▄▄ [ INFORMATION ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ ARTIST: Pan and Me █
█ TITLE: Paal █
█ LABEL: Denovali █
█ GENRE: Avantgarde █
█ BITRATE: 238kbps avg █
█ PLAYTIME: 0h 35min total █
█ RELEASE DATE: 2012-00-00 █
█ RIP DATE: 2012-02-27 █
█ URL: █
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▄▄ [ TRACKLIST ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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█ 01. The Lighthouse At Two Lights 10:22 █
█ 02. Unalaska 3:07 █
█ 03. The Everlasting Fog 4:03 █
█ 04. Bush Leaf Dreaming 7:22 █
█ 05. ║ 18' N 167║ 52' W 6:35 █
█ 06. The Clearing 4:11 █
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▄▄ [ NOTES ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
█ █
█ Pan & Me: when the promo copy shows up, the city of Athens is on fire. █
█ You hope for the material to agree with the name, to refer somehow to █
█ classical Greek literature and culture. Pan, the god of nature, and the █
█ source of panic, that sudden fear that strikes us while traveling alone █
█ in the woods. The keeper of the flock, a god of music. It seems a much █
█ more welcome view of Greece than the one on the evenings news now, █
█ suffering a much different kind of panic, in a thicket all its own. The █
█ Greece burdened with debt obligations, minimum wage cuts, pension cuts, █
█ and the elimination of state jobs. The rioting, looting, and burning. █
█ Not just banks, either. Shops and cinemas are smoldering, too. Better to █
█ use the old word, and the old spelling: theatres. █
█ █
█ After a listen or two, it all fits together pretty snugly. Except that █
█ the album was recorded in Alaska two years ago, by Brest-based artist █
█ Christophe Mevel, and named after a city in Belgium. The initial 2011 █
█ release was named Paal, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the █
█ film (donÆt spend too much time searching IMDb, reviews at the time █
█ wrote of ôbandes originales de films imaginairesö). DenovaliÆs reissue █
█ drops the benevolent hoax and changes formats: CD, or a limited edition █
█ of 180-gram LPs with download code, in 100 pieces of white vinyl with █
█ black haze, and 200 pieces of black vinyl. Over a quarter of the albumÆs █
█ bulk rests in its opening track, the ten-minute ôLighthouse at Two █
█ Lights,ö which begins with exhalation and viola. It is a scarce piece of █
█ music, although not exactly barren, like the northern terrains that █
█ inspired it. Instead, think of each added sound element as another █
█ uneasy structure built atop a hostile landscape: ôfallen houses, rusty █
█ steel and grey logs.ö █
█ █
█ ôLighthouseö continues with two softly pulsing piano drones, one at each █
█ end of the register: the track title comes into a literal view. A █
█ current of processing blows like heavy wind outside, then at five █
█ minutes in the composer abandons nearly all of it. A field recording █
█ depicts some manner of assisted breathing ù itÆs rather harrowing, █
█ frankly, although it could always been a skindiving regulator ù which █
█ inaugurates a glitchy, percussive coda. Cue the legions of doctoral █
█ students still trying to decide on a thesis, because this piece of music █
█ is a study on its own. █
█ █
█ The next track is a beautiful and snowed-in one, an exquisitely █
█ out-of-tune piano composition for three hands. It is brief and never █
█ wanders far, and that is exactly the point: ôThe next day was even more █
█ foggy. The white moist surrounded everything and the landscape █
█ vanished.ö The harsh, regular beeping that opens ôThe everlasting fogö █
█ conjures thoughts of medical machines again, and the listener canÆt help █
█ but hold his breath when it stops. The track is halting throughout, with █
█ a louder voice and more concussive rhythm, and its whispers of brass and █
█ chromatic piano are the closest resemblances to jazz we will find. It █
█ bears mention here that Christophe Mevel is known as one-quarter of the █
█ Dale Cooper Quartet, but this solo project is a far cry from that other █
█ ensemble, the one with the name recognition. █
█ █
█ Track ô53║ 18? N 167║ 52? Wö is our favorite. Again, the drone favors █
█ winds, although they are warm and slightly eastern-scented now (a quick █
█ check on those coordinates will probably belie the impression, but even █
█ so). The tiny orchestra of piano, string, processing, and samples █
█ punches higher than its weight class, delivering a visual and seamless █
█ piece, somehow communicating triumph and mortality at once. █
█ █
█ There seems little doubt that Mevel is narrating something more than █
█ just a trip through Alaska. A private tragedy only disclosed in brief █
█ hints, or perhaps something a bit more public, say, the flatline of █
█ civic progress, the barrenness of culture, the winds of technological █
█ change, or the chill of relations in the age of social media. ItÆs a █
█ tantalizing chase, even if we never catch anything more than 35 minutes █
█ of infectious music. And as for one reviewer, he is trusting his first █
█ impressions. █
█ █
█ - Fred Nolan for Fluid Radio █
█ █
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