Album Review: Kilo by Mika Vainio

Pan Sonic has been in a "deep freeze" since 2010, and output from Ilpo Väisänen has been scarce (as usual), but Mika Vainio, the duo's other half, has certainly kept busy. In solo mode and as a collaborator, the Finnish experimental artist continues putting out music at a rate of two or more full-lengths per year. Kilo, released on Blast First Petite, is his latest solo effort.

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With the harsher end of techno in the middle of its biggest renaissance in over a decade, it is only fitting that one of the first masters of the form has found himself back in high demand. It's not as if he ever went anywhere; Mika Vainio is easily one of techno and experimental electronic music's most prolific artists, with a discography that stretches across genre divides, aliases, a few of the area's most respected labels, and seemingly endless collaborations with long-term partners and in one-off groups. For someone who's invested thirty-plus years in production and electro-acoustics, Vainio is surprisingly modest about both his means and his goals: a few simple machines, a few homemade noisemakers, patience, and his intuitive, improvisational approach to music are the basic components to achieve the moods he seeks.

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