This mysterious CD with an oversized package, which may or may not be aSub Rosa-related project, is a live recording of a 1999 collaborationin Belgium between electronic music giants Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic andChristian Fennesz. There are two 30-minute tracks: the first is acollaborative set between the two artists, the second is a solo set byVainio. As much as I like and respect both of these artists—Pan Sonicand Fennesz each released one of the best albums of last year—this CDleaves a lot to be desired. Vainio's work with Pan Sonic and his solowork as Ø often revolve around cold analog rhythms and stark soniclandscapes. Fennesz's trademark sound is his laptop processing ofguitar and other sounds, striking a unique balance between beauty andnoise. None of this is very evident on this collaboration. Onlyoccasionally is rhythm a factor, and much of Fennesz's textures areoverpowered by Vainio's blasts of feedback and distortion. Though therecording quality seems decent enough, Vainio is mixed a little louderthan Fennesz, and when Mika lets it get loud, Christian becomes barelyaudible. In theory, a collaboration between these two seems like agreat idea, but the members of Pan Sonic have a less-than-stellar trackrecord when it comes to releases with other musicians (i.e. the'Endless' CD with Suicide's Alan Vega; the 'IBM' LP with BruceGilbert). The only notable exception is last year's 'Wohltemperiert',Ø's disc with Noto. Fennesz, on the other hand, is usually quite goodwhen working with other artists—Peter Rehberg, Biosphere, etc. Here,however, it seems like the two artists are in their own worlds and notfocusing on the music as a whole. At one point, while Vainio iscreating loud swishes and swoops, you can hear what eventually became"Year In a Minute" on Fennesz's 'Endless Summer' disc very quietly inthe background—almost as if Fennesz was trying out new material in themiddle of the set instead of improvising. The Mika Vainio solo set isstandard Vainio. Five-minute stretches of silence interspersed withrandom bits of static compete with long stretches of analog ton.Nothing new, but may be interesting enough to the Pan Sonic junkie.There is almost no information about who released this disc; it seemsto be on a label called Audiosphere but it also says "conceived byAudioview/Lowlands ¥ Sub Rosa ¥ (Audio) Incident" on the package. Itseems to me like this disc and its unnecessary, DVD-like packaging is apretty blatant attempt to cash in on the Fennesz and Pan Sonic names.It's another example, too, of why it isn't necessary to release everylive recording of an electronic artist that exists. A collaborationbetween Mika Vainio and Christian Fennesz could result in an amazingdisc, but this is apparently just a chance encounter, not a wellthought out endeavor. Releasing it only detracts from the body ofimpressive work that both artists have under their belts. - samples:
Read More
