Patrik Austin

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Patrik Austin
Patrik Austin at festival Maailma Kylässä in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Patrik Austin
Also known as	Piet Raakalainen
Origin	Finland
Genre(s)	Progressive rock, punk rock, ska-punk
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Voice type(s)	Baritone
Years active	1991-present
Label(s)	Levy-yhtiö Records, Vinilkosmo
Associated acts	Dolchamar, Punaiset Messiaat, Leena Peisa
Website	dolchamar.net

Patrik Austin, (b. Unknown) is a Finnish singer. He was the lead singer of Punaiset Messiaat until he left the band to move to London in 1997 and he is now the lead singer and guitarist for the pop rock band Dolchamar. He learned Esperanto in 1998 and founded Dolchamar who perform in Esperanto. Between 1994 and 2005 he played and recorded with Leena Peisa, the former keyboardist of Punaiset Messiaat and Dolchamar who now plays in Lordi.

[edit] Life and career

Austin explains in an interview that he left his band to see a different life and moved to London where he was as an all-round worker doing occasional fashion modelling. He studied Esperanto through a self-study course at a quiet job, inspired by the Finnish artist and esperantist, M. A. Numminen. The original idea of Dolchamar was to arrange youth activities in Esperanto in London. The band made a demo and was signed by the French Vinilkosmo record company, but Austin moved back to Finland to finish the debut album, Lingvo intermonda.^[1]

Patrik Austin studied Scandinavian languages at University College London, and has an MA from the University of Helsinki. In the past few years, Austin has written several articles on pseudoscience, especially in the field of education. His publishers include the Finnish Teacher's Magazine, The Finnish Skeptic's Magazine, Universitas Helsingiensis and Helsingin Sanomat among others.