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SIDE CThe Circle Extended Universe: Every Side Project Mapped
Jussi Lehtisalo and his collaborators have operated under half a dozen names at once for three decades — sometimes literally swapping band names for an album. Here's every project with a real, verifiable footprint, and what's actually known about each.
Full profiles
These three have enough real, sourced material for a full page.
Pharaoh Overlord
Stoner-rock spin-off, founded 2000 — the project that once swapped album titles with Circle itself. Full profile →Rättö ja Lehtisalo
Mika Rättö & Jussi Lehtisalo's long-running duo, active on and off since 2003. Full profile →Ektroverde
The 1996–2003 sister project that gave Ektro Records its name and one of its earliest releases. Full profile →Named, real, but thin on public record
These are confirmed real side projects associated with Circle's members, but we don't yet have enough verifiable detail for a full standalone page. Short, honest entries only — no padding.
Falcon
Circle's hair-metal parody alter-ego, played entirely straight — at one point Circle's own members recorded as "Falcon (ex-Circle)" while a different lineup was loaned the Circle name itself.K-X-P
Electronic/motorik outfit formed 2006 by Timo Kaukolampi and Tuomo Puranen (both ex-Op:l Bastards) — the Circle connection is drummer Tomi Leppänen, who plays most of their live shows.Aavikko
A Finnish synth/electronic trio — the same connective thread as K-X-P: Tomi Leppänen on drums, in a much more synth-pop-leaning setting than Circle ever attempts.Doktor Kettu
Jussi Lehtisalo's noise/dark-ambient/drone outlet with Petri Hagner, Tuomas Niskanen, Alpo Nummelin, and Jouko Salenius — active 2003-2004, its fullest statement is 2009's Soft Delirium.Steel Mammoth
Lehtisalo again, in a quartet with drummer Rema 7000 (Anssi Kasitonni), bassist Warbus, and Ville Pirinen (also of Black Audio and Digitaalimiehet), active since 2007 — a run of post-nuclear-apocalypse concept records (Nuclear Ritual, Nuclear Rebirth, Atomic Oblivion, and others) that read like a doom-metal parody of Cold War paranoia.Spotted a source we've missed for one of these? Let us know →
Why so many bands?
Jussi Lehtisalo has answered this directly more than once, and the two answers together say more about how this whole "extended universe" works than any outside description could. In a 2014 interview, he framed the sprawl as failed scene-building that turned solo: he wanted to build a whole NWOFHM scene, but found himself pretty much the only one excited by the idea, so he started ten or twenty different bands instead. Three years later, in another interview, he put the underlying philosophy more bluntly, arguing that quantity matters more than quality to this whole project — that being bad sometimes adds an inciting insecurity to the art, making it slightly more human.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Jussi Lehtisalo run so many different bands?
He's answered this directly twice. In a 2014 interview he framed it as failed scene-building that turned solo — he wanted to build a whole NWOFHM scene, found himself pretty much the only one excited by the idea, and started ten or twenty bands instead. In a 2017 interview he put it more bluntly: quantity matters more than quality, and being bad sometimes adds an inciting insecurity that makes the art slightly more human.
Which side projects get a full standalone page on this archive, and why only those three?
Pharaoh Overlord, Rättö ja Lehtisalo, and Ektroverde — the three with enough real, sourced material to support a full page. Falcon, K-X-P, Aavikko, Doktor Kettu, and Steel Mammoth are confirmed real but currently too thin on public record for more than a short, honest entry.
What is Falcon, and how is it connected to Circle?
Circle's hair-metal parody alter-ego, played entirely straight. At one point Circle's own members recorded as "Falcon (ex-Circle)" while a different lineup was loaned the Circle name itself.
What links K-X-P and Aavikko to Circle?
Both are connected through drummer Tomi Leppänen rather than Jussi Lehtisalo. K-X-P is an electronic/motorik outfit formed in 2006 by Timo Kaukolampi and Tuomo Puranen (both ex-Op:l Bastards), with Leppänen playing most of their live shows; Aavikko is a Finnish synth/electronic trio in a more synth-pop-leaning setting, also featuring Leppänen on drums.
What are Doktor Kettu and Steel Mammoth?
Both are Jussi Lehtisalo outlets outside Circle. Doktor Kettu, active 2003–2004 with Petri Hagner, Tuomas Niskanen, Alpo Nummelin, and Jouko Salenius, is a noise/dark-ambient/ drone project whose fullest statement is 2009's Soft Delirium. Steel Mammoth, active since 2007 with drummer Rema 7000, bassist Warbus, and Ville Pirinen, makes post-nuclear-apocalypse concept records like Nuclear Ritual and Atomic Oblivion that read like a doom-metal parody of Cold War paranoia.