[.ca] A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To

Chronique amazon.fr:
À l'instar des maîtres de l'électro-acoustique Pierre Henry et Pierre Schaeffer, le duo que constituent les têtes chercheuses Drew Daniel et Martin Schmidt a toujours été passionné par le travail sur le son et sa texture. Dès leurs premiers disques, ces piliers du label expérimental FatCat samplaient des bruits bizarres comme ceux générés par le froissement d'un tee-shirt ou par un fumeur de cigarette ! La démarche, éminemment conceptuelle, rappelle celle du DJ Herbert comme les variations pour une porte et un soupir de Pierre Henry ou Yoko Ono. Pour A Chance To Cut Is Chance To Cure, ces trublions jamais à court d'idées ont décidé de rendre un curieux hommage à leurs pères, rsepectivement médecin et chirurgien. C'est donc dans les salles d'opération que nos chasseurs de sons sont allés capter la matière première nécessaire à leur album. Là, des bruits d'os qui craquent fournissent les éléments de la rythmique; ailleurs, un scalpel déchire l'espace sonore comme aurait pu le faire une guitare. Pas d'intellectualisation toutefois : les deux hommes sont des fans de dance et de Prince en particulier, aussi produisent-ils une musique qui réussit à être tout à la fois cérébrale et dansante. Björk, qui les connaît depuis leurs débuts (elle fut une des prestigieuses clientes de la boutique FatCat à Londres), les a sollicités pour Vespertine sur lequel figure également la harpiste noise Zeena Parkins. --Philippe Robert

...:
If you like groups like matmos, autechre, aphex twin, boards of canada, squarepusher or any other type of abstract electronic music, you will enjoy Parka. Songs are rare, but they have become my favorite group. The members from Parka are currently searching for a label to produce their first album. Check for downloads anywhere you can to hear something mind-blowing and unique.

matmos choke on removed fat:
the fact that this album was made of largely of samples the duo got from plastic surgery escapades is a lot hype and doesn't really matter to me. the fact that its often silly to the point of making me want to throw up all over my shoes does. the one redemption is "for felix", which is a beautiful track and what, after seeing this performed live, caused me to be interested in the album. innovately played by bowing and plucking a rat cage, this is the only real track i feel isnt burdened by cliche sounds and rhythms and dull aesthetically challenged choices in the studio. so thank god i got someone to burn it for me, because i don't know if i could live with myself if i had actually paid for this. just to give you an idea how offensive this is, words like 'booty, train, cow, momma' are repeated in one track along with their accompanying soundeffects (a 'moo' for example) like an insulting mantra mocking your inner child (who remembers a toy much like this) for being tricked into buying this mockery of a cd. in the future maybe they should move things into the laboratory and concentrate on rodents and their accessories since i willingly admit 'for felix' is a great track and displays the potential and talent (or the casino luck) of Matmos.

Entertaining:
On initial listens, I enjoyed this album's playfulness, inventive uses of sounds,and progression from funky to intense over the course of the album. Some of the basslines are quite nice as well. That said, I think this album is well made, but lacks an inherent complexity and depth that would inspire me to keep it in my collection for a sustained period of time. So to sum up this review, I found this album mentally entertaining, but not moving.

...Genuine blend between house music and musique concrète...:
"A Chance To Cut is A Chance To Cure", the most recent album by San Francisco duo Matmos, released in the early months of 2001, has all attires and attitude of what could be perceived as the future of electronic music. Taking their influences from a bunch of very accurate and singular artists (Coil, Nurse With Wound, Brian Eno, Herbert, Autechre), the duo of Drew Daniel and martin Schmidt has come up with a record (their fourth) almost entirely composed from samples of surgical operations, eye surgery, autopsies, etc. However, when listening to the record, the raw material used for its conception is never obvious. It is only when reading the sleeve notes that the true nature of the sounds becomes clear. In weir way, "A Chance To Cut is A Chance To Cure", is a poetic record that challenges every cliché in the electronic music book. Matmos' work should be perceived as a true epiphany to those who strike to archive the success of both form and function, within the electronic music field. Their work is a genuine blend between house music and musique concrète, mixing the avant-garde's achievements and experiments with house music's more appealing and festive urgency. "A Chance To Cut is A Chance To Cure" levels John cage, Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Henry's "Messe pour le temps présent" and Herbert up to the same creative stage. By doing so, it has set new standards for the next few years' up and coming electronic producers.

"ICE-CREAM...HOT-DOG...EAR-DRUM...MAT-MOS!!!":
Matmos was recommended to me by a guy in the record store after me mentioning my affinity for mixmaster, Herbert (Bodily Functions, Secondhand Sounds). After reading the reviews of Matmos'"A Chance to to Cut is A Chance to Cure," of course I had to check these guys out, and my findings were simply breathtaking. "A Chance to to Cut is A Chance to Cure" is an amazing concept album that at first listen will have you bewildered. Indeed, like most concept albums there's a theme and this one is one of making sounds outta stuff in the O.R.--Hey! Herbert did it with stuff around the house and bodily functions, so why can't these guys make music with stuff in the hospital? I was a bit distrurbed by the sounds of drills, lasers, gurgling and rat cages being rattled and plucked, but once the music came in, I was up movin' and gyratin' what my mama gave me. Songs like "Lipostudio...And So On", "Spondee" (my fave), "Memento Mori" and "California Rhinoplasty" are stand outs--However, I've yet to see or hear the relevance of the "For Felix" song--it doesn't go with the theme, but, hey, not all CDs are perfect.

	Custom Search