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 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 2017. Aside from HIM, Mige has performed several times with Daniel Lioneye, the side-project of HIM guitarist Linde Lindström. 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. His father was an oboist for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, while his mother worked as a freelance actor. Mige also has an older brother, nicknamed "Helmut". The Paananen family lived in Oulunkylä, where Mige went to school and met future bandmate Ville Valo. Mige's parents divorced when he was thirteen, and he moved to Tuusula with his mother. While attending the Sibelius Upper Secondary School, Mige moved to Kallio for a year to live with a friend. He then moved to Vallila, where he lived alone for some time, before moving back to live with his mother in Tuusula. 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. 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. In 2000, now with drummer Gas Lipstick and keyboardist Juska