Staff Reviews

Matthew Herbert - One One

Review by Finn Scott-Delany

His method could never be accused of being frivilous, but One One does seem to suffer from a lack of realization.»

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electronic music innovator matthew herbert releases 'one one', the first installment in a heavily conceptual trilogy of albums. 'one one' is a solo effort in the most extreme sense of the word: it features absolutely no musicians other than matthew herbert, meaning that the english producer performed and recorded every sound on the record, and in doing so had to teach himself a number of new instruments. the project also forced herbert to make his debut as a vocalist, which he says made the recording process especially harrowing. 'one one' was recorded entirely at herbert's private studio in the town of whistable, kent, and is released on his own label, accidental. over the course of its ten tracks, the album tells the story of a single day in one man's life. the second two parts of herbert's one trilogy promise to be equally as avant-garde. 'one club', due for release this summer, consists exclusively of crowd noises from robert johnson in frankfurt. herbert rigged the club with mics one night last september, and for two hours recorded the audience talking, laughing, and deliberately making funny noises. 'one club' uses these recordings exclusively as source material. the trilogy will conclude in late 2010 with 'one pig', an album that traces the life and death of a single pig. every stage of the animal's life is accounted for, from birth, to slaughter, and finally to being served as pork.
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