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Sound magicians M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel have a way of turning high-concept sonic chicanery—like sampling the brainwaves of a crayfish—into something far more playful and listenable than you'd imagine. For their latest trick, Matmos made a whole album out of sounds from a washing machine. And yes, they've brought the machine on tour with them. We asked the Baltimore-based pair what other non-musical noises inspire them.
1. The rope on a flag pole whipping in the wind.
2. The sound of a VHS deck loading a videocassette tape.
3. A printing press in operation, perhaps printing an
anti-Trump opinion piece.
4. The polyrhythm of roughly 30 seagulls crying at
the same time.
5. An old cat purring.
6. The sound of automobile glass under your shoe.
7. The sound of neighbors shoveling snow.
8. Icelandic women speaking while drawing breath.
9. Sifting through Legos on Saturday morning.
10. Ripping off a long strip of plastic packing tape.
11. My stepfather's histrionic sneeze.
12. Scraping toast to get the burnt bits off.
13. Using bolt cutters or tin snips on chicken wire.
14. The sound of a 7-inch record by the soft-rock group Bread being smashed on a concrete floor.
SEE IT: Matmos plays Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with Jeff Carey and Bully Fae, on Wednesday, Dec. 7. 8:30 pm. $14. 21+.