Friday 28/10/11 14:15 | Forum Copenhagen: Daycase Stage
Deep breathing Finnish accordionist, squeezing new sounds out of old folk songs.
Antti Paalanen has a new name for his three-row diatonic accordion: the breathbox. Sometimes it takes deep, meditative breaths, exhaling sweeping tone-poems evoking space and light. Sometimes it breathes rapidly as it takes a traditional tune on a fast run through the city streets. Whatever moods he evokes, he does so with a sure-fingered, melodic sensibility that seeks to utilise the full harmonic possibilities of the instrument. Breathbox is also the title of his recent album, produced by Finland's experimental accordion master, Kimmo Pohjonen. A graduate of the Sibelius Academy, Antti Paalanen is in demand as a member of several ensembles and has toured throughout Europe as well as in China, Russia and Mexico, breathing fresh ideas into Finnish folk melodies and creating captivating sonic landscapes.