In Kalmuk, Kimmo Pojhonen has produced his most ambitious work to date. First performed live at the Savoy Theatre, Helsinki (from which this recording is taken), Kalmuk sees Pojhonen and regular collaborators Abdissa Assefa (percussion) and Samuli Kosimen (sampler and percussion) augmented by a 15-piece symphony orchestra, comprising members of Finland's Tapiola Sinfonietta. It is a hugely courageous and chaotic work in which Pojhonen's trademark one-man performances of accordion and loop effects have expanded through the prominent use of strings and woodwind. Kalmuk's opening piece "Kellua" playfully mimics the sound of an orchestra tuning and warming up, and warm up they should considering the energetic "Mantis" that follows. As Pohjonen squeezes and pushes buttons to produce all manner of unearthly sounds from his instrument, Kosimen feeds his signal through live effects and loops into the quadraphonic sound system. One thing that remains from Pohjonen's earlier recordings such as his 1996 solo debut Kielo is improvisation. This does not exclude the accompanying orchestra who are encouraged to explore Kalmuk's themes and dispense with music stands and printed music. Pojhonen's ability to listen and react to the orchestra is to be respected. For someone with so much critical acclaim and obvious talent, he wisely adopts a collaborative position throughout the work, only stepping obviously into the limelight for "Vortex", in which we hear his guttural five-row accordion pumped and stretched to its extremities. --Robert Smoughton
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