Pan American Flac

Mark Nelson, best known as the man at the controls for Labradford and his own Pan American project, has long been developing his interest in quiet sounds and delicate expanses, but this is perhaps his most evocative album; a strange, intimate mix of electronics and acoustic soundscapes taking in opulent melodic textures and precious found sounds somewhere between Lynchian nightscapes and dusty Americana. Somehow you can't call these pieces Ambient, although in many respects they perfectly sum up the untouched chill of vast open spaces and the glowing warmth of intimate hideaways…

The best-known alter ego of the Harry Vanda/George Young songwriting team (the creative force behind the Easybeats), Flash and the Pan began simply as a between-production project in 1976. By 1979, the project had turned out a novelty hit with the single "Hey St. Peter." A second single, "Down Among the Dead," also became a hit throughout Australia and Europe, inspiring the release of the album Flash and the Pan. American radio began playing import copies which led to a deal with Epic Records. The album would soon reach the Top 100 in the U.S. despite the lack of a supporting tour.