Maybe this has been responded to as I get digest, but:
In my opinion the other 2 are the 'real' matmos - The West is good - darn
clever in fact, but the other 2: 'st' and quasi objects' both preceded 'The
West' (in that order) are fine 'pure' ie: less thematic 'Matmos'. I would
not say the first album 'shows their influences a little too transparently'
- I am not even sure what the influences may be, besides the obvious late 20
year old male view on dance culture and john cage aesthetics on what can be
'music' - it was he, not Steven Stapleton that this quote came from earlier
- maybe also an influence was General Magic and Pita's 'fridge tracks' which
sourced sounds from a fridge to make all sounds (deleted cd once on source),
also dr rockit/herbet was also sampling the munching of apples for 'house'
tracks around this time - {hey kids of Melbourne - see Herbet play on the
13th at the lounge}. The sounds used by matmos are not technically field
recordings either.. they contact mic up 'objects' - say a banjo, whoopee
cushion, crayfish tissue, strand of hair, etc to construct 'music' out of
these unusual sources.. the first 2 discs are prime examples are of what can
be achieved from this technique - mind you these 2 san fran suckers are
patient, and skilled! I have heard that the new release - a 30 min remix
of Music from post-chamber (!) group The Rachaels is just out on
Quarterstick and a release forthcoming uses only medical equipment ..
hooray!
mark
http://www.synrecords.com
Are the previous Matmos releases even half as good as the brilliant "The
West?"
'The West' is their second release (just), and I think both albums either
side would be worthwhile for any fan of 'The West'. Some commented at the
time (again, it'll be in the archives) that 'Quasi-Objects' (their most
recent) is the most realized, and that the first album shows their
influences a little too transparently. Be aware that 'Quasi-Objects' is (as
the name might suggest) very very much based around "field recording" of
sounds, ie. finding and making noises with things other than instruments,
and putting them together.
Michael
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