The Sound of Laundry
Letter Zero.52
Dear friend,
Last week I told you about how Trent Reznor uses the Luminist Garden to generate noise that he weaves into beautiful music. While the Luminist Garden is a beautiful and expensive instrument, it might be overkill. What’s a simpler alternative?
There is inspiration hiding all around us, waiting to be noticed. Take your laundry room for example. I tend to close the door when the laundry machines are running to keep the noise out. But even here there is beauty waiting to be discovered...
Matmos is an electronic music duo that is known for recording unexpected sounds and transforming them into techno. Their album Ultimate Care II was created solely from samples of washing machine noises. And while that sounds like a gimmick, it is a beautiful thing. When I need to get myself into a flow state, this is often one of the soundtracks I reach for.
Part of being a creative person is figuring out how to find inspiration in the ordinary. Often it’s hiding in the lint traps and spin cycles we take for granted. I’ll write again soon. Stay creative.
Your friend,
Adrian
P.S. If you want to see behind the scenes of how Matmos makes music, this is a fun video: https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/blog-posts/show-us-your-junk-matmos