''Uniko'' is a composition by Finnish musicians

Kimmo Pohjonen Kimmo Pohjonen (born August 16, 1964) is a Finnish accordionist who is known for his avant-garde and experimental work with his custom-made electrified and modified instrument. He has released nine albums of his work and has toured Europe extens ...

and

Samuli Kosminen Edea is a Finnish musical group. The Edea's song lyrics are written in an older form of the Finnish language and speak of old traditions as well. The mysterious runic symbols inscribed on the bows of Viking boats, door posts, drinking vessels, and ...

, which was commissioned by the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

in 2003. It was first performed in 2003. The composition has seven parts, and combines

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, strings, and vocals. A version of it was recorded in 2007, and released in 2011.

Performances

''Uniko'' premiered in 2004 and was also performed in 2007 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the BAM NEXT WAVE festival, and in 2012 at

Colours of Ostrava Colours of Ostrava, or simply Colours, a multi-genre event, is the biggest international music festival in Czechia and one of the biggest in Central Europe, held every summer since 2002 in Ostrava, the third largest city in the country. Colours ...

. A 2013 performance at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

in London was criticized by John Allison, writing for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', for being "an utterly mediocre easy-listening show". Allison was unimpressed by how much the potential of the

was put to use, and did not care for what the strings played either: "the quartet's simple riffs are momentarily haunting only because of the respite they supply, but they are desperately bland".

Robin Denselow Robin Denselow is an English writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Education Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire, followed by New College, Oxford, wh ...

, for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', was of an opposite opinion, and praised the concert as an "exhilarating performance" of "cutting-edge music" even by Kronos' standards: "Uniko was a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of avant-garde electronica, global folk styles and classical influences, with surround-sound and visual effects added in. It was an extraordinary piece of music." The composition includes strings, accordion, and vocals. According to Allison, "Live electro-accordion, voice and string quartet are all mixed with sampled accordion, strings and percussion and fed into a multilayered sonic environment that washes over the audience". Tristan Bath, writing for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', describes the music as "Finnish folk mesh dwith contemporary electronic tropes and Kronos' strings". Bath, reviewing the record, was more positive than Allison, and said "Now in its 40th year, and umpteenth incarnation, the Kronos Quartet are on top form on ''Uniko'', with several high points showcasing David Harrington’s subtle instrumental prowess in particular. Other moments, demonstrate the unique variety of sounds offered by the accordion, from Pohjonen’s percussive body taps to the wind-like creaking of bellows."

Track listing

Credits

Musicians

*David Harrington –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

*John Sherba – violin *Hank Dutt –

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

*Jeffrey Zeigler –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

–

, voice *

– electronic percussion, samples, programming

Production

Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City, 2007 *

Valgeir Sigurðsson Valgeir Sigurðsson (born 18 June 1971) is an Icelandic record producer, mixer, composer, audio engineer and musician. Biography Coming from a musical background, Valgeir's fascination with recording technology led to a job in a small recordin ...

– producer *Pauli Sastamoinen – mastering *Phillip Page – executive producer *Rixi Ostariz – graphics and design *Chikako Harada – photography

References