Other Matter is now in its eigth years. Thanks to MuteAnt Sounds we've had the chance to document its evolution, from a nice post-rock outfit, infused with our roots in free jazz, to something personal, reflecting our joint or solo explorations of noise, ambient, improv, modular... Everything but the kitchen sink? That's the 2010s for you. Confusion, no direction anymore, no exposure - out of the negativity arises a new sense of freedom. Freedom within confines, but freedom.
The storytelling of the band, in its inception, was pretty much about dreams, about escaping, about the universe. How it all went wrong, corrupt, how lonely we are in the universe when we can't even keep the atom we dwell in tidy, those intuitions of impending doom slowly crept in the music. It was never very popular to begin with, a critic suggesting in the early days that it was anxiety attacks put to music. Sadly we're French, more of the Camus than Daft Punk type.
Freedom within confines, the violence openly returning to society thanks to the plagues of capitalism, is what we tried to express in these 5 albums. More often than not, the music is more quiet than our previous works. This is the sound of working underground, undercover, under the radar, under the pressure, under the thumb, under the police, under the great society, under the good taste, under everything, at the fringe. Peeking at the City lights, but they were never quite for you - you were not exactly born within the ranks of those who are, legitimately, by right, by conservatory degrees and greeds, artists.
Somehow, if you are reading these lines and listening to anything on MuteAnt, let's state the obvious: you are in trouble with us, we don't need to preach this gospel of the lowlife to you in the first place. You are probably desperately trying to spread the word, too. What we mean is just: let's keep on doing it before we are shut down.
credits
MuteAnt Sounds (netlabel) is entering our 8TH year of distributing, sharing, posting and releasing the world’s finest
experimental, noise, free jazz, no-fi ambient space jazz free form sound ever recorded.
Started as a tape trading label in the 90's, website in the 2000's, Full blown netlabel in the 2010's....more
Seattle’s St Celfer returns with four more boundary-breaking electronic compositions sparked with sudden bursts of melody. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 6, 2022
supported by 5 fans who also own “MON ROYAUME DE CHAINES - IV - CALQUE”
Sometimes one instrument stands out in a band and here I admire the very creative guitar-work, dissonant, edgy and daring. The whole band creates an energy, which seems to jump out off your speakers. If you love the dissonance of Sonic Youth and the aggressive drive of the Dead Kennedys you should give this a try. Dirk Radloff