He composes works during the winter months in Finland, improvising and playing for hours but does not write notes while improvising. While he says he has images in his head when he composes and plays, he is reluctant to share his own concepts about the meanings of his works. David Harrington of Kronos Quartet said, referring to hearing Pohjonen's music for the first time "Every once in a while you hear a musician and you think, "'why have I never heard this guy before?' That's what I thought when I first heard Kimmo's CD," he says. "The music was invigorating, life-affirming, disturbing, incredible – and kind of alarming. It was all of these things mixed into one experience. ""