jonas munk: pan

AVAILABLE 5.25.12  This is the first solo effort from Jonas Munk released under his own name. Jonas Munk is a musician and producer from Odense, Denmark who has been active in a wide range of musical styles for the past decade. In the European psych-rock community he is mostly known as the guitar player in the respected stoner/jazz/Krautrock-outfit Causa Sui as well as related projects such as Chicago Odense Ensemble, a joint session project featuring members of Causa Sui, Chicago Underground Collective and Tortoise, which resulted in a 2LP released in 2011. Outside of these circles, Munk is best known as a producer of electronic music, most recently with a full-length collaboration with German synth-meister Ulrich Schnauss. Munk also holds a masters degree in philosophy with a thesis on music and consciousness. Pan simultaneously betrays his connections to the European stoner-rock community and the world of electronic ambient music -- this album combines ideas from both worlds, while the result really doesn't belong to either of them. With Pan's motorik analog synthesizer patterns and its warm, fuzzy drones, the influence from 1970s German synthesizer and new age music, such as early Kraftwerk, Ashra and Popol Vuh, is apparent from the first note. But there's also definite traits of American styles running through this album, from the flowing optimism of Alice Coltrane and Terry Riley to the modern-day psychedelia of Comets On Fire and Bardo Pond. While large parts of Pan have been programmed on electronic equipment, there's a jam-like quality emanating from the album's seven tracks. The album reflects the idea of giving up rationality and control with the purpose of letting the music flow towards it own ends. The compositional ideas are incredibly simple while still carrying a certain depth. Soundwise, Pan is all about analog machines, 30+ year-old synthesizers, detuned guitars and heavily-cranked vacuum tube amplifiers weaving together in fuzzy, pulsating glory. The title Pan refers to the ancient Greek word meaning "all" or "everything."