Mikko Henrik Julius Paananen (born 19 December 1974), better known as Mige, is a Finnish musician, best known as the bassist and founding member of the

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band HIM. Born to an artistic family, Mige attended the Sibelius Upper Secondary School of music and dance, when he first formed HIM with Ville Valo. The band broke up after Mige began his national military service, but they reformed in 1995. HIM would go on to release eight studio albums and become one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time. The band announced their retirement in March 2017, and played their final show on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

2017. Aside from HIM, Mige has performed several times with Daniel Lioneye, the side-project of HIM guitarist

Linde Lindström Mikko Viljami "Linde" Lindström (born 12 August 1976) is a Finnish musician, best known as the guitarist for the gothic rock band HIM. Influenced by the likes of Black Sabbath and Steve Vai, Lindström began playing guitar at age ten, joining ...

. In 2010, Mige released a solo album, titled ''Cimmerica'', under the pseudonym MZ.

Early life

Mikko "Mige" Paananen was born on 19 December 1974 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.33. WSOY His father was an oboist for the

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (in Finnish: ; in Swedish: ; literal English translation: Helsinki City Orchestra; commonly abbreviated as HPO) is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic ...

, while his mother worked as a freelance actor.''Metal Hammer'' Presents HIM: ''Tears On Tape'' Fanpack Magazine – pg. 70 Mige also has an older brother, nicknamed "Helmut". The Paananen family lived in

Oulunkylä Oulunkylä ( sv, Åggelby, also known as ''Ogeli'') is a suburb and a neighbourhood of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is located north from the center of the city. It has been inhabited since the 13th century. Earlier an independent munic ...

, where Mige went to school and met future bandmate

Ville Valo Ville Hermanni Valo (; born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM. Born and raised in Helsinki to a Hungarian mother and Finnish father, Valo began h ...

. Mige's parents divorced when he was thirteen, and he moved to

Tuusula Tuusula (; sv, Tusby ) is a municipality of Finland. It belongs to the Helsinki sub-region of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of () and is by far the third largest municipality in Finland after Nurmijärvi and Kirkkonummi t ...

with his mother.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.34. WSOY While attending the Sibelius Upper Secondary School, Mige moved to Kallio for a year to live with a friend.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.35. WSOY He then moved to

Vallila Vallila () is a neighbourhood in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Vallila is a central-northern neighbourhood, bordered by Pasila to the west and Alppiharju to the south. Like Kallio, Vallila is mostly residential and has a reputation of being a ...

, where he lived alone for some time, before moving back to live with his mother in Tuusula.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.36. WSOY Mige began playing drums at age ten, before switching to guitar and eventually bass. He eventually graduated from the Sibelius Upper Secondary School of music and dance. Mige's parents initially discouraged their son's interest to pursue a musical career, but eventually warmed-up to the idea. Mige also attend gardening school and for a while worked as a gardener for the city of Helsinki.

Career

HIM

In 1991, Ville Valo and Mige formed His Infernal Majesty.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.23. WSOY The band broke-up however, when Mige began his national military service in 1993. His Infernal Majesty was later reformed in 1995, by Valo and guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström, who were soon rejoined by Mige. After the additions of keyboardist Antto Melasniemi and drummer Juhana "Pätkä" Rantala, the band, now called HIM, released their debut album '' Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666'' in 1997.''Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666'' album sleeve notes. In 2000, now with drummer

Gas Lipstick Mika Kristian Karppinen (born 8 February 1971), better known as Gas Lipstick, is a Swedish-Finnish musician, best known as the previous drummer of the Finnish gothic rock band HIM. He is also a drummer for other bands currently on hiatus, such ...

and keyboardist Juska Salminen, HIM released ''

Razorblade Romance ''Razorblade Romance'' is the second studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. HIM initially began recording the album with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who had helmed the group's 1997 debut album, however these sessions proved unsuccessful, ...

'', which reached number 1 in Finland,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its first single, "

Join Me in Death "Join Me in Death" is a single by Finnish gothic rock band HIM, taken from their second studio album, ''Razorblade Romance'' (2000). It was also released as "Join Me", since they were not allowed to include "Death" in the title for the US vers ...

", also charted at number 1 in Finland and Germany, eventually going platinum in the former. Following the addition of Janne "Burton" Puurtinen on keyboards, the band released ''

Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights ''Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights'' is the third studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM, released 27 August 2001. The album was produced co-produced by the band, T. T. Oksala and Kevin Shirley. The record had a troubled production, ...

