The New Electronica
Pan Sonic Create Electronic Music As Art, Without The Aid Of Computers
PREVIEW
PAN SONIC
Friday, March 23
Emerald Café
The recent awarding of the International Millennium Prize to Canadian artist Janet Cardiff’s Forty Part Motet has brought increased exposure and appreciation for the work of audio artists around the world.
Finland’s Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen, known collectively as Pan Sonic, are themselves no strangers to creating high profile audio installations in some of the world’s most highly regarded museums from Paris to Minneapolis. When not creating audio exhibits, Pan Sonic have also been known to release records. Their latest, Aaltopiiri, brings them to Calgary’s Emerald Café on March 23, promising a memorable show merging the best of audio experimentation with specially created video projections.
The Aaltopiiri world tour developed from responses to the band’s advertisement in the U.K. magazine The Wire requesting "interesting out of the way places to play." It has since taken the group through the likes of Easter Island and Tijuana, and later this fall they will be going to both Croatia and Serbia. While none of these places are typical spots to hit on a traditional world tour, their unconventional itinerary is truly befitting of Pan Sonic’s recorded sound.
Refusing to follow any standard formulas, Aaltopiiri seamlessly fuses together the obtuse and melodic into a hypnotic collage of sound. Ranging from minimalist dub ("Vaihtovirta") through experimental mood pieces ("Rasite") to near industrial clatter ("Kone"), the record is truly one of the most expansive releases of recent memory. While their music is certainly within the boundaries of electronica, Väisänen asserts that "computers play no role in our music," and the band have been known to use everything from a typewriter to specially designed noise boxes to create their songs. Recorded live-to-tape without overdubs, the achievement is truly impressive.
Alongside both the audio installations and album releases, Pan Sonic have also been asked to compose music for fashion shows in Tokyo and Paris as well as backing tracks for Nissan commercials and countless remixes for high-profile artists such as Bjork and Ryuichi Sakamoto. For each project, Pan Sonic’s approach differs. For Mika Vainio, the setting in which the work is absorbed plays a primary role in the approach taken.
"Sound installation is always connected visually, architecturally and timewise to the space where they are represented. Albums are generally created in the studio and the consumer creates their own listening situation."
In terms of the duo’s commercial work, he is somewhat less attached: "They give us instructions and (we) make them as they want."
Another important aspect of Pan Sonic’s work has been their numerous collaborations with other electronic innovators such as Suicide’s Alan Vega, with whom they formed the Vainio Väisänen Vega group, releasing the full-length album Endless in 1998. Recently they’ve completed work on a full-length album with Einsturzende Neubauten’s F.M. Einheit due for release later in the year, and planned future collaborations with Merzbow and Hasil Adkins are in the works. Next up, however, are scheduled sessions with Barry Adamson and the Kitchen Motors Choir to be held in Reykjavik shortly after Pan Sonic’s Calgary appearance.
Not everyone has been quick to embrace Pan Sonic, though. Originally operating under the name of Panasonic, the international electronics behemoth took notice once the band’s popularity began to grow.
"When we first started there was no pressure from the Japanese wing. The pressure came from Panasonic U.S.A. who sent us a letter to cease and desist," recalls Väisänen. "I guess it was time for the change as American corporations are very uptight about copyright infringement."
With seemingly endless options and recording possibilities in the works, Pan Sonic’s name will undoubtedly become a mainstay in better record shops everywhere. Be it their own material, remixes, fashion show soundtracks, art installations or Nissan commercials, Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen address everything they do with enthusiasm, perfectionism and a willingness to experiment.
"It takes many attempts. When it sounds good, then we are happy." |
