Medical procedures and washing machines. Parapsychological experiments and plastic objects. Almost every Matmos album has a concept that defined the parameters of what source material was used to create it. This time around, the duo of Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel outdid itself. The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises In Group Form (Thrill Jockey) is a three-CD, three-hour, Frankenstein’s monster of a record that combines contributions from 99 participants (from Andi Toma to Yo La Tengo) whose only instruction was to provide Matmos with sound recorded at 99 bpm. The result is yet more fanfare from these two uncommon men.
