The musical union of Kimmo Pohjonen and Mats Gustafsson was such a closely guarded secret that they didn’t even know about it themselves — right up to the point where they were invited to perform at Druga Godba, Ljubljana, 2024, a festival that entered its fifth decade in the same year as both artists entered their seventh. Although they come from different musical backgrounds (folk vs punk), these two fully-grown Nordic wolves have always been able to find a pack of like minds, and have appeared at the same venues on many occasions in the past.

From their first (distant) encounters at the beginning of the century, it was clear that they liked each other’s work. This should come as no surprise. What connects them is that most essential precondition for creativity and a fruitful life: passion. A passion for coming together, improvising, individual and collective consciousness, saunas, ice hockey and art. Art, of course, but not any old art. Art that is not burdened by compromise and expectation, but is the spontaneous decision of the moment and a readiness to take risks. Risk is a matter of trust, first in yourself and then in a conscious community. Only then does an artistic work become a common good. It is, more than anything, a simple connection between people who have not rested on their own or anyone else’s laurels; people who trust musicians, organisers and all the other factors of contemporary musical life.

Mats and Kimmo feel, perhaps more than anyone, that new music and journeys into the unknown can still be the most wonderful adventures of life. They carry us along howling with joy, with all the attributes that have made them two of the most intriguing artists of their generation, with a joint stage presence that froths and boils from beginning to end. It’s not just the approach they take to their instruments and the audience. Thanks to a gift for music that few possess and to their countless experiences on stage and on record, they are attuned to each other to a startling degree, which helps to propel the whole thing into the stratosphere. They are a unique musical twosome that gives history little chance. If someone had tried to write it down, they would have stumbled at the first sentence. Kimmo and Mats are inimitable, which is why every one of their concerts is a new and special experience. For us, for them and for music.

In cooperation with Akkordeonfestival