MATHIEU, STEPHAN & EKKEHARD EHLERS Heroin (Staalplaat) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Similar to their relationship with Dutch radio station VPRO which resulted in the Mort Aux Vaches series, Staalplaat has begun a cooperation with the Dutch arts initiative Extrapool to release work from Extrapool's artist in residency program. The goal being to encourage strange and interesting combinations. In light of this program, Extrapool's choice of laptop glitch technicians Stephan Mathieu and Ekkehard Ehlers is almost too obvious, as both artists have developed similar styles, digitally recombining disfigured yet emotionally dynamic sounds. One of Mathieu's recent projects has been the Full Swing "Edits" 10"s of confounding remixes for Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork, and Ehlers too has been on the remix tip with his reconfigurations of Albert Aylers and Cassavettes.
What separates both Mathieu and Ehlers from the rest of the glitch electronica field is their wonderful fascination with antiquity and their maintainence of surface noise and grit within a technological setting that typically has an intrinsic aesthetic for cleanliness and sterility. The rich cracklings of surface noise and fuzzy static of an old tube-amp radio emerge throughout their "Heroin" collaboration. Mellotron organs form whimsical melodies before dissolving into warm pools of warbling timbres; a melodica offers playful tunes over a looped and glitched backing track of the same instrument. Occasionally, Mathieu and Ehlers produce something more in step with the purity of the Raster-Noton sound, but for the most part have constructed a beautiful (if mutant) remnant of pop sentimentality, sounding more like a slightly digital version of Philip Jeck.
RealAudio clip: "Herz"
RealAudio clip: "Rose"

MATHIEU, STEPHAN & EKKEHARD EHLERS Heroin + Remixes (Orthlong Musork) 2cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW BACK IN PRINT! Similar to their relationship with Dutch radio station VPRO which resulted in the Mort Aux Vaches series, Staalplaat has begun a cooperation with the Dutch arts initiative Extrapool to release work from Extrapool's artist in residency program. The goal being to encourage strange and interesting combinations. In light of this program, Extrapool's choice of laptop glitch technicians Stephan Mathieu and Ekkehard Ehlers is almost too obvious, as both artists have developed similar styles, digitally recombining disfigured yet emotionally dynamic sounds. One of Mathieu's recent projects has been the Full Swing "Edits" 10"s of confounding remixes for Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork, and Ehlers too has been on the remix tip with his reconfigurations of Albert Aylers and Cassavettes.
What separates both Mathieu and Ehlers from the rest of the glitch electronica field is their wonderful fascination with antiquity and their maintaining of surface noise and grit within a technological setting that typically has an intrinsic aesthetic for cleanliness and sterility. The rich cracklings of surface noise and fuzzy static of an old tube-amp radio emerge throughout their "Heroin" collaboration. Mellotron organs form whimsical melodies before dissolving into warm pools of warbling timbres; a melodica offers playful tunes over a looped and glitched backing track of the same instrument. Occasionally, Mathieu and Ehlers produce something more in step with the purity of the Raster-Noton sound, but for the most part have constructed a beautiful (if mutant) remnant of pop sentimentality, sounding more like a slightly digital version of Philip Jeck.
Along with the "Heroin" album, Orthlorng Musork has commissioned a number of remixes from contemporary electronic artists Josef Suchy, Nobukazu Takemura, Kit Clayton, Frieband, Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi, Carmen Baier, and Akira Rabelais. Unfortunately, the track listing is slightly screwed up as the Frieband and Kit Clayton tracks are switched on the disc. Oops.
RealAudio clip: "Herz"
RealAudio clip: "Rose"

MATHIEU, STEPHAN & EKKEHARD EHLERS Heroin + Remixes (Orthlong Musork) 2lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW BACK IN PRINT! Similar to their relationship with Dutch radio station VPRO which resulted in the Mort Aux Vaches series, Staalplaat has begun a cooperation with the Dutch arts initiative Extrapool to release work from Extrapool's artist in residency program. The goal being to encourage strange and interesting combinations. In light of this program, Extrapool's choice of laptop glitch technicians Stephan Mathieu and Ekkehard Ehlers is almost too obvious, as both artists have developed similar styles, digitally recombining disfigured yet emotionally dynamic sounds. One of Mathieu's recent projects has been the Full Swing "Edits" 10"s of confounding remixes for Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork, and Ehlers too has been on the remix tip with his reconfigurations of Albert Aylers and Cassavettes.
What separates both Mathieu and Ehlers from the rest of the glitch electronica field is their wonderful fascination with antiquity and their maintaining of surface noise and grit within a technological setting that typically has an intrinsic aesthetic for cleanliness and sterility. The rich cracklings of surface noise and fuzzy static of an old tube-amp radio emerge throughout their "Heroin" collaboration. Mellotron organs form whimsical melodies before dissolving into warm pools of warbling timbres; a melodica offers playful tunes over a looped and glitched backing track of the same instrument. Occasionally, Mathieu and Ehlers produce something more in step with the purity of the Raster-Noton sound, but for the most part have constructed a beautiful (if mutant) remnant of pop sentimentality, sounding more like a slightly digital version of Philip Jeck.
Along with the "Heroin" album, Orthlorng Musork has commissioned a number of remixes from contemporary electronic artists Josef Suchy, Nobukazu Takemura, Kit Clayton, Frieband, Fennesz, Oren Ambarchi, Carmen Baier, and Akira Rabelais. Unfortunately, the track listing is slightly screwed up as the Frieband and Kit Clayton tracks are switched on the disc. Oops.

