The stark, minimalist electronic noise of Pan Sonic was once overlooked by all but the most devoted obscurantists. Pan Sonic's "music," alternately self-billed as "the sound of all things electronic" and "horsemeat rockabilly," tamed raw sinewaves, fluctuating bass pulses, and skeletal 4/4 rhythms with subliminal grooves and melodies. Though initially treated as a curious throwback to post-War European experimental music, Pan Sonic quickly found itself spearheading a powerful movement of electronic minimalism.
1995's VAKIO documents the original trio lineup of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Veisenen, and Sami Salo and marks Pan Sonic's auspicious digital debut. Inspired by the primitive stroboscopic electronics of New York art-punks Suicide and the Futurist industrial noise sculpture of Einsturzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle, Pan Sonic employs an arsenal of crude electronic sound generators built by a friend of the band, Jari Lehtinen. VAKIO offers muffled, Morse coded beats ("Radiokemia"), rumbling stasis ("Paine"), quavering oscillations ("Alku," "CSG-Sonic"), and terse techno ("Hetken," "Sahkotin")--truly the sound of "all things electronic." The marriage of rhythm and frequency even creates moments of genuine beauty on "Kaasu" and the fluid "Virhe."
Formerly Known As Panasonic Their Debut;Prev.Import Only
Panasonic includes: Mika Vainio, Ilpo Vaisanen.
Unknown Contributor Role: Mika Vainio.
Melody Maker (10/21/95, p.38) - "Recorded using partially home-made or old analogue synths and drum machines, VAKIO is a careful construct of constant, persistent buzzes, locked grooves, pulses of static that become percussive, metronomic rhythms....the more engaging and dynamic tracks are blisteringly acidic and improve with repeated listening..."
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