Antti Paalanen

On March 19, 2026, at the Cabaret Vauban in Brest, Finnish musician Antti Paalanen arrived with his accordion and a clear idea: to make traditional Northern music converse with electronic pulses. He layers motifs inherited from Finnish repertoires over EDM beats, reminding listeners that the accordion has always been a driving force for dance. At the heart of his setup, his signature instrument — the Breathbox — treated like a breathing machine, provides the foundation for techno-tinged textures, rumbling bass and crisp melodic lines. Fueled by the metal of his adolescence, Paalanen adds guttural vocals inspired by Siberian traditions that respond to the bellows’ breath and to programmed rhythms. The fusion of old tunes and club energy carves a direct, physical path, with the accordion shifting between drum machine and melodic instrument. A taut, repetitive set built without frills, in which voice, electronics and the accordion’s mechanics take turns keeping the room in motion.