MATHIEU, STEPHAN / RADBOUD MENS / JANEK SCHAEFER / TIMEBLIND Quality Hotel (Mutek) cd 16.98
A previous Mutek release found the minimalist techno outfit Goem collaborating with a number of artists who simply stopped by Goem's hotel room during the 2001 Mutek festival. While Goem's record had all of the good natured intentions of warm comradery, it fell flat as a poor recapitulation of Goem's micro-techno. Fortunately, the second effort between artists collaborating in a hotel room during the 2002 Mutek festival is a much better offering. With none of the blunted hip-hop rhythms of Timeblind, none of Radboud Mens' fragile minimalist techno, and few slivers of Janek Schaefer's bleak sonic abstractions, the dominant aesthetic is that of Stephan Mathieu, which is totally fine by us! As a result, "Quality Hotel" is a delicate affair of fizzing digital ambience, with samples that flicker, twist, and bloom into sleepy drones cracked with miniscule glitches and glassine vibrations. It's a very subdued record, but is is just as good as any of Mathieu's previous outings.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

MATMOS A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure (Matador) cd 15.98
The Matmos back catalogue of quirky electronica features an odd litany of sound sources which sets them apart from their contemporaries trapped within the bunker mentality of laptop trickery. Whoopie cushions contextualized as surface noise, the neural synapse of a crayfish turned into a bassline, latex popped into a post-Autechre rhythmic algorithm, theremins created from toy walkie talkies. While their previous records have been wacky electronic collages which almost indiscriminately blended sources from everywhere, "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" is single minded in its conceptual dedication to medicine. Directed in most part from Matmos' Drew Daniel with his collaborator M.C. Schmidt quick to offer a witty offhand remark, their fourth album is a perverse album of clunky house numbers that deftly avoids sounding terribly macabre, given their subject matter.
The album begins with the light shuffling house groove of "Lipostudio (And So On...)" which includes an odd textural duet between human fat gurgling through a tiny vacuum and a bleating clarinet supplied by Stephen Thrower (currently of Cylobe, formerly of Coil). "Spondee" works another house groove around the rhythmic recitation of spondees -- duo-syllabic words / phrases in which neither syllable is particularly stressed -- by an audiologist testing deaf children. By the end of the album, Matmos needed to address the reality of death and did so with "Momento Mori" - a 23Skidoo-ish death-funk groove built out of sounds generated from a human skull.
This is easily Matmos' most successful record to date, and will make fans of Coil's "Love's Secret Domain" or Doctor Rockit's "D Is For Doctor" very happy!
RealAudio clip: "Lipostudio (And So On...)"
RealAudio clip: "Momento Mori"
RealAudio clip: "Spondee"

MATMOS A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure (Matador) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Matmos back catalogue of quirky electronica features an odd litany of sound sources which sets them apart from their contemporaries trapped within the bunker mentality of laptop trickery. Whoopie cushions contextualized as surface noise, the neural synapse of a crayfish turned into a bassline, latex popped into a post-Autechre rhythmic algorithm, theremins created from toy walkie talkies. While their previous records have been wacky electronic collages which almost indiscriminately blended sources from everywhere, "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" is single minded in its conceptual dedication to medicine. Directed in most part from Matmos' Drew Daniel with his collaborator M.C. Schmidt quick to offer a witty offhand remark, their fourth album is a perverse album of clunky house numbers that deftly avoids sounding terribly macabre, given their subject matter.
The album begins with the light shuffling house groove of "Lipostudio (And So On...)" which includes an odd textural duet between human fat gurgling through a tiny vacuum and a bleating clarinet supplied by Stephen Thrower (currently of Cylobe, formerly of Coil). "Spondee" works another house groove around the rhythmic recitation of spondees -- duo-syllabic words / phrases in which neither syllable is particularly stressed -- by an audiologist testing deaf children. By the end of the album, Matmos needed to address the reality of death and did so with "Momento Mori" - a 23Skidoo-ish death-funk groove built out of sounds generated from a human skull.
This is easily Matmos' most successful record to date, and will make fans of Coil's "Love's Secret Domain" or Doctor Rockit's "D Is For Doctor" very happy!

MATMOS California Rhinoplasty (Matador) cd ep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A teaser ep from Matmos' upcoming record "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" -- the medical album for San Francisco's beloved electronica duo, who of course keeps this rather sterile and grim theme lighthearted and wacky. In keeping true to the medical theme, Matmos procured remixes from Dr. Rockit and Surgeon of the title track... and did a cover of Coil's "Disco Hospital" (which features Stephen Thrower - formerly of Coil). Who said drilling through a person's nose or suctioning out all of the fat from some rich lady's ass couldn't be fun? Or sound great?!
RealAudio clip: "California Rhinoplasty"
RealAudio clip: "Disco Hospital"

MATMOS California Rhinoplasty (Matador) 12" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A teaser ep from Matmos' upcoming record "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" -- the medical album for San Francisco's beloved electronica duo, who of course keeps this rather sterile and grim theme lighthearted and wacky. In keeping true to the medical theme, Matmos procured remixes from Dr. Rockit and Surgeon of the title track... and did a cover of Coil's "Disco Hospital" (which features Stephen Thrower - formerly of Coil). Who said drilling through a person's nose or suctioning out all of the fat from some rich lady's ass couldn't be fun? Or sound great?!

