19 Facts About Kimmo Pohjonen

Kimmo Pohjonen was born on August 16,1964 and is a Finnish accordionist who is known for his avant-garde and experimental work with his custom-made electrified and modified instrument.

Kimmo Pohjonen has released nine albums of his work and has toured Europe extensively, as well as performances in Japan and some in North America.

Kimmo Pohjonen has performed with one of his daughters, Saana, who plays the drums.

Kimmo Pohjonen began playing the accordion at age eight with the family's dance band.

Kimmo Pohjonen grew up playing Finnish folk music and has called his father his first accordion hero, but says he did not really appreciate what the instrument could do until much later.

Kimmo Pohjonen studied folk and classical music at the Sibelius Academy, a student along with Maria Kalaniemi and Arto Jarvela of JPP, beginning his career with Jarvela shortly after graduation.

Kimmo Pohjonen began a solo career in 1996, releasing his first solo album Kielo in 1999.

Kimmo Pohjonen has played for audiences all over Europe, especially Finland, as well as in Japan.

Kimmo Pohjonen 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.

Kimmo Pohjonen generally is involved in several projects at once, both solo and in collaboration with other artists.

Kimmo Pohjonen appeared as an accordion player on a balcony in the 1999 film Pikkusisar.

Kimmo Pohjonen's instrument is a large five-row chromatic accordion, which has been modified to include microphones, pedals and wires, which allows him to play acoustically and electronically at the same time.

Kimmo Pohjonen's composition are mostly instrumental works, based on the accordion, along with his voice to some extent, and with other instruments when he collaborates with other musicians.

Kimmo Pohjonen believes in constant innovation in music, and his compositions range from delicate tones to the ominous, contemplative and even frenzied, accompanied by shrieks, shouts, chanting, and noises from non-musical instrument.

Kimmo Pohjonen's music has been described as "soundscapes" sound designed to evoke emotions and images.

Kimmo Pohjonen composes works during the winter months in Finland, improvising and playing for hours but does not write notes while improvising.

Kimmo Pohjonen is attracted to old customs and obsolete technologies, and these appear in his shows, such as sound from old farm machinery.

The idea for the show began when Kimmo Pohjonen found out that in the first half of the 20th century in Finland, it was customary to have an accordion player to perform as a dramatic backdrop to the matches.

Kimmo Pohjonen then began a process of forming a relationship with wrestlers, including appearing at practice bouts uninvited to play his accordion.