Pan American
360 Business/360 Bypass
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Pan American
360 Business/360 Bypass
Kranky, 2000
RiYL: Labradford, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno |
Nelson builds minimalist soundscapes and populates them with slow-motion events. The quiet, loping pulsation of "Steel Stars," reminiscent of Aphex Twin, drifts for five minutes in a celestial trance before a sudden change in timbre plunges it into an angst-stricken atmosphere for the remaining six minutes. The even longer "Double Rail" trots at a light pace and breathes thoughtful horn solos. Reggae hiccups, minimalist keyboard figures and jazzy horn solos are blended even more boldly in "Both Ends Fixed."
However, Nelson's genius is better revealed by "Code," a shorter composition whose dub-influenced thuds support ceremonial chanting (from guests Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low) and are counterpointed by cosmic undercurrents of keyboards (think a less commercial version of Enigma).
Rhythm is a mere abstraction in the brief "Coastal," a ghostly echo of tribal percussions in a stasis of icy drones. The center of "K Luminate," a complex clockwork of interlocked patterns, continuously shifts until it stabilizes on a steady pulse, like a heartbeat.
In Pan American's music, humility and ambition often go hand in hand: the humbler the overall feeling of a piece, the more ambitious its construction and development. The process is hardly recognizable, especially when, at the end, all that is left is a weak, unfocused signal. Voices and horns are sometimes brought in to resurrect harmony, but only for Nelson to kill it again, at a deeper level.
PIERO SCARUFFI | Piero Scaruffi runs the exhaustive music database Scaruffi.com. A native of Italy, he has also been praised for his work on the General Theory of Relativity, formal theories of the mind, and artificial intelligence. And no, we aren't making that up.