Forms Of Things Unknown is an acoustic/electronic musical project dedicated to pan-idiomatic explorations beyond the pale of sectarian orthodoxies, being the work of San Francisco composer/multi-instrumentalist Ferrara Brain Pan.

Ferrara Brain Pan is a windplayer whose instrumental abilities range from more familiar woodwinds such as flutes, saxophones, bass clarinet and recorders to such non-Western wind instruments as the didjeridu, shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), and kangling or Tibetan thighbone trumpet. The addition of harmonium, bowed psaltery, percussion, and digital/analog electronic elements further enriches the instrumental palette of Forms Of Things Unknown.

Ferrara Brain Pan’s checkered musical career includes early collaborations with noise music pioneer Boyd Rice a/k/a NON (1970s), the mercifully short-lived goth-damage fiasco Bad Alchemy (80s), ambient dub project 23 Degrees (early 90s), and a fortuitous uncredited appearance on 1994’s Rien by Krautrock legends Faust (produced by Jim O’Rourke). In 1998, Ferrara Brain Pan co-founded the dark ambient duo Darmstadt Pharmacy with Ure Thrall, initiating a collaborative association which persists intermittently to the present day.

Forms Of Things Unknown was launched as an evolving, essentially one-man project in 2002 and made its recording debut the following year with the EP Cross Purposes. This first release was mixed and produced from material played entirely by Ferrara Brain Pan, excepting guest vocal performances by local talents Bob Ayres and Shannon Wolfe. A study in contradictions, the album features a 16-minute original instrumental doomscape entitled “Black Candles & Pentagrams ‘n Shit”, paired off against a 14th Century devotional Christian song and a cover of the morally ambiguous “Stupid Blood”, penned by UK punk legend Howard Devoto.

Pimalia has just issued a remastered version of Cross Purposes (pictured above). It sounds better than ever and has been expanded to include an additional track not on the orginal.  It’s available now everywhere fine downloads are sold, including Amazon and iTunes.

After a four-year hiatus, FOTU has returned to the scene in 2008 with a remixed Nurse With Wound track (released on the Two Shaves and a Shine Remix Project CD). Forms Of Things Unknown also performed live at the IAMINDUST festival along with Troum, Aidan Baker, Voice Of Eye, Illusion Of Safety and many other performers in October 2008.

The upcoming year promises to be a period of renewed activity for Ferrara Brain Pan, with new material from FOTU as well as collaborative ventures including the above-mentioned Death Of The West trio and an emergent recording project with UK artist Patrick Leagas (founding member of Death In June and leader of his own darkwave/experimental project 6 Comm since 1985).

Look for an album-length collection of FOTU odds and ends (currently titled “Black Trenchoats & Swastikas ‘n Shit“) to be released on Pimalia later this year

Forms of Things Unknown’s webpage is here and myspace page is here.

Listen to Forms of Things Unknown here: