Matt Davignon - “Bwoo”:
($13)

Matt’s first cd on his new live instrument – the drum machine. None of the tracks on “bwoo” contain the traditional use of beats. Instead, the instrument is processed through several different sound-altering devices and samplers in real-time, creating gurgles, hums, chirps and surreal, otherworldly music.
Released in May, 2005.

Order from Edgetone Records
Download at Emusic.com (emusic membership required)

Bwoo.mp3

Here's what people have said about "Bwoo"

"Relaxing open, organic sounding crackling with blue-white and maybe green undertones. Love the wet and warm sound. Very successful at making technology sound like nature or you are underwater getting eaten by coral or listening to chirps of electronic bats"
KFJC, Los Altos Hills, California

"Despite his ten years of improvisation I never heard of Matt Davignon, but his methods, using solely a drumcomputer, is certainly something new. He uses two drummachines, feeding them through some sound effects. One could all too easily think that Matt Davignon plays techno music, but he doesn't, not at all. It may not even be rhythmical by any conventional standards. I am not sure if the nine tracks on this CD were generated through improvisation, perhaps it was, perhaps not. The beats are treated to quite some extent, they are bend, reshaped and remodeled, and the result is a hasty sound, a muffled sound that by far is not ambient, techno or even industrial. Experimental it is for sure. Certainly one of the stranger things I encountered in recent times. Quite complex sound systems, a sort of nervous microsound, a lo-fi musique concrete or a not so academic acousmatique. This defies much of the usual descriptions. It's quite a fascinating journey that is going here. It would be nice to hear what he could when he is improvising with other people. As such, with 'Bwoo' he handed in his papers. This is it, let's do it."
Frans de Waard - Vital Weekly

"I can only remember another record made with drum machines as a single source, namely the pretty uninteresting 'Quorum' by Mikel Rouse; but 'Bwoo' is different, both in the compositional methods (see the CD booklet to understand how Davignon develops his sound) and in the final outcome, which in this particular case is certainly excellent. Using arrhythmia as the basis of his work, Matt creates biotic sounds that keep being entangled in hampered mirages where juxtapositions of greyish perspectives become spouse to fragments of noise and underskin boiling. Waiving any hope of commonly intended harmony, the receiver is surrounded by all sorts of microactivity, spreading around like worms on a corpse in the sun and transforming pretty solid sketches in an utter mush that must be gulped while clinching your fists. Intelligent, innovative and quite disorientating."
Massimo Ricci - Touching Extremes

"There's no air of mystery surrounding sound manipulator Matt Davignon. He debunks Bwoo's candystore of hypnotic sounds with a liner note diagram that reveals their sole source -- a Boss DR-660 drum machine -- and the devices he used to achieve them. His song titles tell you exactly what you're in for: "96 Clocks" ticks and knocks, "Click Sel" boasts a series of modulating clicks, and "Bwoo" and "Uut?" make their titular sounds. There's no heady theory or deconstruction in Davignon's aesthetic; his interest lies in creating organic, breathing sound experiences by toying with machines. Bwoo is more about childlike exploration than big boy sound sculpting.

"Davignon only betrays his lack of total innocence through his immense patience. He has a fetish for colorful tones, yes, but he's not greedy -- when he finds a promising sound, he'll ride it out for as long as it merits. "Pad", for instance, barely budges from its beautiful opening notes, expounding gamelan style upon the same series of notes for six glorious minutes. With an ear for the pure and life-affirming, Davignon presents a number of sounds that could prove endlessly engaging. It's not that sitting and staring at the same spot for an extended period of time is a fun activity in its own right -- it's that the spot's so damn interesting.

"Bwoo's best tracks display ample development, though, demonstrating Davignon's steady hand in multiple compositional approaches. "Flam Ratio" feels like a natural environment rather than mechanical manipulation -- it sounds like a field recording from an empty hallway, capturing echoing tones that could double as footsteps. "Uut?" opens with a fascinating ratcheting noise that simulates its title. It eventually moves from its mechanized animal calls to a threatening rising tide of static. It's the album's most marked progression, and the only time that Davignon seems the least bit aggressive or disruptive. It's also the album's most rewarding track.

"If there's anything holding Bwoo back, it's the fact that it's almost paradoxical. Generically, Davignon creates avant-garde music, but his techniques are so simple and his results so humble that it hardly feels as if he's on the cutting edge of anything. He has produced one of those rare albums that's both a journey outside the norm and a trek through well-worn territory."
Phillip Buchan - Splendid E-Zine 

"Speaking of experimental electronic noise...Matt Davignon is right out there on the edge. These pieces contain some really interesting ideas, and since Davignon is more than willing to spend the time necessary to flesh out those ideas, the songs are always worth a full listen. This sounds cool, and feels even better."
Jon Worley - Aiding and Abetting

"An exploration in drum machine minimalism and ambient beats, Bwoo's single sound source seems to be a fusion of modern day  Scorn, with David Kristian's period with Alien 8 Recordings, bending and warping the beats and sounds to create a beautiful atmosphere that gives an illusion of organic growth. An excellent, highly recommended  release!"
Jackal Blaster 

 "O nome Matt Davignon traz-me à memória o disco que, sob o nome artístico de And Gnat Vomit, incluído do duo Muck, gravou para a Pax Recordings o ano passado, e que aqui recenseei em Dezembro. Davignon, que reside e trabalha em Oakland, Califórnia, publica agora na Edgetone Records um disco solo de electrónica experimental, com a mesma atitude que caracterizou o anterior álbum Roc: criar música mutante que ultrapassa os limites conhecidos, permanecendo fora das hipóteses comuns de catalogação.

"Bwoo baseia-se em movimentos repetitivos de sonoridades estruturadas em ciclos multidireccionados, que apelam ao imaginário espacial. Matt Davignon improvisa investigando sobre timbres e texturas, tecendo tapeçarias de sons gorgolejantes obtidos a partir de uma única fonte sonora, a máquina de ritmos Boss DR660, de acordo com o diagrama disponibilizado. Os sons assim produzidos foram depois trabalhados via processadores de efeitos e transformados em organismos vivos, habitantes do espaço sideral."
Eduardo Chagas - Jazz e Arredores