Eicca Toppinen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eicca Toppinen
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Toppinen performing in 2009
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | 5 August 1975 |
| Origin | Vantaa, Finland |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, songwriter |
| Instruments | |
Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen (born 5 August 1975) is a Finnish cellist, songwriter, producer, and arranger. In 1993, he started the famous band Apocalyptica.
Contents
Biography
Eicca Toppinen grew up in Vantaa, Finland. He has three sisters and one brother. All of them learned to play musical instruments. Eicca started playing the cello when he was nine years old. He and his sisters even made fun recordings for their family, especially for Christmas.
He went to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, a famous music school. There, he met future Apocalyptica band members Paavo Lötjönen, Antero Manninen, and Max Lilja. Eicca played for several orchestras, like the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also helped start the Sibelius Academy's Cellosextet, a group of six cellos.
In 1993, while Eicca was still studying, a young orchestra played three songs by the band Metallica. Eicca had bought a book of guitar music for a Metallica album. This gave him the idea to play rock music on cellos.
Two years later, Apocalyptica played a show in Helsinki. A record company heard them and wanted to make a record. This led to their very first album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos.
After writing songs for Apocalyptica, Eicca also worked on other projects. He wrote music for a play called Paper Rain. He also composed the soundtrack for the Finnish movie Musta Jää (Black Ice) in 2007. In 2008, he won an award called a Jussi Award for his music in the movie. He also wrote the movie's main song, sung by Hanna Pakarinen.
In 2007, Eicca was invited to a special party for Finnish Independence Day. This was a big honor, but it meant he missed an Apocalyptica concert. It was the first time he had ever missed a show in 14 years!
Eicca also wrote music for a big show called Wagner Reloaded-Live in Leipzig. This show mixed classical music with metal. It was recorded live in 2013 and released as an Apocalyptica album.
He has also composed an opera (a musical play) with his Apocalyptica bandmate Perttu Kivilaakso. Their opera is called Indigo. It tells a science fiction story about a big company and the search for happiness. It first opened in 2016.
In 2020, Eicca was a guest on the TV show Masked Singer Suomi. Eicca says that starting Apocalyptica is his biggest achievement. Besides playing cello in Apocalyptica, he also played drums for the Finnish rock band Cherry & The Vipers.
Personal life
Eicca Toppinen married Kirsi Ylijoki, a Finnish actress, in 1997. They lived in a country area in Sipoo, Finland. They have two children: Eelis, born in 1998, and Ilmari, born in 2002. They divorced in 2020. As of 2023, Toppinen lives in Oslo, Norway.
Equipment
Eicca Toppinen uses special instruments for his music:
- Lupot (from 1787)
- Postiglione (from 1857)
- Bow (used to play the cello strings)
- Guillaume
- A. Vigneron
- Strings (the wires on the cello)
- Thomastik-Infeld Spirocore
See also
In Spanish: Eicca Toppinen para niños