MATMOS For Alan Turing (Vague Terrain) 3"cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This limited pressing 3" cd from local sound alchemists Matmos continues in the same conceptual vein as their last major release, The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of The Beast, where each track was dedicated to a musical, philosophical or literary figure (Boyd McDonald, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Larry Levan, etc.). The material for this cd was originally commissioned by members of The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and Matmos took the opportunity to create three pieces for one of their scientific heroes, Alan Turing. Who is Alan Turing, you ask? Well, Alan Turing was an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer who became a pioeering figure in modern computing, and who contributed much to the debate about artificial intelligence and whether machines could ever develop consciousness and independently think (ever hear of the Turing Test?). But what makes Alan Turing an even more interesting and ultimately tragic figure for Matmos is the charges that were brought against him in the early fifties of "acts of gross indecency" for admitting to a sexual relationship with another man. After being put on probation and ordered to undergo hormone therapy, Turing ate an apple laced with cyanide. His death was ruled a suicide. Taking cues from Turing's work with cryptographic devices (otherwise known as the Enigma Machine) and his personal effects including postcards he sent to his lover before his suicide entitled Messages From The Unseen World, Matmos gained access to an actual Enigma machine and were able to use its sound for this recording. Enlisting help from David Tibet of Current 93, and Clodagh Simonds of Fovea Hex, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Matthew Curry and Mark Lightcap, Matmos have created three beautiful and touching pieces paying tribute this important and tragic figure. Limited to 1000 copies, and highly recommended!!!
MPEG Stream: "Enigma Machine For Alan Turing"
MPEG Stream: "Messages From The Unseen World"

MATMOS Quasi-Objects (Matador) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Simply filing this excellent album under "experimental electronica" is to give it short shrift. San Francisco boyfriends Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt (whose faces are morphed into one on the back cover) have crafted a record each of whose songs is a concept brought to fruit and to full percussive grooviness. One piece is composed entirely of manipulated samples of human voices, anothers sole instrument is a stretched wet latex shirt, and yet anothers sound source is the "silent recordings" which came about as two walkie talkies were held over a 4 channel tape recorder with nothing plugged into it, the resulting audible interference manipulated a la the theremin. Don't be put off by the weird instrumentation, this record heavily grooves like '80s electro, clanks like Balinese ketjak, and blips'n'bleeps like the best Mouse on Mars tracks. Highly, highly recommended!

MATMOS Rat Relocation Program (Locust) cd 14.98
Eek! Rats! You can always count on the mischevious Matmos (Drew and Martin, SF's darling duo of experimental electronica, who you probably know not only for their own weird, wonderful releases but also their work with Bjork) to make the most of the strangest sound-sources. In this case, a rat they (humanely) trapped in their Tenderloin apartment! Why? Well this is one of Locust's "Met Life" releases...that's not an insurance company but rather a "location sound series" for which sound artists were asked to both provide field recordings of their urban environment as well as "respond" musically to that environment. This 30 minute cd consists of two tracks. Track one is just the poor rat giving a solo performance, of squeaks and screams. If you have a cat this might interest them greatly. On the second track Matmos join in, turning the rat's cage into a nightclub for Intelligent Dance Music, with beats ranging from the purely abstract to the downright groovy. The rat's squeaks remain the same, coming in as if on cue in breaks in the music as orchestrated by Matmos. The rat's no house diva that's for sure, and we like the effect. Matmos' dance grooves are totally dark, and rat-appropriate while other parts of this (and the rat's original performance) echo some avant-garde 20th century classical with its use of space and silence. A successful 'collaboration' indeed. And don't worry, I don't think they actually subjected the rat to this mix. Furthermore, in the liner notes Matmos explain that "the following morning we took the rat to a wealthy suburban neighborhood and set it free."
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

MATMOS s/t (Matador) cd 14.98
This is one of our unanimous store favorites, a very accesible, murky electronic record inspired by electro and the sounds of hair, breathing and Polish trains. Recommended without reservation, this is some of the best of the bunch.
RealAudio clip: "It Seems"

MATMOS Supreme Balloon (Matador) cd 13.98
Matmos have that very rare and special talent of being able to turn endless creativity and playful spirit into something transcendental. While much of the press they get ends up being about their unique methods and approaches to gathering sounds (plastic surgery, semen, polish trains, rats, etc.) or the famous folks they have worked with (Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, etc.) the truth is that ultimately it's the strength of their varied albums and engaging live performances that have made them one of the best and most compelling music makers of the last decade.
Supreme Balloon finds Matmos stripped down in a sense as they put their contact mic's away and decided to make a record made solely with synthesizers and samplers, and the results are pretty damn stunning! Showing that they could give the DFA camp a tutorial if asked ("Polychords"), keeping their playful spirit on high with their Switched on Matmos take on "Les Folies Francaises" as well as reaching outer orbits of pure psychedelic bliss on the 24 minute title track. They use their wide range of synthesizers to create a kraut-like sensation with bursts of fluorescence and a sense of adventure and eye on the multicolor sky that is so damn hard to resist. Matmos manage to find the hidden smile in Klaus Schulze's stern visage, the relics of a Tangerine Dream with a half dose of ecstasy we always wished was out there somewhere. Once again they've proven that you can be smart without being stiff, playful without being dumb. Supreme Balloon will be a definite contender for record of the year!
(P.S., vinyl fans should note that the double-LP version of this record comes with three extra tracks including a great collaboration with Terry Riley titled "The Hashish Master"!)
MPEG Stream: "Polychords"
MPEG Stream: "Supreme Balloon"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Flag"

