Papa M
Audio Tour Diary Vol.1-6

THE REVIEW

From the canonizer of post-rock sound with Slint to a transient member in Tortoise, from a solitary crafter of guitar-ambient miniatures under the name Aerial M/Papa M (and something-else-with-an-M) to an "singer-songwriter" of rugged urban folk of the new millennium, this is the musical journey of David Pajo (but there would be countless other collaborations…).

Then in 2003, the surprising "rockstar" interlude with Billy Corgan's Zwan. And it is during the two-year period that sees him engaged on stages all over the world that Pajo, through Drag City Records, releases "Audio Tour Diary", a kind of "singles club" created to appease fans who saw him "cashing in" (he would later return to it with the Slint reunion but was forgiven).

The mood of these CDs/EPs, especially in the first two volumes, is that of a post-low-folk turn: the classic blues "I Am The Light Of This World" with the use of sitar, the traditionals "Black Is The Color" and "Wild Mountain Thyme", rearranged, played, and sung with unique grace, would have found themselves at ease in "Whatever, Mortal". From this, "Beloved Woman" is taken, unplugged, and redone acoustically with strings played by ghosts in an empty room. "four" is the most electric of the series: long guitar solos, somewhat canonical and "spacey", are used to highlight the suspended and brief "Red Curtains" for voice, desolate banjo, and little else.

Pajo doesn’t miss anything, so here’s also a "hidden track", a very sweet instrumental in the company of Paz Lenchantin on violin, and a split ("five") with Spanish-Danish singer Christina Rosenvinge where the winning track, "Nickel Song", nocturnal and jazzy, is the lady's. It falls to the brightness of "six" to close the club: the absolute pop enchantment of "The Trees Do Grow So High" (another traditional) and the curious "synthesized" solo of "Lovely Room" tell us that David Pajo isn’t actually that gloomy or pretentious, especially since the female company this time is the unknown flutist and "christian singer" Dianne Williams.

I highly recommend "one", "three", and "six". For the ultra-fans, I recommend all. For those who know nothing of Pajo, I suggest (starting from) "Tweez".