BigShinyThing

In 2001, politically-aware musician and theorist Matthew Herbert released the album The Mechanics of Destruction — composed entirely using the sounds of commercial products which irk him — as a free download. Tracks include Nike and Starbucks is Coming. The latter is composed entirely from the (heavily) processed sounds of one caramel latte and one Frappucino, with a strong dash of rage stirred in.

Since then, Herbert has continued to focus both microphone and anger on the globalised food industry. The result is Plat du Jour, released in July, and subsequently performed live on tour by an ensemble which includes a chef who adds onstage olfactory accompaniment. The new album is composed entirely from sounds related to corporate food production. On his website, Herbert explains:

I am tired of having to tolerate the international language of cheap convenience food - convenient mainly to those that make and serve it. The bright pinky orange of farmed salmon in aeroplane trays, the branded waters 1000 times more expensive than tap water, the dismal spread of the hotel breakfast buffet, with its pre-formed meat slices, pasteurised juices, mechanically produced bread and Nestle yoghurts full of sugar and potassium sorbate…

This record then, aims to tell some of the hidden stories behind the overly-elaborate and wasteful packets. It looks at what’s on the menu and asks you to makes decisions based on criteria other than taste. The album will include tracks made from a grain of sugar, 30,000 chickens, a salmon farm, the sewers below London and water.

Is it any good? Read the usually-perceptive review at Pitchfork, or buy the CD and make up your own mind. Better yet: get with the program, save on wasteful packaging and shipping, and download the whole album for a mere 5 squids. You might develop a taste for it.