PAN SONIC

PAN SONIC

Pan Sonic is a “"band?" I really like”. They create really atmospheric minimalist electronic recordings. Some of it is music in the standard sense (melody, beat, patterns and form) some of it is futuristic or organic, sound-scape ambience. They are usually very loved or very hated.

Not so long ago I was playing Pan Sonic and someone said to me, “"that is such pretentious crap, that’s not music at all…... anyone who listens to it must be just pretending, to sound 'in-the-know' and they are likewise pretentious."” Another time I heard it said that Pan Sonic’s music "sounds like “a faulty refrigerator running”." The former comment is way off and outrageously egocentric because the person is adhering to the belief that his concept of music is absolute and anything outside of that frame work, outside his notion of what works with sounds in time, is the unacceptable. The ‘'fridge’' comment on the other-hand is not insulting--- —in fact, it sounds like a reasonable observation; it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if PAN SONIC sampled a fridge. The difference is that when I would say it “sounds like a fridge running” I wouldn’t mean it in a derogatory way, as I am pretty the said observer did.

I guess I’'ve come to change my stance on the definition of music when I listen to glitch/IDM cuz the motive and process and function is so different than those associated with pop or melody based music. I think most people, once they change their preconceived notion of what music 'is', can be much more open to Pan Sonic and some can even come away with real appreciation.

Much of Pan Sonic has a very cold almost scientific feel that is contradistinctive to the warm heart-and-soul feel of most contemporary music, but I think that that ‘'coldness'’ is important in today’'s warm, yet less-than-innovative, pop-art musical culture. Pan Sonic’'s focus on ‘"sound’", both specific and general, is precise and seems very controlled even if it is the opposite (there is often a strange juxtaposition and connection between chance and purpose in extraordinary art, where an artist consistently pulls something off, and it could very well be luck but it seems like mastery--- and vice-versa) So yeah, one second they'’ll create a collage of what sounds like ice-crystals forming (if you can imagine that sound) and the next minute they'’ll create a very sophisticated and layered yet incredibly primal and driving percussion ‘"song"’, using frequencies, tempos or time signatures very rarely used in modern “music”; they’ll tastefully waver between the microscopic and the macroscopic often hauntingly evoking within/around the listener a plethora of feelings that range from aggression to isolation to intrigue. Some of the mood they create reminds me of Angelo Badalamenti, David Lynch’'s main musical scorer.

I understand that there are a lot of bands using 'glitch' elements in their music and I think that’s a good thing for now, but it will be bastardized, once the glitzy-industry types get a hold of it. Anyway, Pan Sonic’s music isn'’t necessarily "revolutionary" but it is damn close, I would say so, at the very least give it a “"very very very innovative”" sticker. Oh yeah, and pushing the boundaries and redefining what is acceptable in music is not pretentious in the least--- but it is important.

-RJB
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Pan sonic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pan sonic is a Finnish experimental / electronica music duo, consisting of members Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen. Formed in the early 1990s, with extra member Sami Salo (who later left the group), they now operate from a base in Barcelona to escape the long Finnish winters. Originally, the band was called Panasonic, but the corporation of the same name discovered this and threatened legal action unless it changed. The conflict was resolved, and duo removed the 'a' from their name altogether to become 'Pan sonic'. The missing 'a' still lives on as the title of their 1999 album.

Trivia
• In a climate where sequencing and recording music using computers is standard, the group is known for recording everything live, straight to DAT (Digital Audio Tape) using home-made and modified synthesizers and effect units.
• In the late 1980s, as part of a 'sound performance', they spent 10 hours in a locked room, exposed to a constant low-frequency hum at 125 decibels.
• A lot of their song titles are slight variations and/or combinations of Finnish words, a technique popular in electronic music circles since bands like Autechre began doing it in 1993. For instance, Aaltopiiri means Wave circle.
• The duo performed a gig in London's East End from an armoured car using a 5000 watt sound system similar to the type used by the police to disorient rioters.

Discography

Albums
* Vakio (1995)
* Kulma (1997)
* A (1999)
* Endless (1998) (under the name 'Vainio Väisänen Vega' with Alan Vega)
* Aaltopiiri (2001)
* Kesto (2004)

EP's / Singles
* Panasonic EP (1994)
* Osasto EP (1996)
* Arctic Rangers 2 x7" (1998)
* Medal 12" (1998) (with Alan Vega)
* B (1999)
* Destria (Live) (1999)

External link
http://www.phinnweb.com/panasonic/