'' and ''

Love Metal ''Love Metal'' is the fourth studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM (Finnish band), HIM. Released on 11 April 2003, HIM began recording demos for the album in northern spring 2002, after an exhausting touring cycle for their Deep Shadows a ...

'' in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Both cracked the top ten in several countries, and became the band's first albums to chart in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After relocating to the US, HIM released '' Dark Light'' in 2005, which became the group's most successful album to date, going gold in Germany, the UK, the US, and platinum in Finland. In 2007, HIM released ''

Venus Doom ''Venus Doom'' is the sixth studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. The album was recorded at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki with producers Hiili Hiilesmaa and Tim Palmer, both whom had collaborated with the band on various occasions, and ...

'', which went gold in Finland and Germany, and gave the band their highest US-chart position at number 12. After 2010's '' Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice'', the band went on hiatus after drummer Gas Lipstick was diagnosed with a repetitive stress injury and nerve damage in his hands.''Metal Hammer'' Presents HIM: ''Tears On Tape'' Fanpack Magazine – pg. 10 After eight months of uncertainty, the band regrouped and eventually released the album ''

Tears on Tape ''Tears on Tape'' is the eighth and final studio album by Finnish rock band HIM, released 26 April 2013 in Finland, 29 April 2013 in Europe, and on 30 April 2013 in the US and Canada. Background At the beginning of 2011 HIM parted ways with ...

'' in 2013. In 2015, Gas Lipstick announced his departure from HIM after 16 years, to pursue other musical projects. He was subsequently replaced by Jukka "Kosmo" Kröger. On 5 March 2017, HIM announced the end of the band following a

farewell tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

in 2017. The band played their final show on

2017 as a part of their annual

Helldone Helldone was an annual music festival organized by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. Typically held on 31 December at the Tavastia Club, and its companion club the Semifinal, in Helsinki, Finland, Helldone began in 1999 as an annual New Year's Eve ...

Festival.

Other musical work

In 2001, Mige played bass on the album ''The King of Rock 'n Roll'' by Daniel Lioneye, which also included Linde Lindström on guitar and vocals, and Ville Valo on drums. The band had played a handful of shows prior, and embarked on a three-date festival tour across Finland after the album's release.Juho K. Juntunen (2002). "HIM – Synnin viemää" p.185. WSOY In 2010, Mige, under the pseudonym MZ, released the album ''Cimmerica'', which was mixed by Ville Valo.''Cimmerica'' album sleeve notes.''Metal Hammer'' Presents HIM: ''Tears On Tape'' Fanpack Magazine – pg. 71 In February 2011, Daniel Lioneye toured the US in support of

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, with the line-up of Mige, Lindström, Burton on keyboards, Seppo Tarvainen on drums, and Manu Patel on backing vocals. On 30 December 2014, the original line-up of Daniel Lioneye reunited for a performance at HIM's annual

festival Helldone. On 29 June 2016, it was announced that Daniel Lioneye would release its third album ''Vol. III'' on 19 August 2016, with Lindström on guitar and vocals, Mige on bass, Burton on keyboards and Seppo Tarvainen on drums. The band also announced five tour dates across Finland for September 2016. Daniel Lioneye was also scheduled to perform several European shows later in the fall, but the dates were cancelled after Tarvainen suffered a broken arm.

Equipment

Mige currently uses

Fender Jazz Bass The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to ''J-Bass'') is the second model of Bass guitar, electric bass created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Fender Precision Bass, Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange a ...

es. He previously used a

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrum ...

, as well as a

Gibson Thunderbird The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric bass guitar made by Gibson and Epiphone. Background and introduction The Gibson Thunderbird was introduced in 1963. At the time, Fender had been the leader in the electric bass market since their introduct ...

, as seen in the music video for "

" among others. Mige uses a Fender Super Bassman amp head, as well as a Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah and a Death by Audio Soundwave Breakdown

fuzz pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

. He previously used a

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

Bass 400+ amplifier.

Discography

HIM

* ''

Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 ''Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666'' is the debut studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM. The album was recorded in fifteen days during the summer of 1997 with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, whom vocalist Ville Valo has credited as the honorary s ...

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) * '' Dark Light'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * '' Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice'' (2010) * ''

'' (2013)

Daniel Lioneye

* ''The King of Rock 'n Roll'' (2001) * ''Vol. III'' (2016)

MZ

* ''Cimmerica'' (2010)

References

External links

* of HIM {{DEFAULTSORT:Mige 1974 births Finnish bass guitarists Finnish male musicians Living people Musicians from Helsinki 21st-century bass guitarists 21st-century male musicians