Kimmo Pohjonen

In addition to music, Pohjonen has been involved in television and film projects. He appeared on the 2013 television special Nordisk prisgalla, and episodes of television series Puoli seitsemän (2011), Strada (2010), Maria! (2010), Arto Nyberg (2007) and Later with Jools Holland (2000). He has written Yle Live: Kimmo Kohjonen Special (TV Movie, 2014), Soundbreaker (documentary, 2012), Salla: Selling the Silence (documentary, 2010), Jadesoturi (2006), Mayak (2006), Päivä isän kanssa (short documentary, 1999). He appeared as an accordion player on a balcony in the 1999 film Pikkusisar.

He composes works during the winter months in Finland, improvising and playing for hours but does not write notes while improvising. While he says he has images in his head when he composes and plays, he is reluctant to share his own concepts about the meanings of his works. David Harrington of Kronos Quartet said, referring to hearing Pohjonen's music for the first time "Every once in a while you hear a musician and you think, 'why have I never heard this guy before?' That's what I thought when I first heard Kimmo's CD," he says. "The music was invigorating, life-affirming, disturbing, incredible – and kind of alarming. It was all of these things mixed into one experience. "

His live performances are uninhibited and athletic and have been called "extravagant" and "unhinged." and can included singing, acrobatics, electronic samples and art. Improvisation is central to his performances. Mastelotto says of performing live with Pohjonen "Dangerous, Intense. His energy and testosterone levels are high. We go into a trance on stage. Our performances are built around very dynamic musical arrangements and it seems to me at times like I am riding on a horse on an ocean wave – I let the bridle go and let this massive energy set the path over the shifting terrain."

He generally is involved in several projects at once, both solo and in collaboration with other artists. One major collaboration has been with the Kronos Quartet, which began in 2003. In San Francisco, he worked with the string quartet to create an 80-minute work called Uniko, which was premiered in Helsinki. Another major collaboration is with Samuli Kosminen and two King Crimson members, percussionist Pat Mastelotto and guitarist Trey Gunn. The four play together under the name of KTU (pronounced K-2) and have toured Europe extensively. They also produced an album called Eight-Armed Monkey.

He began a solo career in 1996, releasing his first solo album Kielo in 1999. Since the early 2000s he has focused on solo touring. Pohjonen has played for audiences all over Europe, especially Finland, as well as in Japan. He counts among his fans David Bowie, who invited the artist to his 2002 Meltdown Festival in London. He has had fewer performances in the Americas, but major appearances include South by Southwest in 1999 and a tour in Mexico in 2014, which included the Festival Internacional Cervantino.

Pohjonen began his music career in the 1980s. After graduation he recorded folk music with Järvelä and part of a duo called Pinnin Pojat (the Pinni Boys) and began to write folk music. The duo released four CDs including Gogo 4. As part of the short-lived group Ottopasuuna, with Kari Reiman from Värttinä, he released two albums.

Kimmo Pohjonen (born August 16, 1964) is a Finnish accordionist who is known for his avant-garde and experimental work with his custom-made electrified and modified instrument. He has released nine albums of his work and has toured Europe extensively, as well as performances in Japan and some in North America. He records and performs both solo and in collaboration with musicians and other artists, including the Kronos Quartet, and percussionist Pat Mastelotto and guitarist Trey Gunn of King Crimson. Pohjonen still lives in Finland when not on the road. He has performed with one of his daughters, Saana, who plays the drums.