Pan Sonic
Members: Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen
Vandal EP
We're struggling to contain our excitement over the latest in Raster Noton's Unun series, following essential excursions from Aoki Takamasa, NHK and Grischa Lichtenberger with four tracks of absolutely immense nasty beats and techno reductions from Mika Vainio! It's fully acknowledged that we have a man-crush on this producer, but it's totally justified when he gives out analog brutalism of this variety. There's a definite theme of northern-European destruction going on with this 12" with titles…
Shall I Download A Blackhole And Offer It To You\" Live In Berli
The complete live recording from the 15th November 2007 concert at Berlin's Volksbuhne. Music. Mystery. Magic Finlandian straight-men dual a last waltz with stand-up shamen, Mr Haino. All bow. Deluxe Packaging Designed by Stephen O'Malley.
Aíneen Musta Puhelin / Black Telephone Of Matter
Best known as one-half of acclaimed techno minimalists Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio also has an impressive résumé as a solo artist that stretches back to the early '90s and his association with influential Finnish imprint Sähkö. Recording primarily under the aliases Ø and Philus, and sometimes his birth name (depending on the project), Vainio's aesthetic mission has been consistently and rigorously defined by an investigation into the materiality of sound. Indeed, just about everything in his catalog …
Katodivaihe/Cathodephrase
Pan Sonic are Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen, both Finnish nationals now based in Berlin. Katodivaihe is Pansonic's first release for Blast First Petite since "sidestepping" (at their own request) from the newly EMI-owned Blast First/Mute Records for whom they have recorded since 1995. Their last release for them was 2004's 4CD release -- the musically massive Kesto box set. These 2006 recordings that make up this album feature the continued extension and development of their trademarked warm ele…
Trahnie
Editions Mego issues the first album by duo Lucio Capece and Mika Vainio. At first glance, the two seem unlikely partners. Two standard-bearers at opposing poles of extremity, both sonically and geographically. Lucio from Argentina and rooted in the traditions of jazz and improv, while Mika, hailing from Finland, sourced in early '90s electronic and industrial scenes. However, they both share an alarming attention to detail when it comes to their audio compositions, and neither are afraid …
Kesto
'Kesto (234:48:4)' is a brand new quartet of compact discs from Pan Sonic (Mika Vainio and Ilpo Vaisanen) available only as one complete set and highly limited. The original discussions of ideas for the new recordings were based around Mika's favourite painter Francis Bacon and his use of the triptych (a format Bacon used a number of times in his lifetime). Always pushing the boundaries, Pan Sonic were inspired to go on to record a fourth part. Those familiar with Pan Sonic's work may detect a c…
More Arctic Hysteria / Son of Arctic Hysteria
...The later years of early Finnish avant-garde. Another incredible volume, following the inspiration and eye-opening 2001 CD Arktinen hysteria -- Suomi-avantgarden Wsipuutarhureita. Perfectly packaged document of more utterly obscure electronic mayhem and theatrical intoxication, presented as near-high-art. Now covered are the 1970s and 1980s. 34 artists. Featuring a lavishly illustrated leaflet of 20 pages. Compiled by Jukka Lindfors. Featuring Jimi Tenor, Läjä Äijälä and early Mika Vainio (Pa…
V
Recorded live at Victoriaville, 5/20/02; one 68-minute piece performed by Masami Akita, Mika Vaino & Ilpo Vaisanen. The festival's closing act, Pan Sonic vs Merzbow, was worth the long wait. Their complete absence of stage presence notwithstanding, the trio orchestrated glorious cascades of white noise that sporadically collapsed into fat dirty beats -- a gut rumbling excursion into the inner depths of sound and an indication of where the true spirit of improv lives in 2002.
Behind the radiators
7' vinyl only. Limited edition. Artwork and photography by Jon Wozencroft. Cut by Jason at Transition. Locked grooves. Mika Vainio continues the series of Touch Sevens, 7' vinyl-only releases, with this stunning record. The crackle... The fire of the analogue... Mika Vainio is the most adept at using crackle as a voice. Sound artists have used crackle ever since the reality of digital audio hit home, however there's a big difference between this and how other practitioners use it... Here are two…
Kuvaputki (Cathode Ray Tube)
Region 0 (free)/NTSC format DVD. The first ever Pansonic DVD release by Edward Quist, American digital visual artist. A live performance, close filmed. A redux digital film based around a Pansonic performance from their New York stop of their adventurous 1999 Round The World Tour. The film is a hyper-real abstract reflection of the duo, in the final year of the last century. While the documentary core remains, the footage is twisted and shaped by Quist into a new form in conjunction with Pansoni…
In the land of the blind, one-eyed is king
Generally speaking, contemporary musicians produce too much stuff. It is easy to do. But if you feel like sighing, "Oh, it's another Mika Vainio CD", then Mr Vainio himself has anticipated such sentiments with the opening track, a 2 minute blast which sounds like an angry animal breaking free of its cage. What follows is probably Vainio’s most accomplished work to date, a series of rich soundscapes whose beauty is always on the edge of darkness. "In the Land of the Blind One-Eyed is King" is Mik…
Onko
Mika, famous for his Panasonic excursions and solo work as Ø, has finally brought out some stuff under his own name. Listen along as he primes, then fine tunes his pneumatic devices, limbers up with a burst of groundhum before reclining against a sonic wall of hissing grit. Sounds of information reduced to their smallest common denominators. Frosty machine language. The reveries of circuitry. Bit-reduction. Wings of bass. And then, after three tracks which intensely and deftly tweak the spaces b…