Artist  Kaffe Matthews

Album Title  Cd Eb + Flo

Date of Release  2003

AMG Rating 

Genre  Avntg

AMG REVIEW: Previous albums on Kaffe Matthews' Annette Works imprint have

chronicled her metamorphosis from violinist to sound artist in incremental

stages, a climb toward a new sound. In comparison, cd eb + flo is a

fully-rounded statement, a panoramic look from the plateau she has reached.

All of the music presented on this double album has been reconstructed in

the studio using recordings of performances where Matthews sampled and

processed “a theremin, the room and its feedback." The resulting music

shares the purity of lines of the sonic architectures of Carl Michael von

Hausswolff and Richard Chartier. It also shows strong similarities with

contemporary feedback artists like Toshimaru Nakamura and Sachiko M, but

Matthews' work constantly remains richer, more sensuous, and more playful

than either of them. Plastic beauty doesn't translate to asceticism on this

album and that's why it is so endearing. Disc one presents a carefully

orchestrated sonic journey. It starts with very pure sine waves, builds up

from track to track toward the central piece “Get Out More," significantly

noisier, and from there on drifts toward beat-anchored material. Disc two is

more fanciful, taking the listener through quicker changes in moods and

textures. The anticlimactic “Boy with Dog" is a marvel of flexible

restraint, while “Dashes Five" shows what Merzbow could sound like if he'd

clean up his act a bit. These pieces are so taking, the actual origin of the

sounds rarely crosses your mind.

One of 2003's best offerings in electronic sound art. — François Couture

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