MATMOS Supreme Balloon (Matador) 2lp 26.00
Matmos have that very rare and special talent of being able to turn endless creativity and playful spirit into something transcendental. While much of the press they get ends up being about their unique methods and approaches to gathering sounds (plastic surgery, semen, polish trains, rats, etc.) or the famous folks they have worked with (Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, etc.) the truth is that ultimately it's the strength of their varied albums and engaging live performances that have made them one of the best and most compelling music makers of the last decade.
Supreme Balloon finds Matmos stripped down in a sense as they put their contact mic's away and decided to make a record made solely with synthesizers and samplers, and the results are pretty damn stunning! Showing that they could give the DFA camp a tutorial if asked ("Polychords"), keeping their playful spirit on high with their Switched on Matmos take on "Les Folies Francaises" as well as reaching outer orbits of pure psychedelic bliss on the 24 minute title track. They use their wide range of synthesizers to create a kraut-like sensation with bursts of fluorescence and a sense of adventure and eye on the multicolor sky that is so damn hard to resist. Matmos manage to find the hidden smile in Klaus Schulze's stern visage, the relics of a Tangerine Dream with a half dose of ecstasy we always wished was out there somewhere. Once again they've proven that you can be smart without being stiff, playful without being dumb. Supreme Balloon will be a definite contender for record of the year!
(P.S., vinyl fans should note that the double-LP version of this record comes with three extra tracks including a great collaboration with Terry Riley titled "The Hashish Master"!)
MPEG Stream: "Polychords"
MPEG Stream: "Supreme Balloon"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Flag"

MATMOS The Civil War (Matador) cd 14.98
If Drew Daniel got to indulge his big-booty-beach-party perversions on the Soft Pink Truth album, then Martin Schmidt, who is the other half of Matmos duo, should have the opportunity to elaborate his own musical virtues and vices. That said, it would be too easy to qualify "The Civil War" as the Martin record; but there are many more than a few similarities between this album and the previous outing "The West," Matmos' historically coded album which Matmos has publicly announced as being masterminded by Martin. Again, Matmos and their comrades in arms (J Lesser, Blevin Blechtum, Keith Fullerton Whitman, David Grubbs, Mark Lightcap, and others) wield some atypical instruments -- an emergency alarm system, blood, a rabbit pelt, conductive jelly, and an ultrasonic doppler flow detector (huh?); but what is most surprising about "The Civil War" is its dramatic break from the directions of contemporary electronica. Structurally, this album is a pastiche of jaunty Renaissance jigs, fife and drum marches, medieval madrigals for hurdy gurdy, and rustic folk. Yet, smeared across the surfaces of these archaic musics are digital pixels, microtonal glissandos, misplaced electronic beats, and intrusive glitches. This is an overtly clever take on appropriation, never allowing an exact mimesis of the older forms, rather Matmos position the old and the new in a context of dislocation. At their best, perhaps on "The Struggle Against Unreality Begins," Matmos reconstitutes the alchemy of Coil during their "Horse Rotovator" period, where the anarchronistic references collapse into a monstrous dirge with sly glances toward the carnivalesque.
Those Bjork fans who love her swansongs and wish to indulge in the genius of her technicians must be warned that "The Civil War" is a willfully difficult listen. But those adventurous listeners will certainly be delighted by the collision of state of the art electronics and the music of yesteryear.
MPEG Stream: "Regicide"
MPEG Stream: "Y.T.T.E"
MPEG Stream: "The Struggle Against Reality Begins"

MATMOS The Civil War (Matador) lp 11.98
If Drew Daniel got to indulge his big-booty-beach-party perversions on the Soft Pink Truth album, then Martin Schmidt, who is the other half of Matmos duo, should have the opportunity to elaborate his own musical virtues and vices. That said, it would be too easy to qualify "The Civil War" as the Martin record; but there are many more than a few similarities between this album and the previous outing "The West," Matmos' historically coded album which Matmos has publicly announced as being masterminded by Martin. Again, Matmos and their comrades in arms (J Lesser, Blevin Blechtum, Keith Fullerton Whitman, David Grubbs, Mark Lightcap, and others) wield some atypical instruments -- an emergency alarm system, blood, a rabbit pelt, conductive jelly, and an ultrasonic doppler flow detector (huh?); but what is most surprising about "The Civil War" is its dramatic break from the directions of contemporary electronica. Structurally, this album is a pastiche of jaunty Renaissance jigs, fife and drum marches, medieval madrigals for hurdy gurdy, and rustic folk. Yet, smeared across the surfaces of these archaic musics are digital pixels, microtonal glissandos, misplaced electronic beats, and intrusive glitches. This is an overtly clever take on appropriation, never allowing an exact mimesis of the older forms, rather Matmos position the old and the new in a context of dislocation. At their best, perhaps on "The Struggle Against Unreality Begins," Matmos reconstitutes the alchemy of Coil during their "Horse Rotovator" period, where the anarchronistic references collapse into a monstrous dirge with sly glances toward the carnivalesque.
Those Bjork fans who love her swansongs and wish to indulge in the genius of her technicians must be warned that "The Civil War" is a willfully difficult listen. But those adventurous listeners will certainly be delighted by the collision of state of the art electronics and the music of yesteryear.

MATMOS The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast (Matador) cd 15.98
San Francisco's darling electronic conceptualists Matmos have crafted an ambitious collection of audio portraits for their 6th full album, allowing their baroque sampling tricknology to articulate the metaphors in mapping out the complexities of each of the portraits. The collection of audio portraits represents the inspiration pantheon for Matmos, ranging from the ivory tower of academia to far reaches of underground culture. Hence, there's analytical philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the scabrous feminist Valarie Solanas, New York house legend Larry Levan, Germs' frontman Darby Crash, homoerotic photographer James Bidgood, eccentric producer Joe Meek, gay chronicler Boyd McDonald, countercultural godfather William S. Burroughs, and noir-thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith. Matmos' work has always been a cavalcade of electro-acoustic stunts directed within a studied and adventurous reading of contemporary electronica tinged with comedic overtones, ranging from black humour to slapstick antics. The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast is no different, romping through wah-wah splattered porno funk, mutant disco beats clipped with diva-house vocals, noirish concrete-collages, and tracks literally wrapped in semen stained sheets. As Matmos deconstructs and compresses the dense histories of each of their portrait subjects into the context of a six to ten minute electronica tracks, it's the details that Matmos amass that give each of their portraits such charm and pleasure. Very well done, indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Steam And Sequins For Larry Levan"
MPEG Stream: "Semen Song For James Bidgood"
MPEG Stream: "Solo Buttons For Joe Meek"

