"This Madman in a Man Bun is Finnish accordionist Antti Paalanen and he will simultaneously charm you and scare the sh*t out of you. When he growls the name of the next song in his best Finnish Death Metal voice and trains those pale, peeled-grape eyes on you, you don’t know whether he is going to play you a song that will root you to the spot... or rip your still-beating heart from your chest and devour it raw.”

Antti Paalanen creates his wild music on the accordions so familiar to Finnish folk music. Although inspired by tradition, Paalanen has nevertheless created a sound world all his own, where tradition gives way to trance-like minimalism, EDM influenced beats, influences of Siberian throat-singing and controlled and insightful use of modern sound technology created by Sound Engineer Samuli Volanto.

Antti Paalanen released his third album Meluta 2014. This album showcased a musician who is not only a brilliant accordion player but also a composer who takes his instrument to the limit: he screams at the accordion, stomps on the floor, pounds the bellows, and snorts like a raging bull. In Paalanen’s hands, the accordion is a living, breathing dance machine.
Antti Paalanen has performed successfully in Europe, Japan, Canada and USA since the release of the album Meluta. The new album Rujo was released by Rockadillo Records in 2019 and it is getting fantastic reviews.