March 21 – Festival fun on the farm

By Lindsey Newton, Bury Free Press - Clanking tractors, mooing cows and whirring engines are part and parcel of every farmyard, but for one Finnish accordionist, they form the soundtrack to his performances.

At this year's Bury Festival, which runs from May 9-25, Kimmo Pohjonen will perform Earth Machine Music on May 11, at Hall Farm, in Nowton, as part of a four-date UK tour which fuses the arts with the world of agriculture.

Mr Pohjonen, who has been dubbed 'the Hendrix of the accordion', visited Hall Farm last week to record the machines, assess the venue and meet the farmer. He said: "I come from the countryside and I grew up listening to machines and engines when I was a young boy in Finland.

"Machines make their own rhythm and sounds, which is music in itself, and I want to harness this. "During the performance, we will have people using the machines to create live sounds on top of the recorded material – it'll be great and I'm really looking forward to it."

Miles Roe, who owns Hall Farm, said: "This is the first time we have had anything like this take place at the farm and I'm intrigued to see how it will turn out.

"I've got all sorts of farm machinery, including vintage Massey Ferguson tractors, and it'll be interesting to hear what they sound like when set to music."

Nick Wells, Festival manager, said: "I was really pleased when I was asked to consider Earth Machine Music as part of the line-up for the Festival as it's an interesting fusion of the arts with agriculture.

"I have heard many of the sounds being recorded and I, along with many others, can't wait to see the finished product."

Tickets for the event are £10 and available from the Festival box office on 01284 769505 or or via the Theatre Royal website..

Audiences are advised to wear suitable shoes or boots and warm clothes for the performance.