Erkki Rautio wrote:
quoted 6 lines Well, here's some info on "Sahko, The Movie" from the sleeve of>
> Well, here's some info on "Sahko, The Movie" from the sleeve of
> Panasonic's "Vakio" CD. Well, if anyone has actually seen it, tell me
> about it too, since I've been to lazy to hassle with International
> Money Orders and to get it from Mute myself... ;)
>
The packaging is plain white cardboard with a red ink Sahko stamp
on it. Inside, the cassette itself and a small piece of white paper
with translations of Finnish dialogue to English.
The film itself is grainy in quality (what would you expect from
16mm), oftentimes it is nearly impossible to tell what is on
the screen. Sound is better, though. There are some whole tracks,
but mostly they are just snippets from live performances and recording
sessions.
There is absolutely no script whatsoever - the scenes just come one
after another. Shots from various studios, live performances and
recording sessions. A visit to Kirlian's studio is just a flash of
darkness and white keyboard keys. Live at the Limelight. A party in
New York. Jimi Tenor playing saxophone in his apartment. A quick
explanation of what Sahko is by TG. A semi-humorous scene depicting
"Holmes," a self-built bass element that allegedly reproduces sound
down to 15Hz; include an experiment with sauna and you have the
funny part.
I find the scene about "Liberace," the portable organ most
entertaining. I can describe the instrument with words, but it has to
be seen before understanding.
To me, Sahko the Movie shed a lot of light on their ideology and
approach to music. 23 pounds is a tad much for a piece like this, but
I had an order pending and actually, I wanted the tape. Now I have it.
Some weeks ago I went to Turku here in Finland to see Panasonic.
The material they played was mostly off Vakio, with some twists added.
Nothing spectacular, but I still found them refreshing. Most of the
crowd just stood there, jaws agape. This is standard live performance
audience behaviour here in Finland - but it could be understandable
even in other countries because of the curiosity and obscurity of
Panasonic (and Sahko, for that matter). They are just three people
tweaking electronic instruments on stage, but it is the ideology that
counts.