PAN SONIC - Aaltopiiri

Mika Vainio and Ilpo Väisänen formed Panasonic back in 1993, in Finland. Sami Salo joined them in 1994, but left after a while. After releasing four albums, including one with Alan Vega, and losing an “A”, Mika and Ilpo come back with Aaltopiiri.
Claiming influences from Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten or even Pierre Henry, Pan Sonic don’t deal in classic electronica or digital sound processing. Instead, they extract sounds from their machines with caution, carefully placing them in each song. At times close to the arctic ambiances of Biosphere (Ensi, Reuna-Alue, Valli), Pan Sonic appear to create music out of silence, without pre-established concept or structure. Although extremely mechanical, their spineless constructions insinuate themselves into the most remote parts of the brain to trigger unfamiliar emotions. Aaltopiiri is more intimate than its predecessors, but also more accessible in many ways. Though far from being easy to listen to – Pan Sonic requires concentration, isolation even – the duo’s more mature approach to their work gives this album an organic feel. Using improvisation as a basis for their work, Vainio and Väisänen let their inspiration take over, inserting beat patterns only when necessary, allowing space and time in each track. Pan Sonic’s attitude towards sound is equally interesting. Applying abrasive blank noises at regular intervals, they introduce a variety of soft analogue sounds, percussions or click, in between, and generate a unique untouched parallel musical universe, devoid of any conventional melodic source.
The lack of traditional signs is a common denominator in Pan Sonic’s work. With Aaltopiiri, the Finish duo take their abstract constructions further than ever before, developing in the process a complete new approach to sound generation. Aaltopiiri is Pan Sonic’s best record to date.