Collings, Matthew
Splintered Instruments
Matthew Collings is a Scottish-based composer. Not only being a solo recording and live artist, he collaborates regularly with artists from all kinds of fields including musicians (Dag Rosenqvist from Jasper TX, Denovali label mate Talvihorros, Christos Michalakos or Euan Mcmeeken with whom he forms the duo Graveyard Tapes), dancers and filmmakers. Hes responsible for several installations using custom-made software, which have been exhibited at Burning Man Festival/ San Francisco, Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts or the 50th Design Biennial in Ljubliana/ Slovenia. His work for films includes a specially commissioned live score for Dziga Vertovs 1929 silent classic, The Man with the Movie Camera and an invitation to work on The Invisibles, a commission from Amnesty International. Before settling down in Edinburgh, he lived in Iceland for six year, where he wrote a number of albums issued under the name of his lo-fi/ambient project "Sketches for Albinos" and where he met fellow collaborator Ben Frost. His music can be roughly described as 'an elemental whorl of electro-acoustic (de)composition' (Boomkat.com), ranging from tiny delicate moments of intimacy to all consuming noise. Collings gentle blurred singing voice is added consequently as an melodic instrument, that never dominates, but soaks through a composition, which seems to be distorted through its state of constant shift. Strongly influenced by avant-garde guitar music, it calls the minimal music of Steve Reich or Gavin Bryars to mind in like manner. Splintered Instruments '.is not about noise or the decibel levels - its about the sheer uncompromised approach to raw sound design' (Headphone Commute). For fans of Ben Frost, Nico Muhly, Autechre, My Bloody Valentine, Glenn Branca or Steve Reich.