We’re pleased to report that a lavish anthology of sound-works by Mika Vainio has been published by Raster-Noton. It takes the form of a 92-page hardback book and two accompanying CDs, and is entitled Time Examined.

Finnish Vainio is one of his generation’s most acclaimed musicians and sound artists. He formed Panasonic (later known as Pan Sonic) in Turku with Ilpo Väisänen in 1993, pushing a kind of severe, droning electronic minimalism that reached dizzying heights of excellence on the albums Kulma (1996) and Aaltopiiri (2000). These records, along with Vainio’s solo work under the name Ø – particularly 1994’s classic Metri LP – pre-dated and inspired the work of innumerable latterday minimal techno artists like Sleeparchive and Function.

Vainio’s preoccupation with extreme frequencies and sound in relation to spatial environments has, over the course of his career, taken him away from club music and back to the art-world that birthed him. There have been numerous single and full-length releases on labels like Touch and Editions Mego, but Vainio’s most prolific and impassioned work has been gallery-oriented; he has exhibited in many of Europe’s major art spaces, and collaborated with many notable artists and curators. It’s his installation work from the past 13 years that is the subject of the new Raster-Noton edition. Says a note on the label’s website:

“[Vainio’s] installations have never gained the broader recognition they deserve — without good reason. In the present book, an overview will give a clear outline of this segment of his oeuvre. Also his realized soundtracks for other artists, in the genres of video, film and dance are included. Each work is presented with a significant selection of images (installation views, visuals or sketches) and an explanatory text to deliver its basic idea. In the two essays Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Daniela Cascella – longtime companions and collaborators — delicately introduce Vainio’s conceptions to further enlight the reader’s understanding. On the enclosed CDs one can find a selection of tracks created for the respective installations and soundtracks.”

A second CD is included in the Time Examined package, a reissue of Ø + noto’s 1997 split release Mikro Makro. Noto is Raster-Noton co-founder Carsten Nicolai. The 92-page book features colour and monochrome pictures and text from Daniel Klemm as well as Cascella and von Hausswolff.

Time Examined is available to order now directly from Raster-Noton. It’s the label’s first book project since the release in late 2008 of GAS, a collection of images and music made under that name by Wolfgang Voigt.

Time Examined tracklisting:

1. Ilmanvaihto

2. Minus 27

3. The Human Fly

4. Berns

5. Half Awake Half Asleep

6. Berlin Sound Chamber

7. 3 x Wall Clocks

8. Omerta

9. Monumentti

10. Sondear

11. 4 x Radio