Antti Paalanen - Finland

A force of nature from Finland 

With his one-man band, Antti Paalanen produces melody, bass, vocals and percussion, which together constitute traditional folk music with influences from both rock, heavy metal and electronic music. To date, this has resulted in four solo albums and a number of music awards in Finland. He has also been nominated for a Finnish Grammy. He has toured the world, and finally he is in Førde .

He operates in an original soundscape where the traditional Finnish diatonic accordion plays with trance-like rhythms. The meeting between modern sound technology and steady Finnish folk tones creates a pulsating and intense soundscape. The compositions Antti Paalanen delivers range from melodious throat songs to screaming and manic interactions with the accordion. Accordion playing has never been experienced in this way before. 

Paalanen has a new name for his three-row diatonic accordion: the breathing box. Sometimes it takes deep, meditative breaths, exhaling soaring tone poems that evoke a sense of space and light. Other times it breathes quickly, as it takes a string tune with it on a spirited ride through the city streets. No matter what feelings he evokes, he does so with sure fingering and a melodic sense that seeks to exploit all the harmonic possibilities of the instrument.