Panasonic (or, as the bleep-elite call them now, Pan Sonic) rumbled out of Finland's early 90's techno-slash-installation art scene and into our hearts. When I sat down with Ilpo Vaisanen (who, together with collaborator Mika Vainio, comprises the group) recently, I asked him about the name change in addition to other scintillating topics.

"We knew it would happen eventually," Ilpo said regarding to the all-encompassing electronics conglomerate noticing their sharing a common name. "The Japanese, however, did not have a problem with it as they seemed to understand us a little more. However, as for America and its lawyers..."

And so the middle "a" was dropped, as reflected in 1999's A, the first album they released after their vowel-ectomy. It was their third album, after 1999's Vakio and 1997's Kulma. This February saw the release of their fourth album, Aaltopirii, an album that is truly a culmination of their prior efforts. Moving through somewhat distinct phases (Vakio had noise, Kulma melody, and A minimalism), Aaltopirii displays a real cohesiveness and unity between the dominant elements of their previous releases. It seems to glow with an alien, inner warmth underneath its smooth exoskeleton of thunderous beats, distant crackles, and enveloping drones.

Pan Sonic's creative process is centered on the simple noises generated by their machines, most of which are custom-made. Ilpo gave a hint into their creative process: "The sound is the base...we find sounds that excite us and then build the song around a few noises". The "we" in this case is Mika and Ilpo, but Pan Sonic have had their share of collaborative efforts, including Endless (Mute/Blast First), which features Alan Vega of legendary electronic noisemakers Suicide; and work with FM Einheit of Einstuerzende Neubauten. As for future collaborations, their plans include "a piece in Iceland with an experimental choir conducted by Barry Adamson. It should be very powerful, very beautiful."

Collaboration has been at the core of Pan Sonic since the early days when Mika and Ilpo met via the acid house parties of late-80's Finland; Mika as a DJ, Ilpo as an installation artist. The collaboration took a few years to truly form into the Pan Sonic we recognize today, a group that originally included third member Sami Salo, who had to leave in 1996 due to civil service obligations. Pan Sonic's involvement in combining music and the visual arts continues to this day, with Ilpo due to open an installation piece in Ireland later this spring.

Later that week I witnessed Pan Sonic live at the Mercury Lounge here in NYC. This was one of the stops on what the group had hoped would be a very interesting tour. Last year, they placed ads in much of the music press advertising for unusual places to perform. "We were hoping for places like Korea… China... Africa... the Middle East, but we didn't get any offers." They did get an offer to play in Easter Island, but it fell through. They were especially hoping for the Far East, since both Ilpo and Mika love the music scene there. "It doesn't have any borders...all kinds of music are happening. I like the work being done by Masonna and Aube in particular." It's a shame that these areas missed out on the Pan Sonic experience - and trust me, it is an experience.

Seeing Pan Sonic perform live has never been a letdown for me. Sometimes it's noisier, sometimes it's more ambient, but it's always loud and intense. The Mercury Lounge show was a top performance, a study in contrast between utter brutality and perfect calm -- brutal in the sense of a near-intolerably loud barrage of essentially pure noise (I still don't know how people go to Pan Sonic shows and seem surprised at the decibels!), but calming because if you yield yourself, there's nothing quite like letting your mind and body wallow in the sound.

The only letdown was the lack of live oscilloscope readings of the music projected behind the performers, which they have done before. It's too appropriate, really - here is a band that is devoted to sound in its purest, most unadulterated form - and when you can see what you're hearing, those beautiful waveforms, it really brings it home that what you hear is pure art.

One of Micah Stupak's ex-girlfriends once asked him if she could play one her Mariah Carey CDs on his stereo. That was seven years ago, and he hasn't stopped laughing since. Pan Sonic's latest album, Aaltopirii, is out now on Mute. Buy it here.