Search - Pan Sonic :: Rude Mechanic

Fantastic Sonic Exploration

Steward Willons | Illinois | 11/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since Amazon doesn't have a lot of info on this release, here are some basics from the liner notes:



"Rude Mechanic was conceived as a visualization of sound.



In 1996 a symbiotic relationship was set up in the public gallery space of Beaconsfield between visual artists David Crawforth and Hayley Newman and sound artists Mika Vainio and Ilpo Vaisanen - Pan Sonic. All four worked daily for five weeks linked by sound inputs and outputs. The live installation featured an industrial power climber, a video oscilloscope, Pan Soncis' precious sound machine, the typewriter, and the original prototype for Turbo Sound's earth-shaking Floodlight PA system.



Over the five weeks, one hundred hours of sound were recorded and mixed live by Pan Sonic from which these thirty tracks have been extracted. This final product - the Rude Mechanic CD - cannot accurately represent the live process, but presents the spirit of this truly collaborative and extraordinary event."



The disc isn't exactly a "Pan Sonic" release, but their touch is all over the place and it's a worth addition to any fan's collection. The tone of each of the 31 untitled tracks varies to an extent, but they mostly fit within the otherworldly sonic experimentation that Pan Sonic is known for.



Notable guests include David Cunningham, Scanner, Jimi Tenor, Bruce Gilbert, and many many more. It's definitely a cool project and even though it's removed from its gallery installation context, it's still fascinating as pure music (or "sound", which ever you prefer).



Finally, a word on the packaging. The discs come in a nice gatefold package, but due to a production error, the glue holding part of the package together melts and the discs become glued to the gatefold sleeve. You'll eventually get the discs out unharmed, but it will take a good ten minutes or so. This is no reason to skip this CD, but you should know what you're getting into because it IS annoying.



I can definitely recommend this to fans of experimental electronic music, even if you're new to Pan Sonic. It's not exactly "easy listening" and I wouldn't say it's accessible, but then again, that's not why experimental music fans listen to music, is it? The sonic explorations here are worth your time.



BTW - the CD is a limited ed. (not sure how many copies - looks like 1000), so buy it now if you want it."