|
Ilpo Väisänen has always seemed something of a silent
partner in Pan Sonic; while Mika Vainio has turned out multiple solo
albums and the occasional remix for the likes of Björk,
Väisänen has remained in the shadows of Pan Sonic's
patch-cord tangles and towering, trembling stacks. But Asuma,
Väisänen's first work for Mego — the Viennese label
ambient rabble-rousers like Fennesz and Pita call home — shows
his solo work ranks right up there with the best of Vainio's own
recordings. Nothing on the album will surprise the duo's fans; warped
analog drones ride roughshod over skittering beats and crackling
static. Unlike Vainio's solo outings, however, Väisänen's
work draws less upon dark, ambient dread, hewing closer to Pan
Sonic's unsteady beatscapes, all the while exploring the intricacies
of unadorned sound. The onomatopoeic "Klikki" builds up a bristling
lattice of beats that recalls Autechre's imploding rhythms, while the
robotically pulsating "Vallitseva" corkscrews deep into the queasy
undulations of classic Pan Sonic. The most minimal offering here,
"Asumaton," strip-mines the radioactive soil of a single buzzing
patch of sound, a meditation on uneasy simplicity, while "Jaettu"
recreates the effect with a stereo-panning exploration of ricocheting
tones. Too austere to be called inviting, Väisänen's album
seduces by virtue of its withholdings and is quietly awe-inducing.
|
