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Kimmo POHJONEN (b. 1964) and Samuli KOSMINEN
Uniko
1. Atmos [0:58]
2. Utu [6:54]
3. Lious [1:02]
4. Plasma [7:42]
5. Särmä [8:03]
6. Kalma [11:43]
7. Emo [13:52]
8. Kamala 7:07]
9. Avara [5:06]
10. Särmä [2:53]
Bonus: Making of Uniko [15:34]
Kronos Quartet (David Harrington, John Sherba (violin); Hank Duff (viola); Jeffrey Zeigler (cello)); Kimmo Pohjonen (accordion, voice); Samuli Kosminen (string and accordion samples, programming)
Picture format 16:9; Sound format PCM stereo, DTS 5.1; Region Code 0 (Worldwide).
rec. 4-5 September 2004, Helsinki Festival.
C MAJOR 707108 [82:00]

I’m going to cheat, and paste into my review some information I found on the web describing the personnel on this DVD: “Accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen is one of Finland’s most active and important musicians and was nominated for BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards and for the BBC Radio 3 Planet Award. Samuli Kosminen is one of Finland’s top percussionists and sampling masters, working with Jónsi from Sigur Rós, Emiliana Torrini and many more.”
 
To most of MusicWeb International’s readers, the names above will mean little. While the Kronos Quartet is well known, the two Finnish musicians on this DVD are not. Kosminen and Pohjonen have toured as the duo Kluster. Kosminen is also a member of Icelandic group Múm. Groups like Sigur Rós and Múm are known to certain music fans. Their unique sound is certainly far from the classical music that MusicWeb International generally presents.
 
Nevertheless, this live concert filmed with Pohjonen, Kosminen and the Kronos Quartet is worth a notice. An accordionist with a Mohawk, a percussionist and sampler, together with the American string quartet that most champions contemporary music, is an odd combination indeed. Combining electronic music with Eastern sounds and rhythms, droning vocals with a string quartet, this music is compelling, rhythmic, odd, intriguing ... and hard to describe. As a meeting of different types of music, this DVD is a gender-bender, but never ceases to be interesting. This is a fusion of world music, minimalism and dance music.
 
The filming is creative and interesting, and the sound is excellent. For those curious about new types of music, this DVD is worth checking out. As for me, with that type of curiosity, I was entranced for one hour while watching this performance. If you like to discover new types of music, this DVD is for you.
 
It’s worth noting that the musicians recorded a CD in the studio, and released on the Ondine label, which contains seven of the ten tracks on this DVD.
 
Kirk McElhearn

Kirk McElhearn writes about more than just music on his blog Kirkville.