MATMOS The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast (Matador) 2lp 16.98
San Francisco's darling electronic conceptualists Matmos have crafted an ambitious collection of audio portraits for their 6th full album, allowing their baroque sampling tricknology to articulate the metaphors in mapping out the complexities of each of the portraits. The collection of audio portraits represents the inspiration pantheon for Matmos, ranging from the ivory tower of academia to far reaches of underground culture. Hence, there's analytical philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the scabrous feminist Valarie Solanas, New York house legend Larry Levan, Germs' frontman Darby Crash, homoerotic photographer James Bidgood, eccentric producer Joe Meek, gay chronicler Boyd McDonald, countercultural godfather William S. Burroughs, and noir-thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith. Matmos' work has always been a cavalcade of electro-acoustic stunts directed within a studied and adventurous reading of contemporary electronica tinged with comedic overtones, ranging from black humour to slapstick antics. The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast is no different, romping through wah-wah splattered porno funk, mutant disco beats clipped with diva-house vocals, noirish concrete-collages, and tracks literally wrapped in semen stained sheets. As Matmos deconstructs and compresses the dense histories of each of their portrait subjects into the context of a six to ten minute electronica tracks, it's the details that Matmos amass that give each of their portraits such charm and pleasure. Very well done, indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Steam And Sequins For Larry Levan"
MPEG Stream: "Semen Song For James Bidgood"
MPEG Stream: "Solo Buttons For Joe Meek"

MATMOS The West (Deluxe) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The CD release of last year's fantastic vinyl-only album from San Francisco's Matmos comes with an extra track AND some new artwork (buy it for the cowboy photo of Jay Lesser on a horse!). Totally amazing organic electronica laced with playful electro beats, wildly manipulated field recordings, arid soundtracks, and guest appearances from David Pajo (Slint, Tortoise, Aerial M), Kris Force (Amber Asylum), and Jay Lesser (who has now officially joined Matmos).

MATMOS The West (Autofact / Vague Terrain) cd 14.98
At long last, possibly our favorite Matmos record ever is back in print! The West is by far the most sprawling and highway ready record in their illustrious back catalog. With all the well deserved attention they've received over the years for their innovative methods and countless collaborations one thing that's often overlooked is how well their records tend to predict and predate what's about to come floating up from the musical underground. Recorded and released a few years before the big new weird America/freak folk movement took off and before everyone was using laptops to create folktronica, Matmos made this amazing album that perfectly melds their leftfield electronic roots with spacious and trance inducing guitar to create the kind of record you would imagine might have been made if Henry Flynt and Jim O'Rourke were to collaborate or if Christian Fennesz got to twist knobs while John Fahey was playing in one of his most exploratory moments. With a long list of guests including J. Lesser and David Pajo (Slint, Papa M) on board for the record, Drew & Martin once again demonstrate how great they are at letting others into their world and being open to where the sounds will take them while still maintaining a distinct vision.
The West is for sure one of our favorite roadtrip records of all time. "Sun on 5 at 152" really does sound exactly how it feels when the sun is blasting through your dirty windshield and you can't really see what's ahead but you keep your foot on the pedal and just follow the road to wherever it may lead you. While no two Matmos records are alike The West probably finds its most kindred spirit in The Civil War, another Matmos record that proves there is much more to these great music makers then simply synths and samples. No matter what they create, soul seeps richly through their fractured sounds and in our opinion The West may be their most soulful, satisfying and resonating release EVER. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Sun on 5 at 152"
MPEG Stream: "Last Delicious Cigarette"
MPEG Stream: "Action at a Distance"

MATMOS / MOTION (Fat Cat) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The 11th split 12" from Fat Cat features San Francisco's electronica geniuses Matmos and hard disc editors Motion. Matmos starts off with "Freak 'n' You" full of Funkstorifique damage on some sappy R&B slow-jam with lots of time-stretching, cybernetic sampledelica, and fractured beat skitter. This is followed by a collaboration with David Pajo and part time Matmos member Jay Lesser for a collage of string plucks from laptop modified banjos and guitars to create almost Pierre Schaeffer-ish creakiness and theremin-like vibrato.
Motion's digital kaleidoscope of warbling cd skips resembles the painterly squiggles of Microstoria.

MATMOS WITH J LESSER Live (Vague Terrain) cd 11.98
This limited edition collection of live material from Matmos with J Lesser (and a couple of guests) exposes the improvisational ability of this San Francisco electronica duo (or trio if you count Lesser) who are mostly reknowned for their transmutation of arcane sound sources (surgical suction, crayfish nerves, acupuncture) into IDM / tech-house. Where their studio albums have been crafted in full cognizance of the play between techno's rhythmic propulsion and the textural eccentricity of some of their source material, Matmos' live performances always try to integrate the performative, risk-taking elements of improvisation alongside pre-programmed rhythms and sequences. Thus, Matmos' live shows can't ever be accused of being the non-performances of a dude and his laptop, or sounding like their records for that matter. With these 11 live excerpts, Matmos ramble through dense processed bloopings made with skipping cds, walkie talkies, acoustic guitar, vacuum cleaner tubes, and duck calls (the latter being the most obtuse sound source on this album) alongside plenty of electronic skitter, resulting in something more in line with Gastr Del Sol and Red Crayola than what one may expect from Matmos. A couple of tracks (ones not qualified as improvisations in the liner notes) do venture into the throbbing electronica found on "Quasi-Objects" and "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure," including those aforementioned duck calls which I would really like to think is Matmos member M.C. Schmidt's answer to house divas. These tracks span the band's career with tracks dating back to 1997.
Matmos wanted to keep this a limited release, only selling these to a handful of shops across the globe. While not quite exclusive to Aquarius, this album isn't terribly likely to be showing up at many other shops! Act fast!
RealAudio clip: "Live 4"
RealAudio clip: "Live 6"
RealAudio clip: "Live 8"

