 His early classical influences were Claude Debussy, Edvard Grieg and Johann Sebastian Bach, and some Finnish prominent composers, such as Aarre Merikanto.Pohjola was introduced to the music of Art Tatum, Charlie Parker and Oscar Peterson by his father, who played his large record collection at home.Pohjola performed music by Mozart, Beethoven and Debussy at regional recitals and received a shared second prize in the classical piano competition of Vantaa in 1987, and represented his city and the conservatory at the Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Competition.