| Pan American

During the summer of 1997 Mark Nelson started recording a full length album for Kranky, splitting his time between working at home and at the Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, Virginia. Mark Nelson had been playing guitar and singing in Labradford, but wanted to explore the possibilities of sampling and computer technology as well as activating his interest in dub and techno.

The self-titled debut Pan American album came out on Kranky in early 1998. The dub influence was pervasive; the resulting sound cavernous with echoed percussion and resonant bass drones, Nelson's hushed vocals dwelling somewhere in the middle-ground.

Nelson continued to work on Pan American material in tandem to his work with Labradford, learning to play pedal steel guitar, releasing singles on European labels and getting in some studio time with studio engineer Casey Rice. Rob Mazurek from Chicago Underground Trio and Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low contributed coronet and vocals, respectively. The resulting album 360 Business/360 Bypass was released in early 2000. The album was lauded by the alternative music press in America as "The first unassailably great album of the century" (Fred Mills, Magnet).

More singles and compilation tracks followed, along with the odd live performance. Nelson's placement behind a synthesizer and mixing desk belied the improvisational nature of the live mix. Between sternum-rattling bass rhythms and Nelson's willingness to challenge an audience with outbursts of static, Pan American shows went beyond the usual knob-twiddling and smooth noodle maps.

The third Pan American record was entitled The River Made No Sound and was released in April 2002. Mark Nelson said, "When I started I really had it in mind to make a more rhythmic record influenced by house music. I did the whole thing at home by myself, so I guess by the end my natural inclination towards ambience and peaceful textures won out." Stripped back compared to previous albums, The River Made No Sound traded dub undertow for percussive points, field recordings and an ominous hum.

Since late 2002 Mark Nelson has been preparing the fourth Pan American album. Returning to the use of organic instruments, as is his bent, and singing a few songs, Nelson has entitled the new album Quiet City. It was released in 2004 by Kranky.