Mika Vainio Tribute

Mika Vainio (1963 – 2017)

Hailing originally from Finland, Vainio formed Pan Sonic (originally known as Panasonic) in 1993, alongside Ilpo Väisänen and Sami Salo. Salo left the project in 1996. From 1994, they released music with the Sähkö label, which Vainio founded in 1993 alongside Tommi Grönlund. Vainio and Väisänen continued to work together as Pan Sonic until the present day, having released a film soundtrack last year. Vainio also produced a vast collection of solo material under his own name as well as other guises, including most famously Ø and Philus. His work explored various aspects of techno, industrial music, noise and other experimental corners of electronic music. Through his career, he collaborated with the likes of Charlemagne Palestine, Fennesz, Merzbow, Franck Vigroux and many more.

»Nowadays, within techno music it is part of the vocabulary to be minimalistic and heady. Mika really put those things in the front. His music is exceptional, intellectually very innovative, and very minimalist. It is extreme, never in the middle. It is sometimes very soft, sometimes very hard. For me his music represents, in spirit, a marker for the end of the 20th century. The spectrum he worked with was very broad; from science fiction soundtrack style to loud music meant to be played at a warehouse party with huge sound system. There are younger kids making techno music who might not even be aware that their musical influences might come indirectly from Mika Vainio.«   (Johannes Auvinen / Tin Man)

Screenings 
JIMI TENOR »SÄHKÖ«
(1995, OmeU)

LARS AUVINEN »A PHYSICAL RING«
(2006 – )

MIKA TAANILA »TECTONIC PLATE«
(2016, Excerpts)

ED QUIST »KUVAPUTKI«
(2008, Excerpts)

DJ Sets:
TIN MAN 
CHRA 
PITA