Here’s the first thing to know: The album—all of it, every sound on its single 40-minute track—is played on a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II washing machine. The second thing you need to know is that Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel, who’ve recorded a series of brainy, witty sample-and-sound compositions under the sobriquet Matmos over nearly two decades, understand with total clarity what a gimmicky project this might sound like, on the merits. But Ultimate Care II was designed from the start to be a less weighty composition than many other Matmos projects—like A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure, which used sound samples from surgery clinics as its building blocks, or The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast, whose songs are each dedicated to a gay public figure, often of some controversy—that inspired the duo in some way. Schmidt and Daniel will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Matmos feature.
Schmidt: OK, more Bandcamp goodness. Our fellow travellers Horse Lords are four gentlemen who are our neighbors, collaborators and friends. They have an entirely different way of making music than we do (except Max, and that’s a stretch). They are a “rock” band, but extend that in … refreshing ways. Rather than taking my word for it, you might as well go listen. My favorite recordings of theirs are the mixtapes … cassettes (and I suppose their digital extension?) seem to allow sound artists/musicians to feel “freer” because of the seeming unseriousness of the medium? These lads are possibly over-serious sometimes, and the cassettes seem to let them fly their freak flag in a way that, as “albums” are more listenable for me. Though I look forward to their next “real” album coming soon.
Video after the jump.
