Aerial M

Multi-instrumentalist David Pajo, whose stints with Slint and Tortoise helped define the post-rock aesthetic and shaped decades of forward-thinking music, recorded under the alias Aerial M. He entered the scene in 1985 as guitarist for Squirrel Bait, the storied Louisville, KY teen thrash band. After its 1987 breakup Pajo moved to Slint, whose revolutionary instrumental language continues to influence the American underground. That group also proved fleeting, dissolving in 1991. Pajo next appeared on early Palace Brothers recordings, then relocated to England for more than a year at Norwich Arts College. On returning to the States he rejoined the Palace Brothers, played guitar in the For Carnation, and handled drums in King Kong. His most consequential move came in 1996 when he joined Tortoise as one of its two bassists for the landmark album Millions Now Living Will Never Die. He soon exited to prioritize Aerial M, which began with the single "Safeless." Late that year "Vol de Nuit" appeared as one side of a split single with Monade, followed in 1997 by the self-titled Aerial M debut LP on Drag City. Post Global Music arrived in 1999. Pajo also worked and performed as Papa M throughout the late '90s and early 2000s, served as a member of Zwan, and issued material under the Pajo name in the mid-2000s.