Jukka Tolonen, Jim Pembroke, Pekka Pohjola, Dave Lindholm, Juice Leskinen, Albert Järvinen, Muska, Maarit as well as for Hurriganes and Kaseva.

“Most of the time I was given new artists to produce. If I was successful with them, a real professional was hired for the following album. […] Being a producer was essentially a practical job – it included planning, drawing up schedules and staying up late. Little by little I tried to assume a musical role, encouraging and motivating the musicians, and even that of an arbiter of taste." When punk rock and new wave music emerged, he was no longer a hot item in the field of rhythm music, and he left the business and trained as a cook, in which job he worked for five years in the 1980s.^[3]

In the early 1990s, Groundstroem had to give up his career as a cook, due to psoriasis. The disease cause the skin of his hands to flake. He then returned to music producing and bass playing, just in time for the re-emergence of Tasavallan Presidentti and Wigwam. He continued to play with these bands until 2004, when his psoriasis got worse and he had to go to disability pension.^[3]

In 2007, Groundstroem was granted artist's pension.^[4] During the last few years Groundstroem has played with Wigwam Revisited, which consists of former Wigwam members. He has also worked as an engineer and producer for a few record releases.

Akipekka Alanko plays Groundstroem in the film Love Records – Anna mulle Lovee, and Niklas Groundstroem has played him in the radio drama Itkisitkö onnesta?^[5]

Måns Groundstroem discography

References