Mika Vainio, of Pan Sonic, has died age 53

  • Published
    Thu, Apr 13, 2017, 14:51
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  • The prolific Finnish artist leaves behind a rich legacy of experimental electronic music.
  • Mika Vainio, of Pan Sonic, has died age 53 image
  • Mika Vainio, a prolific and intensely focused Finnish artist who was a member of Pan Sonic, has died at the age of 53. The news has been confirmed by his family, though the cause of his death is unknown. Vainio was a multi-disciplinary artist best known as one-half of the experimental duo Pan Sonic, whose wide-reaching catalogue spanned techno, noise, ambient and industrial. Along with fellow Finn Ilpo Väisänen, Vainio began recording as Pan Sonic in the mid-'90s, while also organizing more conceptual sound-based exhibitions and installations. In one mythic London performance in '95, they rigged an armored car up with a soundsystem that was built to resemble a riot control device, which would have a physically debilitating effect on the audience. Since then, they released more than a dozen albums, including collaborative material with other noise and experimental greats like Charlemagne Palestine, Merzbow and Keiji Haino. Vainio also put out a great number of solo recordings, including the acclaimed 2014 album Konstellaatio, released under his Ø alias. That one came out on his long-time home, Sähkö Recordings, who last year also released a collection of his archival band recordings from 1983 to 1985. His last album was a 50-minute score for a film called Mannerlaatta, which was released last summer.
RA