Kimmo Pohjonen

country:
Finland
style(s):
- Fusion
- Rock
label:
Ondine / Naxos
type:
Band, Solo
gender:
male
instrumentation:
instrumental, vocal
artist submitted by:
La Candela Musikagentur GmbH

BOOKING
Territory: Germany / Austria / Switzerland
Period: all year on request

Kimmo Pohjonen is one of the most respected and in-demand musicians and performers in Finland. An accordionist of exceptional ability and imagination, Kimmo's musical history goes back more than twenty years in rock, folk, avant-garde, improvisation, classical, dance and theatre music projects.

In 1996 he embarked on a solo career, featuring extreme and original compositions, live loops and effects, a dynamic and animated stage performance orchestrated lights and surround sound.

Kimmo's singular mission is to expand the capabilities, sound, performance, scope and experience of the accordion in many different settings to levels never before seen or heard. Accordion, voice, effects, surround sound and light show combine to make a unique and captivating performance event.

The latest recordings of his project 'Uniko' together with Samuli Kosminen & Kronos Quartet shot up to number 3 of the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) it was the third-most-frequently played record of the year 2011.

Documentary film "Soundbreaker"
The documentary film about Kimmo Pohjonen, 'Soundbreaker', won a major prize: "Prix de la Creation", the Award for Best Creative Film at FIFA 2012, the 30th Festival International for Films on Art, in Montreal.
Director: Kimmo Koskela
Producers: Kimmo Koskela and Klaus Heydemann

Further Projects:

Uniko:
Kimmo Pohjonen's new project Uniko is a Pohjonen / Kosminen composition performed by Kimmo Pohjonen on accordion and Proton String Quartet with samples of accordion and strings manipulated, treated and reproduced by sampling maestro Samuli Kosminen. The idea behind the creation of Uniko is to explore further the possible sounds from the combination of accordion samples, strings, string samples and surround sound.

Kluster:
Kimmo Pohjonen's project Kluster is a duo project with the drummer Samuli Kosminen. Their partnership takes accordion music to new and unexplored territory. On stage, Samuli reproduces samples of Kimmo's accordion and voice percussively by way of electronic drum pads and combining that with Kimmo's accordion, voice, live loops, effects and surround sound. The result is a multi-dimensional performance experience.

KTU:
Kimmo and Samuli also team up with Pat Mastelotto (rhythmic devices) and Trey Gunn (Warr guitar) of King Crimson for the quartet called Kluster TU [ktu]. Their could originate partly from Scandinavian myths, partly from futuristic computer technology. Accordion, voice, effects, surround sound and light show merge to a unique and captivating performance. In 2008, the band toured worldwide and played at the "Creation of Peace" festival in Tatarstan/ Russia, which drew over 200,000 people, with artists such as Patti Smith and Tony Levin.

Current Album: 'Uniko' (Ondine / Naxos 2011)

"Calling Kimmo Pohjonen an accordionist is a bit like describing the encyclopedia brittanica as a book." The Herald Scotland

"Kimmo Pohjonen is not just one of the world's finest accordion players, he's a composer of panoramic vision, a consummate stage performer, producer and innovator. We've known all this for a long time but with UNIKO his importance in the contemporary music world is now unquestionable."
Songlines, 5 Stars

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