CD – Thrill Jockey

Even an unknown composer such as Bogusław Schaeffer can become the focus for the electronic manipulations of Drew Daniel and Martin C. Schmidt, the Baltimore duo who work under the moniker of Matmos. Throughout their careers, Daniel and Schmidt’s approach to their craft engages with research, experimentation, conceptualism, and at the same time, nonchalance and humour – all of these are evident in this new offering. The inspiration for this project arrived from a sample pack commissioned by Instytut Adama Mickiewicza (IAM). This sample pack featured a collection of Schaeffer’s music made at Polish Radio Experimental Studio (PRES), which was established in 1957 and was one of the first European institutions to focus on experimental and electronic music. From a technical point of view, the practices of institutions like PRES are similar to what many contemporary electronic artists like Matmos do – sample the work of others and then reuse and remix the ‘found’ material in different compositions, adding rhythms and grooves to experimental sounds. This approach is also evident in the work of Bogusław Schaeffer himself, who like many other composers of his generation moved between modernism and experimentalism, creating new experimental sounds. The outcome of Matmos’ ‘find’ is an excellent album that uses Schaffer’s materials without being beholden to them, while confirming the studio skills of the duo and highlighting their creativity and sense of (re)invention.

 

Matmos – Regards​/​Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffe