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Last night I had the good fortune to see Matmos play at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Chicago. Although I've known about Matmos ever since going to a college full of experimental-music heads in an area known for it's experimental music scene, I've only accidentally listened to their music and never seen them live at all. I was intrigued by an auditory museum installation, where they presented audio in headphones to museum goers as a companion to their travels, and involved sounds created to go with the dioramas. That, and the fact that they have been known to capture sounds of deer antlers being bowed pretty much planted them firmly in the pantheon of musicians I hadn't listened to but I knew would appeal to me. (which, by the way, is a long list.. I'm pretty bad about getting to all those amazing artists out there I don't even know about yet).

If music was associated with body parts, say for example, James Brown made music of the hips, or Muddy Waters made music of the throat, I would have to say that Matmos creates music of the mind. You hear it, and you think it, and it picks your brain up and sets it on its left side where it writhes and computes ecstatically.

Last night's mind music performance started out with a piece for acoustic cactus. Yep, you read that right. Acoustic cactus. plucked. But don't believe me, scroll down for the video. The opening piece (for which I accidentally had the most ideal seat) set up the tone for the performance. It unfolded as a journey through studiously rehearsed percussion pieces, intricate rhythms on custom tweaked drums, strange sound sources, and an incredible musicianship brought together to weave a pleasantly estranging soundscape.
From ripping beer cans apart and amplifying the rhythm, to meandering schizophrenic vocoder poetry, to interacting with a joyful baby's cries from the audience, Matmos showed a considerable musical presence that was inspiring to anyone who was conscious throughout the show. And if anyone happened to sleep through it, I'm sure their subconscious will be forever warped.

You can see some of the photos on flickr

Matmos is releasing their new album shortly, entitled "Songs About Montana". I haven't seen it online yet, but it may be available at cantaloupemusic.com soon enough. Or you could just see them live and hit them up at the schwag booth. They're fairly nice guys, and will give you funny looks just for fun.