Man oh man folks, has my brain been addled lately! About four days ago, I sat down to work on my review of PANDAstar’s new album, ‘FOUND’, recently released via the kawaii8bit netlabel. I had everything put together and ready to release today, and do you know what? Turns out I’d reviewed the wrong album; I went straight to ‘TROPOSPHERE’ and completely spaced ‘FOUND’! Derp.

El Presidente, Mr. Hoodie, was kind enough to notify me this morning of the error, and I vowed to get the correct album reviewed in time for the scheduled May 4th release… right after chocolate chip pancakes and a screening of the classic French short film, “The Red Balloon” with a friend, (slumber party!), which I had not seen previously.

Later that morning, I was a few songs into PANDAstar’s ‘FOUND’, and the film, which had been pulled up on YouTube, looped. PANDAstar’s music continued to play as the credits began to roll. As I switched tabs, fully intending to halt the repeating film, its own beautiful orchestral music playing, I paused. “Wait a minute,” I thought. “This is in the same key.” I started to pay closer attention. “You’re blowing my mind right now!” my friend exclaimed. She was already very familiar with this film.

The two individual pieces of media hadn’t started at exactly the same time, and this was perhaps ideal due to the few minutes difference in length between the album and film. The track ‘NYX’ was about two minutes in as the credits faded to a scene showing a foggy morning skyline overlooking the Ménilmontant neighbourhood of Paris. I muted the audio on ‘Le Ballon Rouge’, moved my fingers away from the trackpad and sat back down on my couch, curious where this combination of classic film and modern happy hardcore chipmusic would take me.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Nonfinite, it sounds like you and that friend of yours were stoned out of your gourds.” Well, you would be right, friends, but that’s besides the point. Not yet having had the pleasure of the quintessential Alice in Wonderland/Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ combo, this sort of accidental audiovisual collision was a new experience to me, and it was a joyous one. Without intending to do so, I had combined two very dissimilar pieces of work together, and they fit so well! This was peanut butter and chocolate, maaan.

Before you proceed, I would recommend taking a half an hour to digest these two works together, so that you might form your own opinions on their parallels. I wouldn’t wish to tell you of my personal highlights because you will likely find many of your own. Simply keep in mind that everyone will have a slightly different experience, as it’s up to you where you start each. (I recommend starting ‘NYX’ at the very beginning of the credits.) I can say without spoiling any plot for you that experiencing both of these together greatly enhanced my appreciation for each. You can find both the full album and video below. Go on. We’ll wait.

FOUND ♥K8B001♥ by PANDAstar

Beginning the film at the start of the credits with ‘NYX’, we find outselves watching something that feels more like ‘The Terminator’ than a colorful French short about a boy and his levitating helium device. ‘NYX’ drones ominously, the percussion in the background hard, abrasive and slowly present. As the track moves into full force, our young hero begins the film at the top of a staircase to the sonic foretelling of a daunting journey out into the wild, ruthless city. The boy travels down the stairs and encounters his partner, the red balloon, trapped on a lamp post overhead. He scales the pole, now a treacherous feat thanks to the addition of PANDAstar’s accompaniment. Thus an entirely new story begins.

‘Blanket Burrito’ is perhaps my favorite part of the album, starting out with a jaunty, swinging rhythm that has a distinct feeling of buoyancy to it, which is further enhanced by chirping happy arpeggios over the top. The song gradually picks up in pace, losing the groove to adorn a four-on-the-floor persona. Ending on an airy note, the track releases itself into the stratosphere, preparing for the arrival of the next chapter, ‘Relish.’

Throughout this experience, I noticed how audio tracks and scenes commonly cut at the same time, about every three to five minutes. It had never occurred to me previously that a scene might be designed to time out like a song, or vice versa. One could surmise from this that the human attention span stays consistent across many media types. The film and album both simultaneously possess a great deal of energy, enthusiasm, silliness, childishness, and aggression throughout, and I believe it’s these emotional parallels combined with predictable and routine shifts between all of these that allow the two to flow together so well.

Observing these qualities in both works, it becomes clear how well PANDAstar has a grasp on how to move his audience through a story. ‘FOUND’ fluctuates organically and deftly, moving between the setting of a plot to the building of tension and then later resolving that same tension, only to introduce a new struggle a few moments later, all the while being a bit cheeky about it. It feels like a lot of thought went into the arrangement of this release.

On a deeper note, I would also surmise that, paradoxically, the writing process for many of these songs involved an intentional emptying of the mind. I touch on this concept frequently, as I think it’s an incredibly powerful tool in an artist’s arsenal. The introduction of new artists and art to one’s life is what keeps us intrigued in art. Without fresh, new ideas, similarities amass and art becomes stale. It stops being noticed and appreciated. A bright, shiny red apple is always going to be less noticeable amongst other apples. The ability to forget what you’re thinking about, lose sight of the concept that there are rules and trends that you should probably be following and just write what you feel is the closest experience to having actual magic come out of my fingertips. Sort of like this guy, just a bit less menacing:

I expect Jordan often feels the same, that he is perchance casting a spell when he writes and performs. I have watched film of people losing themselves to religious rites, speaking in tongues and writhing on their feet as their preacher summons up and pours as much enthusiasm and energy as he can muster into his oftentimes melodically laced words. PANDAstar’s set at the first BRKFest summoned up memories of such people lost in their experiences as we danced to his mirrored movements. I forgot myself during that set, much in the same way someone would lose themselves to a deep meditation. My thoughts emptied, and I found myself simply there. I find an incredible amount of appeal in this thought; that one might reach a place of clarity through banging their head as they push and shove their way around a mosh pit as readily as through getting into a seated lotus position, closing their eyes and beginning to take deep, full breaths. We are truly profound creatures.

All in all, ‘FOUND’ is a gloriously energetic, fast-moving album that speaks of the knowledge, maturity and wisdom that can only come from making mistakes and learning from them. It’s a chronicle of the human experience represented in 160BPM, and it’s high time you got yourself a slice of the pie.

Mmmm, pie.

PANDAstar

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FOUND ♥K8B001♥ by PANDAstar

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