Ramuntcho Matta

Ramuntcho Matta, one of France's most interesting producers, collaborated with a wide array of luminaries such as Don Cherry, Brion Gysin and Laurie Anderson. Coming from an illustrious artistic family - his father was painter Roberto Matta, one of the giants of 20th Century art, his brother Gordon Matta Clark a cult figure of the 70s New York avant garde scene and his uncle Serge Matta a renowned fashion illustrator who was a mentor to Jean Paul Goude. Having spent his teenage years in Paris assisting the legendary beat writer Brion Gysin, Matta left for New York in 1978 upon the death of Gordon Matta Clark to sort things out. Planning to stay for a couple of weeks, he stayed two years working in Laurie Anderson's studio and immersing himself in the cultural and musical hurricane that was late 70s NYC downtown scene. There he shared an apartment with Nana Vasconcelos and Arto Lindsay in the same building as Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads, hanging out at such clubs as The Mudd, CBGB and Danceteria. There he saw first hand the music revolution that was happening with jazz, funk avant garde and disco mixed into one big melting pot.

In the early 80s Matta headed back to Paris and hooked up with the local scene there with such artists as singer Elli Medeiros (Stinky Toys, Elli & Jacno), drummer Frederic Cousseau (aka Fred Goddard) from the group Suicide Romeo and guitarist Yann Le Ker from the group Modern Guy. "I would play with the Senegalese group Xalam, the Arabic rock group Carte de Séjour with Rachid Taha. Everyone was curious about each other, everyone was having fun experimenting" he notes in the interview with Jacques Denis for this reissue. He also continued his association with old friends like Brion Gysin and new ones met in New York such as Don Cherry with whom he recorded the single "Kick" released in 1983 on Mosquito. through a residency in Lyon accompanied by Don Cherry, Matta met star French Contemporary Dance choreographer Régine Chopinot who invited him to compose the soundtrack for her new show "VIA" with costumes by another French rising star, fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. The show poster was designed by Marc Caro who would go on to work with Jean-Pierre Jeunet on the film "Delicatessen"

The album is a superb mix of d-i-y no wave soundscapes recorded mainly at Matta's home and avant funk tracks recorded at Studio d'Auteuil in Paris. The latter include Fred Cousseau on drums, Elli Medeiros on vocals, Urugayian percussionist Negrito Trasante and Polo Lombardo on Konks with Matta producing and playing a wide array of instruments. Highlights of the album include "Sassam Kitaki" featuring Elli on vocals, "Jeunes Et Vieilles" which sounds like Money Mark's "Mark's Keyboard Repair" only ten years before and "Une A Une" whose version here is an unissued instrumental that makes its vinyl debut. The music is a perfect match for Chopinot's innovative choreography which made her an essential part of France's 80s new wave of artists.

The album was released in 1985 in France only by Mosquito Records and was never really promoted according to Matta. The original release had several mistakes, misspelling musician names and knocking off one track title from the tracklist. The album vanished without trace upon release but has since rediscovered by diggers around the world. Wewantsounds is delighted to reintroduce for the first time the album in its full glory in partnership with Ramuntcho Matta with remastered Audio. The reissue includes original artwork and a 4 page booklet featuring Jacques Denis' interview with Ramuntcho Matta (English/French) and an additional insert with a facsimile of Marc Caro's original artwork for the VIA show.