MATRIX Various Films (Chain Reaction) cd 15.98

MATRIX Various Films (Chain Reaction) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Blue Film #2"
MPEG Stream: "Milieux"
MPEG Stream: "Red Film #2"

MAX ERNST & 2 (Max Ernst) 12" 9.98
I'm pretty sure that this is Thomas P. Brinkmann, although no information can be found on the record inspite of an etching with Pole and Din (it sound like neither) scrawled on the run-out groove. Yet the metronomic techno punctuated by a disjointed looping sample of a jazz riff has all the signifiers that Tom is the man behind this one. Fans of Plastikman and Chain Reaction should take note!

MAYER, MICHAEL Immer 2 (Kompact) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: SOMEONE ELSE "Ploosh"
MPEG Stream: JESSE SOMFAY "Lying In A Bed Of Myst"

MAYER, MICHAEL Neuhouse (Kompakt) cd 17.98

MAYER, MICHAEL Touch (Kompakt) cd 15.98

MCLEAN, BARTON AND PRISCILLA Electronic Landscapes (EM Records) cd 23.00
Back in print, back in stock!
More pioneering electronic music unearthed by Japan's EM Records (previous releases include discs by Barton Smith, David Rosenboom, and Noah Creshevsky). This time, it's Barton and Priscilla McLean. A husband and wife team, but no Sonny and Cher here!! This duo performed live as the "McLean Mix", and were responsible for a bunch of sought-after Folkways LPs in their time, including 1979's "Electro-Symphonic Landscapes" (all the tracks from which are found here). The cover of this cd is an adaptation of the cover of that LP, the artwork actually being the graphical score for Barton's "Song Of The Nahuatl" (it's interesting to note that while the McLeans worked together, they didn't collaborate compositionally it seems -- half the tracks here are by the Mr. and half by the Mrs.). The McLeans got their start together in electronic composition in academia, at the University of Indiana, South Bend, 'round about 1973, when the Music Department there brought in a huge EMS Synthi-100 synthesizer and Synthi-256 sequencer. Hours of tape-splicing creativity would ensue! That mega-synthesizer was later repossessed (!) so the McLeans turned to musique concrete techniques (bouncing steak knives on violin strings, metal bars on piano strings, that sort of thing) to source their sounds, combined with the output of what electronic equipment they were able to access. Much of this disc, tracks dating back to 1975, feature this sort of laborious processing of sound. And the results are fantastic! Reminds us a bit of the classic Forbidden Planet soundtrack by Louis and Bebe Barron, another husband and wife team who preceded the McLeans in the annals of electronic music... In addition to the vintage '70s stuff here, there's a couple tracks of some newer material from the digital age... which holds up quite well, actually! Keening drones, mysterious pulses, psychedelic bleepage -- yep, way better than Sonny n' Cher!
EM has graciously provided both English and Japanese liner notes, so the 22 page cd booklet makes good reading for anyone curious about the McLeans' musical methodology, as well as providing cool graphics and intriguing photos to ponder.
MPEG Stream: PRISCILLA MCLEAN "Voices Of The Invisible"
MPEG Stream: BARTON MCLEAN "Song Of The Nahuatl"

MDK A Friend Is A Stranger You Haven't Met (Spymania) cd 16.98
British electronica maverick MDK starts "A Friend Is A Stranger You Haven't Met" on the evil side of things, with a digitally hacked collage of industrial strength thrash metal. Before you begin to think about Francisco Lopez or Alec Empire and their digital synthesis of metal, MDK makes a quick left turn into beautifully Oval-esque passages for laptop processed string samples. This trend of quick genre edits continues through hip hop, Mego noise, house grooves, etc... Fortunately, MDK has enough sense to retain a common thread to his work -- an undefined sentiment of sadness. This is an album that is strangely seductive, and superior to his previous full-length.

MERLAK, ROBERT Albumski (Phthalo) cd 12.98
Croatian computer technician Robert Merlak offers his second album for Phthalo, whose releases are becoming more and more out of the ordinary -- too fucked up for IDM based electronica, too lo-fi for musique concrete consideration. Nauseating synthesis of neurotic drones and wildly spinning drum machine eruptions make up the most of "Albumski," which sounds more like what we'd have expected from the new General Magic.

MERLAK, ROBERT Icepick Tracks (Phthalo) cd-r 13.98
PHTHALO 08. Robert Merlak's "Icepick Tracks" are an assortment of brutal industro.crunch.plod.thump.stomp.sledge.hammer.rip.tear.clang.boom.grind.electronica powerbooking. Could be SPK? Could be V/Vm? Sure it could.

MERZBOW Ikebana: Merzbow's Amlux Rebuilt, Reused and Recycled (Important) 2cd 16.98
Although it says that this is not a remix record on the sticker, not sure what else you could call it. A bunch of folks incorporate bits of the Merzbow record Amlux into their original compositions. The sound is all over the place. From hip-hop instrumentals to crazy turntablism to glitched out big beats to all out noise to malfunctioning video game sounds to riot grrl-ish techno to droning soundscapes and beyond. Features: DJ Spooky, DJ/ Rupture, Plug, Alec Empire, Negativland, Hrvatski, Mouse On Mars, KK Null, Kim Cascone, Kim Hiorthoy, Nobukazu Takemura, E.A.R./Sonic Boom, Cornelius, Atom, Custom Drummer, Bola, Jack Dangers, Freiband and a bunch more. Two discs!

