Of course you recognise this name from the various releases he did he as Platform and under his own banner; the latter, so it seems, is these days a favourite for him. As Matthew Atkins he plays mostly moody music using old ‘cracked’ software and field recordings along with sounds he produces with bells, wood, singing bowl, cymbals, circuit boards, guitar, pedals, wine glasses and piano and with the help of Jonathan Clayton on cello and Paul May on percussion (on one piece only). What he creates he calls ‘sonic collages’ rather than something defined as ‘musical’, as he thinks of himself as a non-musician (despite being a drummer in some bands) and more and more his work gets an excellent refined shape. That refinement does not mean it is very ambient or quiet; it is a different kind of refinement. In his compositions Atkins works in a rather spacious way, given certain sounds room to breathe, while others are more in a supporting role here. Not that he ever did smear things together with sound, but now more than before I notice the details in his pieces. It
is hard to say what is exactly field recordings and what Atkins plays, save for the more obvious sounds (piano, cello), which is not the details I mean. It’s all about how they are used in a specific
composition. I am very much reminded of Machinefabriek with this release; the delicate balance between drones, crackles, field recordings and instruments that Machinefabriek usually has, is
also very much present with this new release. I hesitate to say it, but I think this is his best release
so far. (FdW)
VITAL WEEKLY
Matthew Atkins’ newest effort is much larger in scope and ambition than the last tape of his that I heard, The Subtle Silence. On Porous Inner Montage, he makes use of a wider palette of sounds, sculpting everything from electrical crackles and pops and electronic drones to recordings of shuffles and the creaking of wood into bewildering sonic constructions. The tracks’ developments are pleasingly unpredictable, and each is completely unique in the way it progresses and unfurls. Atkins avoids a restrictive linear format, instead allowing the elements to combine and harmonize in a way that feels uninhibited, even organic. But once again, his greatest strengths arise when he contrasts abstract, timbral elements with melodic ones; track 5, the first on side B, opens with Tilbury-esque, spacious piano plinks that slowly organize themselves over a bed of fascinating textures, and ends up being one of the tape’s strongest and most emotionally resonant moments. As a whole, Porous Inner Montage is a magnificent step forward for Atkins’ work. It feels cohesive and well-crafted but doesn’t play anything too safe. I’m excited to see him explore these more difficult, nonrepresentational compositions, and I also hope he retains those brief moments of conventionality that create such an amazing contrast.
NOISE NOT MUSIC
‘Porous Inner Montage’ consists of nine atmospheric electroacoustic pieces that bring widescreen drama to a field that too often descends into dusty hermeticism. Low-end ruminations and minimalist piano chords nod towards ambient music, but discomfort rather than bliss is the intended result, with cavernous reverb adding suitably goth touches. Atkins’ sense of space and scale raises this above the average, with the cinematic sweep of his backdrops contrasted by sudden darts of static or yowls of electronics, as if some sentient microscope is on the prowl through the catacombs. ‘Part 4’ sees echoey voices drifting between curtains of scuzz and disembodied percussion, as someone nearby chomps on a kebab made of tinfoil. ‘Part 7’ is a little more tranquil, its gentle tones cascading in resonant drizzle while a copper kettle whistles and an amphibian choir keeps it company. Just another Sunday afternoon at the pond, ma.
WE NEED NO SWORDS
MRM32
credits
released June 25, 2018
Matthew Atkins: Field recordings, bells, wood, singing bowl, cymbals, circuit board, guitar, pedals, wine glasses, coil microphone, piano, Monotron delay.
Jonathan Clayton: Cello, engineering
Paul May: Percussion on Part 4
MRM is a DIY label for experimental music curated by Matt
Atkins, a London based sound and visual artist whose principle interests are reductionism, chance, repetition and texture. He uses objects, percussion instruments, occasionally a laptop and cassette recorders to create sound collages in both the recorded medium and live....more
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supported by 23 fans who also own “Porous Inner Montage”
"There is a somewhat paradoxical sense of an industrial landscape and an ostensibly barren, alien world. Dissonances develop and ebb, as do less uneasy elements, purring and whirring in the fog...A thoughtful and deep work for your subconscious to ponder. Side B heads into truly glorious, if subtle, territory"
-excerpt from Deft Esoterica issue one review Claude