Full Volume! – the decades of youth and DJ culture in South Karelia

Disco fever hit Finland in the late 1960s and, by the 1970s, it was in full swing. Gone were the days of live orchestras – discos ushered in an era of dance floors pulsing to recorded music. This era also gave rise to a new profession: the disc jockey, or DJ. In Finnish, they became known as “tiskijukat” (literally “dish Jacks”).
Lappeenranta was at the heart of Finland’s disco scene in the 1970s. DJ Edward from Lappeenranta claimed Finland’s first national DJ championship in 1977, the same year the city set a Guinness World Record for nonstop DJing. DJs Hammu, Ina and Usa spun tracks for an astonishing 101 hours straight. The Full Volume! (Nupit Kaakossa!) exhibition takes you on a groovy trip through South Karelia’s youth culture from the 1970s to the 2010s, with the late, great Showmaster DJ Edward (1955–2019) and his colleagues setting the tone.