Live Reviews
Matmos & So Percussion: Live At Le Poisson Rouge
Colm McAuliffe :: Thursday, June 17th, 2010 2:00 pm
Throughout their career, Matmos have constructed some of the most insane musical experiments ever put to record. The band have utilized the sounds of human skulls, latex fetish clothing, aspirin tablets hitting a drum kit from across the room, life support systems and the sound of a frozen stream thawing in the sun. Having also provided live backing for Björk, the duo’s latest experimental electronic collaboration is with New York’s So Percussion - a match made in contrapuntal heaven?
Yes. In spite of the occasional heavy-handedness and overtly conceptual natural of Matmos’ output, this was unequivocally joyous and humorous. Humor at an electronic night? Yes, plenty of it. M.C Schmidt announced an early piece as being inspired by Montana - thus ensuing an insanely tropical, kaleidoscopic mélange of sounds, filled with bird calls, horns and aluminum space blankets. Schmidt later used his emptied beer can as percussion, devling into a surreal, deadpan monologue while the gig also provided the most impressive use of an amplified cactus that I have ever seen. So Percussion added an analog/industrial kick to the proceedings, the foursome perhaps aptly resembling four engineers deeply centered on a range of wooden blocks.
The two have combined to create the album Treasure State, out June 8 (online) and June 13 (tangible) via Canteloupe. Live that dream kids and check it out!
