KIMMO POHJONEN
KLUSTER

Kimmo Pohjonen - accordion, voice
Samuli Kosminen OR

Juuso Hannukainen - accordion samples, voice samples


with:
Heikki Iso-Ahola - sound design
Ari "Valo" Virtanen - light desgn


Photo: Vertti Teräsvuori

hoto: Nuno Rodrigues

 

Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster is the project formed in 2001 featuring accordion dynamo Kimmo Pohjonen and sampling guru Samuli Kosminen. In 2008, Juuso Hannukainen substitutes for Kosminen occasionally as Pohjonen's Kluster cohort.

All three musicians are known as adventurers in their respective fields and in Kluster, their partnership takes accordion music to new and unexplored territory. On stage, both Kosminen and Hannukainen reproduce samples of Pohjonen’s accordion and voice percussively by way of electronic drum pads and combining that with Pohjonen’s accordion, voice, live loops, effects and surround sound, they create a brain bursting maelstrom of multi-dimensional music unlike anything done or heard before.

Kimmo Pohjonen: Playing since age ten, Pohjonen gained experience in rock, folk, theatre, dance, classical, improvisational and avant-garde music groups and ensembles for three decades. He has played on over seventy albums, continues to be in great demand and firmly established as one of Finland’s most active and important musicians. In 2000, he received a five year artist grant from the Finnish state and over the years, several other awards, grant and prizes. Music from his debut CD Kielo has been used in ballet performances in Holland and Helsinki. Current projects include solo work, the Animator project with multimedia artist Marita Liulia and an improvisational duo with French percussionist Eric Echampard. Kimmo has also completed his first filmscore for the British silent film Flickerman and the Ivory Skinned Woman.

Samuli Kosminen is one of Finland’s top percussionists. Drummer since age thirteen and then a student at Helsinki’s Pop/Jazz Conservatory from age seventeen-nineteen, Samuli has since performed with a gargantuan array of Finnish rock, pop, jazz, electronic music artists. By adding electronic effects and sampler to his acoustic drum/percussion setup, he achieved new sounds and dimensions in the world of percussion. Subsequently, in recent years he has concentrated more on playing, composing and producing alternative/electronic music, with Pohjonen and with others, for example Fat Beat Sound System, Pepe Deluxe and Iceland’s Mum.

Juuso Hannukainen’s influences range from Afro-Cuban to jungle to dub and electronic music. He has worked with top Finnish bands RinneRadio and Don Johnson Big Band as well as having made music for contemporary circus and dance.

Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster have toured throughout Europe and in Japan and have worked in numerous projects and formations. Most notable of late is the concert collaboration with Kronos Quartet featuring the eighty minute Pohonen/Kosminen composition UNIKO, specially commissioned by Kronos. The World Premiere performances took place at the Helsinki Festival in September 2004 followed by a concert in Moscow, later at Molde Jazz Festival in Norway and in 2007 three sold out shows at BAM in NYC, USA. The 2004 Helsinki concerts were filmed by Finnish digital TV, YLE Teema, in cooperation with Austrian company Moving Images for broadcasts in five countries. UNIKO has been recorded with producer Valgeir Sigurdssonfor album release in 2009.

Additionally, Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster joined forces with the duo called TU (pronounced "2") comprising Pat Mastelotto (drums, percussion) and Trey Gunn (Warr guitar) from the band King Crimson. This new quartet project is called KTU (pronounced "K2") and their World Premiere was in Helsinki in April 2004 followed by four concerts in Tokyo. The concerts were recorded and was released as a live CD in early 2005,entitled 8 Armed Monkey.

Kluster previously performed as a trio with percussionist Abdissa Assefa. Trio performances included the Kalmuk project with Tapiola Sinfonietta featuring concerts in Finland, a subsequent Kalmuk UK tour, CD and DVD. Kluster Trio has also performed with Finnish fiddling stars JPP.

Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster CD was released in February 2002 in Finland with license to Germany, Austria and Switzerland plus distribution in other areas of Europe.

See the video

Listen to audio samples from this album


Photos by Milena Strange

 


Photos by Mikko Hanula

 

 

sam-solo- Kluster_1758

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