Aerial M

Aerial M was the alias of multi-instrumentalist David Pajo, a seminal figure in the development of the post-rock aesthetic whose tenures in bands including Slint and Tortoise set the stage for some of the most innovative and influential music of recent decades. He first surfaced in 1985 playing guitar in the legendary Louisville, KY, teen thrash band Squirrel Bait; following their 1987 breakup, Pajo joined Slint, a band whose revolutionary instrumental sound continues to resonate throughout the American underground scene. Slint proved short-lived as well, however, and after their 1991 dissolution, he joined the Palace Brothers, appearing on their early recordings; from there Pajo relocated to England, where he spent over a year studying at Norwich Arts College. Upon his return to the U.S. he rejoined the Palace Brothers, additionally playing guitar in the For Carnation and drumming in King Kong. Most important, however, was his tenure as one of two bassists in Tortoise, which began in 1996 with the landmark Millions Now Living Will Never Die; Pajo soon left the group, however, to focus on Aerial M, a solo project that he debuted with the single "Safeless." "Vol de Nuit," one half of a split single recorded with Monade, followed in late 1996, trailed a year later by Aerial M's self-titled debut LP, issued on the Drag City label. Post Global Music followed in 1999. Pajo also recorded and performed under the Papa M alias in the late '90s and early 2000s; performed as a member of Zwan; and used the Pajo moniker in the mid-2000s.