Pan*American / Fly The Ocean In A Silver Plane / Kranky – by Adam Turner

Wonderful words by the ever erudite Adam Turner. As with so many artists, the first time I heard Pan*American was in an Andrew Weatherall mix. In 2017, in a live session, he started with the song Both Ends Fixed, an 11-minute instrumental, released on FatCat’s Split Series in 1999. Minimalist and contemplative with a percussive sound like a pen being tapped against a radiator, and nothing in any hurry to get anywhere quickly. The new Pan*American album, Fly The Ocean On A Silver Plane, is a reflection on journeys and travel, ‘the real kind as well as the metaphorical.’ It starts with Silver Plane, Now Boarding and the field recorded sounds of an airport departure lounge and children’s voices, before adding guitar. Departure lounges never seem this blissful in real life – the golden age of air travel promised stress-free flying but the reality of the modern experience is restrictions, queues, confusion and spending money, trapped, while you wait for your number to appear on the board.…