UNIKO

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. The seeds were planted for this collaboration with one of the most famous of all string quartets in 2002 when Kronos leader David Harrington heard recordings of Pohjonen and his brilliant sampling and programming partner Samuli Kosminen. Within two years the musicians were performing together and exploring new sounds for accordion and strings, alongside accordion samples and string samples as well as various effects.

Pohjonen and Kosminen describe this seven-movement work as an adventure for performers and listeners. UNIKO stretches out a huge canvas for a wide palette of musical and emotional experiences. The sounds are finely crafted with immaculate detail; the energy is raw and uncompromising, warm and lyrical. Perhaps it's unfair to single out any particular track, but anyone familiar with Pohjonen's work to date will fall immediately for ‘Emo’, wherein his trademark depth of sound and harmonies lead so naturally towards the Kronos sound on an aural journey that takes the listener on a rare adventure both poignant and chilling.