Pan Sonic - Kesto (234.48:4)

On May 17 2004, "KESTO" was released in Europe, and in the subsequent months, in the USA and Canada. Not a compilation of previously released material (some could get confused by the 4-disc box set packaging), but rather a collection of entirelly new material from the duo, collected on four discs. Each disc is also more focused in terms of "theme"; while a regular CD from the band would give us a bit of everything they usually do (harsh noise, cold beats, minimalist ambience, hums/tones). This set offers all of Panasonic's "styles" conveniently seperated on different discs, plus a small bonus (of sorts). Disc 1 features the harsher, more noise-oriented style with lots of loud rhythms and sequences. Disc 2 has more rhythms but the loudness has been toned down to reveal a more "electro" approach to their sound. Disc 3 is the experimental / ambient side, from loud noise outbursts to almost innaudible illbient. Finally Disc 4 is a 60 minute ambient piece, something which we rarely (if ever) hear from the band.Perhaps their most complete release yet, since they have 4 discs to explore their many facets.

Inspired by their love of industrial music, electro, musique concrete and Mika Vainio's love of Francis Bacon paintings and their usual concert antics, Pan(a)sonic has managed to create an ambitious music work that best encapsulated what they are about: noise in all its creative, beautiful and realized forms.

The Francis Bacon influence comes into this release through its daring structure [Kesto by the way roughly translates to "strength" or "duration"]. Originally it was conceived as a triptych with three discs representing three different sonic textures. Later a fourth disc was conceived and thus it was a tetraptych.

The first disc consists of very heavy, dense and abrasive sounds, evoking early industrial and particularly Suicide and Einstürzende Neubauten. It's the kind of sound that will not only "collapse new buildings" but also drain a variety of bodily sounds. Everytime I hear this disc, it sounds like a sonic carpet bombing is occuring throughout my entire body (listening to it through headphones makes it worse).

The second has that electro feel but it is more chilled: more New Order than Ministry. It's still abrasive but not in the way that the first disc was. It's quite chill and calm... relatively speaking that is.

The third disc evokes more musique concrete and other academic music experimentations from the 1950s to 1970s. The last track on that disc for an example is made in honor of Alvin Lucier, experimental electronic music composer famous for "I am sitting in a room." A lot of found sounds are employed as well as more sine tones and pure ambience. But it's closer to Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 than it is to say, Brian Eno's ambient series.

The fourth one is a pure drone that is manipulated through various oscillators that lasts for an hour. While it may seem excessive to have a single "note" play for an hour, the sound does change in subtle and oblique ways, if you exercise your ears in the right way.

All in all, it's a daring work in the scheme of electronic music and maybe even in commercial music in general. While multiple-disc releases have been done and some of the components have been done before, it remains a bold and strong work that will undoubtedly brand your ears for a good while. To me, this is true art music, the kind that visual artists in the early 20th century must have heard in their mind's ear.