Vagus Nerve - Lo Pan

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release
Soundclips

5...according to our Ant on Fri 14 Aug, 2009.

You know I really do like a hell of a lot of material that comes out on the Utech label. It's one of those rare labels that is truly individual and follows zero trends in the musical cosmos and as a result always maintains its integrity. When I first heard this 'Lo Pan' album from Vagus Nerve it really caught my attention as being something very unique. The concept if you will is summoning UFOs using a Lo Pan (an ancient Chinese compass capable of unlocking the secrets of the universe). The album certainly has a very spiritual feel about it and the music and sounds come across like ancient, primitive languages communicating with advanced beings which are using some form of encrypted code. This comes through in distant guitar psychedelics and more techno, computerized synthesized sounds. At various points it becomes very intense and you can visualize a post apocalyptic landscape being destroyed by his chrome craft blasting red lasers. You can really go places with this one and I happen to think that it's a superb release.. Gorgeous packaging as usual from Utech. Let your imagination run wild as this meeting of ancient temples and secret technology is truly cosmic!

To play these clips you need to either update your browser (Norman Records recommends Google Chrome) or update your Flash plugin.

The lo pan is an ancient, intricate compass used in the practice of
traditional Chinese feng shui and is sometimes referred to as ³the universe
on a plate.² A lo pan consists of two parts a square wooden base into
which is fitted a freely rotating saucer-shaped disk. In the centre of the
disk is a small depression containing a magnetized needle. Between the
needle and the edge of the disk are engraved several concentric rings, each
divided into sectors containing different sets of Chinese characters.
The relationship between this physical object and the music you hear on this
album was inspired by a dream that Li Jianhong (guitar) had in June 2006. In
his dream he came to a clearing in a dark forest which contained a huge lo
pan, as big as a table. Convinced that the device could provide a way to
summon UFOs, he lay down on the lo pan and began to rotate around the
various symbols on the concentric rings. As he did so, a vast array of UFOs
appeared above the forest. For Li Jianhong then, the lo pan represents a
form of ancient knowledge that can be used to unlock the secrets of the
universe. His collaborator in VagusNerve, VAVABOND (laptop), reads the lo
pan in a slightly different way. For her, it is a device which can be used
to discover a balance between the individual and the cosmos, by aligning
personal energy with the cosmic. This idea of balance runs through the music
as it pulses, shifts and resonates freely, seeking to create and then
destroy structures of equilibrium.

Photography by VAVABOND. Typography and drawing by Li Jianhong. Text by Alan
Cummings. Edition of 500.