Pan Sonic / Mika Vainio and related

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Just got the Mika Vainio 2009 release "Vandal" 12". Recorded in Berlin in may 2009, 12" has pretty fucking heavy sound. It's 45rpm and 4 songs each clock about 4-5 mins, so cutting is very deep and strong.
"Vandals" has the deep bassy slow pulsating drum beat with layers of some electronics and grinding powertools (at least sounds like it) on top. During 4mins track grows busier. It is too slow to be "danced", but beat is certainly there making it less noisy sounding, connecting it to music.
"Teutons" has almost similar structure with high distorted more electronic beat, but also noisier and even more abstrack electronic noises on top. Sounds kind of out of sync at times, but then suddenly malforms as part of the main rhyth. Sounds nearly as variation of first track.
B-side starts with "goths" and perhaps it is indeed that. Drum beat is now basically just normal drum style. Bass, snare etc forming pretty normal rock beat, but it's very distorted and electric, and while beat slowly goes forward, on the back you hear reverbed metal plate (?) being smashed. No changes. Just minimalism, but with that little physical man made touch.
And side ends with "barbarians". Stompping tempo of bass pulse sounds promising at first, but then we proceed into such fast electro-hihat & synth hand-clap type of sounds, which are the kind of elements which always kept me away from "this kind" of music. While all the other tracks sounded, perhaps not Vainio's best, but at least somehow different, this in my ears sounds like capturing all those qualities I dislike in techno music.

For most part, this is more oppressing release compared to some of the Vainio's plussapiste "blib blop blib blob" type of electronics. But it is also more musical and less abstract. Last track really lowers down the points for this.

[ConcreteMascara]

I'm a big fan of Pan Sonic and Mika Vainio's solo work. His work as Ø generally has a nice balance between minimalism, abstraction and rhythm. Some of it is closer to a pure techno sound, but that doesn't really bother me. I've always been a fan of electronic music.
Pan Sonic is more hit or miss for me, but there crystal clear drones bring to mind the stark white mental asylums with those cool fluorescent lights. Icy without sounding organic or naturalistic. The third and fourth disc on Kesto really show of that style. Very meditative and good for winter listening.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

In old days I was always disturbed by fact, that you could read about Panasonic everywhere, but to get their stuff seemed impossible. I wrote to label, and no reply. I seeked stores, and nowhere to be seen. I'm sure they were, but not in shops I visited.
At some point you could go to just shop of Kiasma, modern art museum of Helsinki and buy lots of Sähkö records CD's there. Back in 90's I just got some tape dubs, nowadays I have pretty decent size collection of this stuff.
Just listened Pan Sonic "aaltopiiri" 2xLP. Or should it be 2x12"? Who slabs running at 45rpm, amazing tracks. Dates back to 2000, issued by one of MUTE's sublabels. For example most of side C is almost like pure industrial. Deep drones, percussive rhythmic metals with extensive reverb. Great sound. At the same time clinical, analogue, very pure and clear, but very distinctive. It's been said Mika used to member in TOPY and his mid 80's works documented in Aktinen Hysteria #2 seems like total Test Dept style metal beat orgy, just harsher and noisier. Anyways, "Aaltopiiri" has great deal of variation, from noisy and abstract to minimalist electronics and futuristic beats without being cheesy dancefloor stuff.

I normally don't distribute much of this type of stuff on mailorder, but few days ago put couple copies of old Pan Sonic CD on FA list due having too many for my retail shops needs..

[bitewerksMTB]

I use to have a 12" & a cd with a pic of a typewriter (?) on the cover  before they/he (?) had to change the name. Wasn't much about either rel. that was techo & I liked them but ended up selling/trading. Typerwriter cd cover was green & digi-gatefold, I think.

[ConcreteMascara]

Some of the best Pan Sonic tracks definitely capture that rhythmic industrial vibe. A couple of the tracks on Katodivaihe really had that going on, almost with a 2-step type of shuffle. I think I like Kesto the best because each CD covers a different style of Pan Sonic, which at worst can make it a little monotonous, but it keeps the atmosphere consistent which I prefer.

[heretogo]

I've never really collected much of their recorded output. I remember a couple of stunning live shows from way back, just overwhelming. And yes, the records seemed to be very difficult to get hold of in Finland. I just assumed that they mostly sold them to other countries (and maybe there were some specialist techno stores where you could get them, I dunno). A couple of years ago I saw them playing with Keiji Haino in Berlin. I thought it was good but not spectacular in any way.

Went through the shelves and found Ø - Tulkinta cd. It's just as I remember, very good icy cold minimalist techno. Abstract enough not to remind me too much of the dancefloor. Some weird & noisy details here and there add to the attraction, very enjoyable.

[Andrew McIntosh]

I had kept away from this project because I had always associated it with techno. My introduction was the Kesto 4-album release. It impressed me; parts of it reminding me of early SPK, although more digital sounding.

