Antti Paalanen & Wild Accordion

Musician and composer Antti Paalanen (b. 1977) has been prominent in the field of Finnish contemporary folk music for many years. Antti Paalanen makes his music on the bisonoric (diatonic) accordion, a common instrument in Finnish folk music for the past century. Paalanen has employed an organic performance style, new techniques and new expressive sonorities to expand the potential of the instrument to embrace a variety of genres. In Paalanen’s music, man and accordion breathe the same air and exude the same, wild energy. He creates a one-man band, simultaneously producing bass, harmony, melody, vocals and percussion. The result is a massive, pulsating wall of sound where at times it is impossible to tell whether it is the musician or the instrument producing the sound. Sound engineering is made by Samuli Volanto. Antti and Samuli have toured together since 2007. festivals all over the World – mostly around Europe, but also in USA, Canada, Russia and Japan. Paalanen has released four solo albums: Äärelä (2007), Breathbox (2010), Meluta (2014) and Rujo (2019).