Vienna, Austria – The band Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat (Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day or PKN for short) is representing Finland and people with Downs Syndrome and autism spectrum disorder at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
The band is made up of four members, Pertti, Sami, Kari, and Toni all of whom have either ASD or Down’s syndrome. They are the first punk band to compete for the top prize at Eurovision but as the band’s bass player Sami told news outlet Euronews, PKN is confident they’ll win:
“Well, we think that our music will be well received, just like any other type of music.” The bands singer Kari added: “You can always give it a try.”
The band was founded in 2009 and has already released five EPs and one album. They are a huge household name at home in Finland and have toured Scandinavia, Europe and North America. PKN will compete in their own flair and plan to make no changes to their look or what they’ll wear for their performance.
An award-winning documentary about PKN and their rebellion of the mainstream is called “The Punk Syndrome,” and is available on Vimeo on Demand with subtitles in seven different languages.
Below you can watch the trailer for The Punk Syndrome.
The Punk Syndrome (Kovasikajuttu) – Trailer from Mouka Filmi on Vimeo.
Contributed by Audrey L. Hollingshead.
Source: Euronews website: Finnish punk rockers with Down’s, Autism and Attitude enter Eurovision