When I think of Finnish accordion, I recall the splendid playing of musicians like Kimmo Pohjonen, Maria Kalaniemi, Markku Lepisto and others. Described as a “true musical blacksmith,” a young man named Toni Perttula is also starting to make a big name for himself. His debut album  Pajavasara (Forge Hammer) is an instrumental work of raw energy, smoldering swagger and brash attitude that comes with youthful talent and exuberance. I’d like to know more about Perttula’s background, one I’m assuming has included both classical and folk training. And Perttula’s ability to use the bellows, in soft or loud segments of his songs, impart personality to each track.

In Perttula’s capable hands, the accordion (with its many buttons and  propulsive bellows) becomes his main tool to heat the music he’s composed and arranged, much like a blacksmith’s forge has a firepot, work surface and blower. For a formidable and fiery fusion, add in some other tools, or in case the atmospheric sounds, of anvil, vice, hammer, tongs, drifts, slitters, punches and chisels. Perttula says his “forge hammer” was his main spiritual tool used to shape his music, change its form, and make it behave in a desired way. Perttula has a vivid imagination, and he’s embarked on a radiant journey to envisage the stunning scenery of his organic music, seemingly a little more urban and industrial than earthy and natural. The musical blacksmith will no doubt continue making forging tools for himself and as continues his adventure of musical discovery and identity.

A solo album recorded in his living room, Pajavasara was a long and challenging task for the musician as the songs slowly revealed themselves as “almost human-minded creatures, whose nature had to be understood before I could get along with them.”  His accordion and programming come to life in pieces like “Talvenselkä” (Heights of Winter), “Magnetar,” “Vaskinen (Copper),” “Pohjoistuuli” (North Wind), and “Rauta” (Iron). While “Hehku” (Glow) has a sublime luminosity, glimmering lyrical sparks appear in “Takouma” (Dents) as the song’s genesis evolves from a Gypsy-like tango to one that goes its own powerful way.      

Besides just the notes of Perttula’s music, it’s also the dynamics, rhythmic beats, percussion and other sounds that shape it. The accordion is Finland’s unofficial national instrument, and it has a deep place in the Finnish heart, soul and mentality. Soldiers took the instrument to war, and its sounds made them homesick and nostalgic. Perttula realizes he has an instrument, in his talented hands, with a lot of capability to create poignant music with real substance and message.  (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)