Kid606 once remarked in the title of one of his tracks that “Matmos are the A-Team of electronica”. High praise indeed and he wasn’t wrong. Their new single ‘Very Large Green Triangles’ proves their versatility as not only purveyors of abstract, intricate IDM but also as masters of very appealing techno.
‘The Ganzfeld EP’, which spawned this track, will be followed by a new full-length album early next year. Described as “the most conceptually elaborate yet weirdly poppy record of their career” and both records will tackle the mind-bending issue of telepathy.
For the past four years Matmos, aka M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel, have been conducting parapsychological experiments based upon the classic Ganzfeld experiment which of course lends its name to the EP in question. In said experiment, test subjects were put into a state of sensory deprivation (their eyes were covered while listening to white noise on headphones). Daniel then somehow attempted to transmit “the concept of the new Matmos record” (which all seems very meta to me) directly into their minds. Test subjects were then asked to describe anything they saw or heard within their minds as Daniel did this.
The resulting transcripts became a kind of score that was then used by Matmos to generate music. ‘The Ganzfeld EP’ will be released on Thrill Jockey on 16 October, followed by a new album in early 2013. Listen to ‘Very Large Green Triangles (Schwarz Mix)’ below.
