xAj3z (Smoke Vinyl 2LP)

SoiSong is the bright, stunning, and short-lived project conceived in 2007 by Ivan Pavlov (CoH) and Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson (of Coil). The duo combined Pavlov’s uncompromisingly-visceral digital aesthetics with Sleazy's decadent, dark and whimsical approach to creation. Primarily located on the Eastern Pacific Rim, the two named the project after the Thai word for ‘two’ (song), as well as the seedy red-light quarters ("gloomy Soi’s, or alley-ways") of Bangkok. Together, they developed a unique, elegant, yet rather cryptical musical language.

SoiSong’s debut full-length xAj3z is a digital reference to jazz: seemingly acoustic, effervescent, boundary breaking, digital-era entertainment where light rays and tropical heat are backed up by zeroes and ones. The album is a defining statement, and an arbiter of the possibilities in the (then-)developing late-2000s music landscape. Without the desire to be commercial, or convenient, SoiSong was not beholden to the conventions of easily defined tagging, and, in their own, "new, as-yet-un-categorizable genre," with xAj3z being its masterwork.

xAj3z freely mixes musical styles and combines various approaches to music-making: artificial vocalists are accompanied by real drums, jazz-noir arrangements meet the delicate melodics of the South Seas, and computers are made to sound warm and organic. The album shows no apparent respect for genre-definition and aims at communicating with the listener at highest levels of emotional intensity, often lyrical, sometimes dark, on occasions amusing and even uplifting. "Our songs, like Angels, are largely Mathematical."

Within the album's clear emphasis on bass, a distinct element are also the artificial vocalists: beautiful, otherworldly, organic yet distinctly alien. Utilizing an image of a bespoke virtual singer created by the external members of the collective Han Li Chiou and Yuu Soijin-san Omiya, as Pavlov noted in 2025, "the voice nothing else but an instrument that operates with syllables, which is what makes the performance reminiscent of a language... Yet, regardless of how poetic it might sound to a human ear, that sequence of syllables remains completely meaningless." In collaborating with Pavlov as SoiSong, Christopherson found the music's development natural: "I wouldn’t say that SoiSong really resembles anything that’s come before, particularly. But if you know, and appreciate what we both did before, then that knowledge will bring more appreciation and understanding to what we do now. It’s a progression from the past to the future." On the original liner notes, Peter Christopherson provides "Melodic Primitives and vocalists" with Ivan Pavlov on "instruments and Pentium jazz processing."

A standout of xAj3z, Dtorumi is one of the most breathtaking songs in the catalogue raisonné of Christopherson & Pavlov’s combined output, dripping in pseudo jazz and trip hop atmospheres. With heavily gated drums, bass synthesizers and ghostly syllabic non-vocals, Dtorumi is a masterclass in post-90s Warp electronic music. The influence of the Eastern Pacific is awash on "J3z", with digital bird chirps, harpsichords, upright bass stabs, and the sounds of sunlight shimmering on 3D rendered shores – reminiscent of the geographically adjacent Susumu Yokota. And new to the Dais reissue is Lom Tum Lai Kwee, a new mix of what was originally a live track only. Lom Tum Lai Kwee is an exercise in stereo separation, step sequencers and hallucinogenic grandeur, where the subs build into bells, twinkles, and horns, recalling the heights of Tangerine Dream’s imperial era. Album closer Ti-Di-Ti Naoo, which in the SoiSong studios had a utopian provisional title Thai Olympics Anthem, is reminiscent of the transformation of a concert hall from soundcheck to recital: a polite piano is carefully joined by live brass and strings, as the repeated non-lyric "ti di ti naoo" echoes around the room.

As xAj3z ends, there’s warmth from the sun: a new dawn on the horizon line, where possibilities are endless. 

Tracklist:

1. Amkhapaa
2. J3Z
3. T-Hu Ri Toh
4. Mic Mo
5. Paer Tahm
6. Dtorumi
7. Lom Tum Lai Kwee
8. Ti-Di-Ti Naoo