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Matmos, "The Ganzfeld EP"
This EP is a taste of what to expect on their new album devoted to the theme of telepathy and psychic phenomena. I do not know whether Matmos actually buys the parapsychological theories that inspire the music but, like any of their conceptual experiments, they use the source material to think about their music in new ways. Some of it sounds undeniably like Matmos, but, as usual, they push themselves into novel situations with a long, complex vocal work which lines up with the peculiar subject matter perfectly.
In work for several years now, elements of these songs have been incorporated into Matmos’ live sets in various different guises though only one of the pieces appears here as it did during live shows. The first two pieces are classic body-movers by the duo; "Very Large Green Triangles" takes its cue from the piece Matmos used to open their shows with but instead of being an atmospheric work, here it belts along with a fantastic rhythm which is bound to raise some spirits. Similarly, "You (Rrose Mix)" continues the musical theme with its deep, techno pulses. Hints of Coil’s Love’s Secret Domain peep through the cracks but overall this seems custom made to transform any regular horizontal surface into a dance floor.
At recent shows, the group have been using choirs of ordinary audience members in recreating the uncanny conditions of ganzfeld experiments. I had the luck to be involved in one such choir at their last performance here in Dublin. Each participant donned a pair of ganzfeld goggles (essentially small pieces of plastic which block out all visual stimuli, see here for an idea of the original experiments) and a pair of headphones. We were given an mp3 player with a track unique to each person: different speeches in strange, monotonous voices which we were supposed to repeat in the same manner as if receiving these voices from the ether.
The same method is used during "Just Waves" to create one of Matmos’ oddest tracks (and one that is completely at odds with the dance-orientated pieces that precede it on this EP). It sounds like a stream of consciousness as much as the reading of telepathic images (though what would telepathy be but the merging of two such streams?). While parapsychology as a field is something I have no time (it is kind of hard to be a neuroscientist and believe in the likes of telepathy) but I do love this aesthetic and the final results of Matmos’ musical experiment. The layers of voices (including Dan Deacon and Clodagh Simonds) form a weird confluence of sounds ranging from snippets of phrases to odd drones and hums. A keyboard fills in the background layer but it is those voices that steal the show.
To think this is just a foresight of what is to come on the new album, I eagerly anticipate where they go with it all.
 