MERZBOW Scumtron (Blast First) cd 16.98
Not just another Merzbow noise-blast disc, this is a remix compilation that lets folks like, among others, Jim O'Rourke, Panasonic, Autechre, Bernhard Gunter, and Masami Akita himself, take the noise and create something perhaps more obviously structured with it. As such, it's pretty interesting, and if you're not going to buy all 2,000 Merzbow releases this year, this one at least should be considered. In fact, even if you weren't going to buy *any* Merzbow this year or any other year, "Scumtron" might still be for you. Certainly fans of Panasonic-style beat-cruch won't be disappointed.

MERZBOW / MATSUNAGA KOUHEI Split (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
Split disc between two noise giants from Japan via Kid 606's Tigerbeat6 imprint. Masami Akita furthers his explorations in the digital domain, appropriating the tranquil somniloquisms of Olivier Messiaen's "Mode De Valeurs Et D'intensite Pour Piano" and transmutating it into the unique extremity that is Merzbow. The Kouhei tracks are slightly more rhythmic, though somewhat static, DHR-style beat destruction. You might recall his work from the "Upside Down" release on Mille Plateaux to which Merzbow as well as Masonna contributed.
RealAudio clip: MERZBOW "Nakesendow"
RealAudio clip: MATSUNAGA KOUHEI "Garden Of Earthly Delights (Center)"

MERZBOW VS NORDVARGR Partikel II (Cold Spring) cd 15.98
BACK IN STOCK!
The long awaited second installment in the who-knows-how-many-parts Partikel series, which features a collaboration between AQ fave Swedish dark ambient, militant folk, black metal noise technician Nordvargr (Toroidh, MZ412, Folkstorm, Goatvargr, HH9, etc...) and Japanese noise legend Masami Akita aka Merzbow.
Strange bedfellows maybe, but the results here, as on the first installment, are pretty mind-blowing. Akita generated the sounds, Nordvargr took those sounds and twisted them into completely new forms, the result some strange noise/drone/rhythm hybrid that is WAY more listenable than it has any right to be.
The opener sets the tone, a twenty minute crumbling distorted noisescape, like bits of old Merzbow records all chopped up and assembled again Frankenstein's monster fashion, that veers from full on near-metallic crunch, to strange skittery almost IDM, but even at it's calmest, the track is still rife with strange sounds and damaged FX, bursts of harsh noise surfacing here and there amidst an alien landscape of stutters and shuffles, of creaks and squeaks, almost like a black metal Mouse On Mars if one could even imagine such a thing.
The second track sounds heavier on the Nordvargr than the Merzbow, a rumbling shimmering low end, that creeps and drifts before splintering briefly into another rhythmic glitchscape, just as quickly transforming into a buzzing snarling fuzzed out drone, thick and corrosive, subtly rhythmic, but intense and crackling with energy. Deep cavernous tones swell in the background, while above the blurry buzz, strange crunchy electronic pulses mark out a simple static rhythm.
The third track is Part 2 to the opener's Part 1, and takes the openers skitter to a much meaner, much harsher place, a swirling high end cloud of hissing static and keening sine waves, over a relentlessly pulsing backdrop, that changes pitch, and tempo, stuttering and hiccuping, creating a gorgeously confusional rhythmscape, eventually breaking into a near-groove, a loping downtempo slither, but still wrapped in all manner of electronic detritus and squalls of fuzz and crackle and whir.
The closer winds things down with more of a whisper than a scream, the glitchy rhythms are still present, but they are ultra minimal, skeletal, almost like shortwave interference, beneath a tidal swirl of murk and blur, a dark ambient buzz that stretches lazily into long expanses of slow shifting sounds. Over the course of the track, little bits of melody surface here and there, the rhythms get more agitated before drifting back beneath the surface, and mysterious voices surface amidst sparkling sonic glimmers and moaning ambient rumble, a dreamy dark ambient coda to an intense slab of droning skittering buzz and crunch, shimmer and swirl.
Partikel II is IDM for the demon set, a blackened noise drenched skitter, an abstract metallic free-electronica, and a definite droney dancefloor filler, that is if you want your dancefloor filled with shuffling zombies, growling beasts and unspeakable denizens of the underworld...
And who doesn't?!
MPEG Stream: "Reakt 1"
MPEG Stream: "Luxon"

METAL, MIKKEL Victimizer (Kompakt) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Memories"
MPEG Stream: "Rain"

METALYCEE Another White Album (Mosz) cd 15.98
Glitchy Viennese electronica (from the scene featuring the likes of Martin Siewert, who mastered this) that, as the name actually is meant to imply, incorporated some METAL elements. Chunky guitar riffs, chopped up. Pretty cool.

METAMATICS Dayglo Tinsel (District Six) 12" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A few years back, Clear Records made a big stink about some upcoming electronica greats called Metamatics, and released some limited edition singles and an album. The key to their proclamations must have been 'upcoming', as those releases were downright dull. Three years later, District Six has released the best work from Metamatics... 4 tracks of moody, downbeat electro-jazz falling in between Boards of Canada, Spacetime Continuum, and Carl Craig. A solid release.

METAMATICS Neo-Ouija (Hydrogen Dukebox) cd 16.98
Unlike the majority of electronica artists who change their moniker like they change pants, Metamatics has retained their name after a number of stylistic changes. "Neo Ouija" finds the outfit embracing an essentialized drum & bass that takes the jazz infused elements of LTJ Bukem to a brittle skitterish shuffle, full of precious breakbeats and melodies.

METAPHROG / HEY / MUM Louis : Dreams Never Die (Fat Cat) cd + book 14.98
It's a great week for Mum fans! We just got in their Nightly Cares 3"cd/7" single and this 'all ages' graphic novel which stars Louis, the dumpling-ish looking main character (he kinda looks like a crudely drawn baby turtle creature that could be from Andee's fave Homestar Runner website), as well as a supporting cast of frollicking carrots, mechanical dogs, polka-dot mushrooms, a wizard and a frumpy Hitler-looking villain. There's some great lines of dialogue (a sampling: "My eyebrows are crawling all over my face" and "Suffocating in a custard world"), but you might be wondering how is Mum involved? Well, they along with the band Hey have each contributed a wistful version of the theme song "Dreams Never Die To FC" for the accompanying cd which also contains some animated Louis flicks with Mum/Hey soundtrack music to boot.
MPEG Stream: "Dreams Never Die To FC"

METIC Debut (Schematic) 12" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the reissue of the first Schematic single. I actually got to hear this when I was working for the defunct Pulse Soniq distribution (about time) two years ago, but was burnt on electronica (being forced to buy crappy house singles because the salespeople were too lazy to sell a Sahko title can get you a little jaded). It is a good thing that Schematic reissued this as I would have missed an exceptional piece of dark arpeggiating Skam-ish IDM. Recommended.

MIAMI INTERNAL AFFAIRS Declassified (Beta Bodega) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Pay no attention to the Beta Bodega agenda of "covert intelligence operations," as this little 7" of electro-revivalism doesn't fall far from the Adult. sound. Possibly a collaboration between Le Syndicat Electronique, Patcha Kutek, and V8 -- but who can tell from Beta Bodega.

MICHEL, NATHAN ABC DEF (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
Another member of the Tigerbeat6 family. Whimsical laptop glitchery making use of beeping toy sounds. Not sure what else to say. Nice, cute, catchy and fun.
RealAudio clip: "Pound Louder"

MICROSTORIA Init Ding (Thrill Jockey) cd 13.98
(from Forced Exposure's update): "If you've been paying attention at all you know about Oval and their masterful brand of underground electronica as issued by Mille Plateaux -- some of the most shockingly desirable music of the 90s. Microstoria is a due made up of Oval's Markus Popp and Mouse On Mars' Jan St. Werner, and the music they make is beautifully abstract electronic wave manipulation, looped and weirdly grooved for maximum pleasure zone entertainment. If you've never been able to find a handle on contemporary "ambient," here's something to try."

MICROSTORIA Invisible Architecture #3 (Audiosphere) cd 16.98
Despite the title's implication, Microstoria actually presents the fourth in the "Invisible Architecture" series from Audioglobe, packaged obnoxiously in the oversized 'super jewel cases' alongside the work of Janek Schaefer, the duo of Christian Fennesz & Miko Vainio, and a turntable excursion from Jeck / Tetreault / Yoshihide. The collaboration between Jan St. Werner (Mouse On Mars) and Markus Popp (Oval), Microstoria improvises with purely electronic sound to build tone-bent half melodies and plinky-plonk abstractions. Recorded live at Kaaitheaterstudio in Brussels during the summer of 2000, "Invisible Architecture #3" does not stray far from the successes of their previous albums "SND" or "Model 3,Step 2."
RealAudio clip: "Quit Not Save"

MICROSTORIA Model 3, step 2 (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
Microstoria is the collaborative effort between Oval's Markus Popp and Mouse On Mars' Jan St. Werner. While the synthesis of Oval's sterile digital skips and Mouse On Mars' ecstatic techno playfulness seems hard to imagine, Microstoria has pulled it off consistently throughout each of their recordings. "Model 3, Step 2" is the third album for the duo, and highlights an important aspect of the process of musical collaboration. Microstoria, who produce sound through a series of improvisations, has been working together long enough that a signature sound has evolved, that does not simply sound like a bunch of idiots diddling with their Powerbooks! The aesthetic of Microstoria is a mischievous one that is bathed in a warm hum of computer drives and electrical fields. The squeaky details sound almost like one of them is trying to fix a leaky faucet with an old oil stained wrench.

MICROSTORIA Model 3, step 2 (Thrill Jockey) lp 10.98
Microstoria is the collaborative effort between Oval's Markus Popp and Mouse On Mars' Jan St. Werner. While the synthesis of Oval's sterile digital skips and Mouse On Mars' ecstatic techno playfulness seems hard to imagine, Microstoria has pulled it off consistently throughout each of their recordings. "Model 3, Step 2" is the third album for the duo, and highlights an important aspect of the process of musical collaboration. Microstoria, who produce sound through a series of improvisations, has been working together long enough that a signature sound has evolved, that does not simply sound like a bunch of idiots diddling with their Powerbooks! The aesthetic of Microstoria is a mischievous one that is bathed in a warm hum of computer drives and electrical fields. The squeaky details sound almost like one of them is trying to fix a leaky faucet with an old oil stained wrench.

MICROSTORIA Reprovisers (Thrill Jockey) cd 13.98
Microstoria remix album, compiled from the 12" series. Remixers include Ui, Stereolab (sounding very Stereolab), Japanese noisemaker Violent Onsen Geisha, Oval, Jim O'Rourke (of course), Nicolas Collins, Mouse on Mars, and others.

MICROSTORIA Reprovisers (Thrill Jockey) 12" 7.98
German electro-minimalists get the remix treatment from Stereolab and Oval. Short 12" in a series of 3; the others will feature knob-twiddling by Ui/Mouse on Mars and Jim O'Rourke/Violent Onsen Geisha.