[heretogo]

Sähkö Recordings (& Jazzpuu, Keys of life + whatever other sub-labels they have) had a big sale on Sunday, I guess they have to vacate their office for some renovations. I picked up some of the more recent Ø releases on the cheap (along with some great Finnish night club jazz from the 60s + other stuff). Oleva cd is from 2008 and is very different kind of material compared to the early Ø stuff I've heard. Much more melodic and less abstract. Hints of romanticism and a more expansive, cinematic approach to sound. It has a Pink Floyd -cover, for crying out loud! It's still fairly clinical and cold but now there's a "post-something" feel to it. Maybe it's prog-influence, I dunno? Quite good at times, actually, but doesn't really work for a full album length. I would be slightly disppointed had I paid full price...
Ikuinen 12" is different. More of a club track, but one from a fucked up noir-film. Very stylish and dark-tinted, some murderously heavy bass action. Excellent but not at all like the early stuff.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I think they've had some sort of sale going on for more than a year?
I think one shop here in Lahti talked to me already 2+ years ago about getting good offer from label. And they reminded about the discount prices not many months ago.

[heretogo]

I think they've had some sort of sale going on for more than a year?

Could be. On Sunday they had stuff priced between 1 - 7 euros for most part. The snazzy North is Protected - box with 10" + book (Hauswolff, Elggren, Vainio etc.) was 10 euros.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

MIKA VAINIO "aineen musta puhelin / black telephone of matter" CD
Touch
Came out 2009, pretty recent then. This is his more abstrack works, where techno feelings are pretty much abandoned in favor of just non rhythmic and frequently changing electronics and acoustic sounds. Dymanics variate greatly and so does frequencies. Sometimes annoyingly high picthed electronics test the endurance of listener. Sometimes it's loud that you might feel tempted to adjust the volume, but suddely it drops so quiet that you barely hear what's going on. One of the tracks is dedicated to John Duncan, but hardly know if it relates to music? I have a feeling that this is decent works, but just somehow lacks the direction. It's like the live gig I saw. Everytime things start to go somewhere, its abruptly cut into almost opposite direction. The constantly increasing amount of material what sounds like digital glitch isn't rising it too high in my books, but still consider it nice addition to Vainio collection since it offers different material to Pan Sonic, Ö and such.

[ConcreteMascara]

I thought this was an interesting and inaccurate use of the term "power electronics"

http://boomkat.com/cds/305041-pan-sonic-gravitoni

Calling time on one of the most important electronic acts in existence, Pan Sonic bow out with their immense final album, 'Gravitoni'. It's a typical feat of overwhelming sonic physicality from a duo who've owned the rights to the 'Power Electronics' tag ever since 1994 and the release of the 'Panasonic EP'. Working together, Ilpo Väisänen and Mika Vainio opened the blackest vortex to a world of unadulterated electronics wrested from homemade and circuit bent hardware, creating an uncompromising vision of techno concrete that built monolithic structures in the shadow of their predecessors Einstürzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle and Pierre Henry. 'Gravitoni' feels like they've abandoned all hope, taunting an oncoming apocalypse with two fingers clutching an exposed 1/2" jack lead and a granite glazed look that tundra wolves wouldn't f*ck with. Whereas previous album 'Katodivaihe' offered some respite with Hildur Gudnadottir's arcing bows, here it's just two Finnish blokes with an arsenal of brutal beats and lucid tones. From the outset of 'Voltos Bolt' introductions are dispensed with in order to get down to business, a landslide of skull crushing bass hits and molten silicon slurry to encase your cochlea. Next 'Wanyugo' perhaps suggests they've spent time in Northern England, picking up the lingo and developing a bellicose attitude to match, swaggering with the darkest synthlines around and bristling with kinetic potential. Meanwhile, a false start in 'Corona' trips into a murderous noise and 200bpm gabber assault executed with such intent that you could even imagine them having a wry smirk to each other in the studio. With 'Radio Qurghonteppa' fear not, your speakers aren't about to cave in, they've simply managed to create a bass frequency that makes it sound like your cabs are coming apart from the cone. That's all. In 'Trepanation' they bust out the rusty iron and set about doing a Varg Vikernes on your life, sucking up elemental black metal power and stripping away all the camp sh*t, leaving a bloodied pile of still fizzing Euronymous at their feet, scalp (skull tip attached) in hand, still not smiling. The final section of the album presents three sublime visions of tonal darkness, from the pitch black electro-acoustic spaces of 'Väinämöinen Dreams' to the deliberate passage of 'Hades' where we mix our myths and Thor drops Atomic subbass bombs outside the gates while a choir of droning Gregorian sirens lure us inside. Then, we're treated to an extreme panning recital on 'Twinaskew' before finally being delivered at the death disco with the most astonishing moment on the album - 'Pan Finale', stretching a classic 1980 Cure tape loop to Zombiefied Paisley-concrete drum patterns and shuddering in the presence of an almighty buzzsawn synewave. Thankfully, we're quite certain we'll hear new material from both instigators in the future, but from now on we're just gonna have to dig out all our old Pan Sonic records and have a crywank with the X-Bass boost function turned on till kingdom come. Amazing music.

[Jaakko V.]

A nice interview about the origins of Pan Sonic, Sähkö, etc.

Sähkö 20 Years Anniversary Special Interview with Mika Vainio & Tommi Grönlund
http://cargocollective.com/mosaictheory/Sahko-20-Years-Anniversary-Special-Interview-with-Mika-Vainio-Tommi

[bitewerksMTB]

I just looked it up, "Kulma" was the cd I owned & liked but not enough to keep or follow their work.

[Jaakko V.]

The recently released double LP Konstellaatio has grown to be one of my absolute favourites from him. Really beautiful and mysterious minimalistic ambient soundscapes.

Not all of them have beats, but here's a track for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwvB8PZMH9M