Antti Paalanen

On 19 November 2026 at the Big Band Café in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, Antti Paalanen unfolds his universe designed for the diatonic accordion. A Finnish composer and musician trained at the Sibelius Academy, he has built since the 1990s a body of work focused on pulse, breath and drone. On one-, two- or three-row accordions, he layers repeated motifs, shapes the grain of the sound and blends his voice with the bellows’ beats. His music draws on Finnish repertoires while engaging with contemporary folk, moving between sparseness, roughness and rhythmic tension.

On stage, Paalanen advances through cycles and variations, makes the low end groove like a bassline and lets rhythm guide the form of the pieces. You can hear the trajectories opened by his albums Äärelä, Breathbox, Meluta and Rujo, and an approach honed through collective projects and tours across Europe and beyond. His recent participation in the Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu with the track Takatukka also recalls his taste for direct, percussive formats. A concert in which the accordion breaks out of its usual frame, propelled by writing that is clear, physical and precise.