Pan. American now. Once again, never really heard much by this man, Mark
Nelson. I've packed loads of records by him but if he's had time on the
office boombox, my head's been firmly secreted up my nether regions. A new CD
called 'For Waiting, For Chasing' has landed & ooooh, it sounds real nice.
Warm layered atmospherics, tripping off yer mind, reverberations from chimes, rumbles,
discreet creaking sounds, eerie but warm synths, sleigh bells, glaciers parting
in a gradual thaw, more blissful atmospherics. It all reminds me of a more aggressive
Biosphere. Never has the sound of a microphone being eaten by a grizzly
bear sounded so nice (this didn't really happen....) CD only on Mosz. & I
think I'll give this my release of the week.
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
Sound clips for For Waiting, For Chasing by Pan American: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Mosz, mosz 010 , £9.79.
Pan.American - "For Waiting, for Chasing" [mosz010]
"For Waiting, For Chasing" is the fifth release by Pan.American which is the solo project of Mark Nelson, also of Labradford. From a technical point of view the album is a sensitive combination of the electronic domain [synthesizers, computer] and acoustic instruments [guitars, percussion, flugelhorn], with the latter involving friends and musicians like Steven Hess [percussion] and David Max Crawford [Flugelhorn]. But it is not about the process or the media, which have been used. It is about how elements and structures are put in a detailed relation to each other ... ending up in a slow-moving, breathing organism. Filaments of percussive elements condense to polyrhythmic elements, layers of sound, instruments and field recordings merge to build up a mystic parallel, not so much fictional world. As Lexie Macchi wrote about a previous Pan.American album in "Your Flesh":
The songs don't progress so much as emerge from a substrate of silence and blank tape, carving pale shapes out of a dark canvas."
In fact "For Waiting, For Chasing" has a strong emotional content, if the term emotional would not be so often misunderstood as "being expressive". There is a very personal trace throughout the album, outlined by the artist himself:
This music began in 2004 when my partner Kindon was pregnant with our son Lincoln. A regular part of our visits to the obstetrician was listening to the baby's heartbeat. The Doctor would move a microphone around Kindon's belly and at first we would only hear a low-fi rumble. As the Doctor narrowed in on the baby there'd be a distinct rapid and watery throb. I recorded these sounds on Mini Disc and Kindon and I would look at each other and smile like idiots. An element, usually processed, of these recordings is in each of the tracks on this record. It means a great deal to me to share some of the chaos and grace of this time in our lives. Thank you for listening. [Mark Nelson a.k.a Pan.American]
Other items by Pan American
360 Business Pan American Double LP (vinyl), £14.39
360 Business Pan American Double LP (vinyl), £16.99
