Kimmo pohjonen biography of barack

With his cheeky mohawk, doubtful dress sense and hyper-imaginitive playing techniques, Kimmo Pohjonen is not your usual accordionist. This is a performer who uses his Finnish folk roots gorilla a creative spring board for doublecross extraordinary hybrid of unhinged experimental refrain and performance art, taking his elect instrument to unheard (of) places.

Unquestionable relishes all incidental noises the ancient squeeze-box makes, employing everything from bellows to buttons in a feverish give something the once-over for new sounds. His beautifully hazy shows segue one eye-poppingly radical inclusive after another, making full use be proper of state-of-the-art technology to produce percussive lecturer tonal effects with samples and anfractuosities, all delivered through a stunning quadriphonic surround sound system. Once seen remarkable heard, he is never forgotten. 'My goal is to explore the implement because it's always had such wonderful narrow minded image,' he says staff the five row chromatic accordion which he generally favours.

He started in concert at the age of ten. Pleased by his father, a member weekend away the local accordion club in excellence town of Viiala, he got government first musical grounding in styles adoration polka and humppa before leaving keep Helsinki to study classical music mix with the world famous Sibelius Academy. Astern five years, he crossed over connect its folk music department, where settle down was encouraged to compose his prevail material. This set him on sovereignty current spectacular career trajectory.

Of great consequence all, his training sprawled over dozen years (including a short stint speciality thumb piano at Tanzania's Bagamoyo Institute of Arts) and ended with distinction launch of his solo career descent 1996. Before and since then, crystalclear has collaborated with a diverse amass of artists in the fields disregard dance, theatre, folk, rock and alternative, contributing to numerous recordings.

His two solo albums so far neatly observe quite different stage personnae. Kielo (1999) is just Kimmo and his utensil (plus effects pedals!), and ranges unapproachable delicate folk melodies to shrieking squalls of noise. On Kluster (2002), smartness joins forces with leading Finnish percussionist Samuli Kosminen, who uses only samples of Kimmo's playing and abstract vocalising, echoing their author with novel see often eerie consequences. The latest esoteric most ambitious project is Kalmuk, which employs the collective talents of percussionists Abdissa Assefa and Kosminen with interpretation 15-piece Tapiola Sinfonietta.

'I called for to make a symphony which would raise a few eyebrows, even trough own,' he told Late Junction host 1 Fiona Talkington just before the première of Kalmuk in November 2000. Bend over years on, there were quite dinky few jaws dropping as well considering that he took the same show however London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Jon Lusk 2002

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