Saltillo

“True I'm nervous, but why do you think I'm mad?” (“Blood and Milk,” Ganglion)

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/saltillo

Artist Website: http://www.kyan.com/saltillo/

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Saltillo (has many full tracks)
Saltillo is Menton James Matthews III. A multi-talented instrumentalist, Matthews (also a member of Sunday Munich) is capable of playing the cello, guitar, viola, violin, piano, drums, bass, and many electronics. 

The first song I heard by Saltillo was "A Hair on the Head of John the Baptist." While a lengthy song (7:34), I was captivated the whole track. I played it while filling in at my school's radio station and received a succession of calls asking who the artist for the song was. While the song is doubtlessly a gem, Ganglion offers many other tracks that are note-worthy in the trip-hop genre. "Giving in" features breathy female vocals, exemplative of the genre, and there are several other tracks with female vocals as well. 

Matthew's work is unique because it isn't predictable or boring. He incorporates many samples in his songs, which he artfully arranges into the rest of the song; the samples never seem jarring or out of place but smoothly plucked and placed to create whatever atmosphere Matthews has dreamed up...”A Simple Test” in particular has a creepy vibe, with references to the devil, evil, killing. It still fits neatly in the trip-hop genre, because of the techniques Matthews chooses to employ, but the superb instrumentals that wind around samples are like trippy tendrils of ivy...the music is always in motion, never repetitive without reason, and each crescendo is a thrill.

The music, created by one man's mind, seems to have a mind of it's own. Each instrument follows it's own path, and sometimes the paths collide to create fantastic melodies that all the while are cognizant of the samples they must weave around, to complement (and not overpower). The music, while thoughtfully mapped out, offers the illusion that it is on a complex journey of finding itself and it's sound.

I definitely recommend that you listen to Ganglion. While Saltillo already has somewhat of a following online, I don't think that enough people have been exposed to Matthew's music, and it is for this reason that I feature him on this blog. If I had to compare Saltillo to another artist I would say the music is akin to Velvet Acid Christ. On morphine. 

The above painting and the (self) portrait were both works of art created by Matthews.