Bleep

Before they settled on the name Pan Sonic, the crew of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen and Sami Salo operated under the banner of Panasonic. Way back in 1996, Panasonic farmed out some of their material to associates Zoviet France and Muslimgauze for remixing. New versions were created and returned, but the tracks never made it to the wider public at the time. Now, more than two decades on, Sakho Recordings have dusted off the tapes and pressed them up for a new vinyl EP.

More than half of the record is taken up by Zoviet France’s lengthy minimal techno offering. This is a ghostly number, one in which the only clearly-discernible tones are the steady pulse of kick drum and hi-hats. Haunted atmospherics swirl above, the sounds of what may or may not be a choir moth-eaten by reverb. This is eerie stuff - chilling, even.

Something similar to the Zoviet France take happens on Muslimgauze’s first remix, albeit in a manner that is more curious than creepy. A glitching and industrial second Muslimgauze version follows, one which leaves behind danceable rhythms for a sucking, slurpy anti-beat. It’s a track which prefigures the weirder end of Modeselektor’s sound as well as some of Vainio’s solo work.

Sakho Recordings drop a trio of long-lost Panasonic (aka Pan Sonic) remixes - one from Zoviet France, two from Muslimgauze.