Mattin (ES) is an artist from Basque Country associated with laptop improvisation and noise. His exploration of sound is rooted in contrast, testing the oppositions between noise and silence, between extreme high and low volumes, and between the digital and physical sounds of the computer. He uses the laptop as an instrument and makes short, silent films that are politically engaged. In addition, he is also a theorist and has written extensively about improvisation, free software and anti-copyright. He runs the experimental record label W.M.O./r and the netlabel Desetxea. He has released over 40 CDs on labels around the world.
Mattin uses computer feedback to accentuate the proccesual and instant character of the improvisation performance. In the last year Mattin has developed an interest in the use of free software for improvisation. The cooperative work that goes into the development of free software has unhierarchical and communal tendencies resembling the processes of music making in improvisation.Much of Mattin's exploration in sound is rooted in contrast. The contrast of extreme high and low volumes, and between the digital and physical sound of the computer (exposing the monopoly of detached amplification in sound delivery). These interests are reflected in Mattin's influences which range from, Whitehouse to Malfatti. The performative aspect of computer improvisation has led Mattin to explore the different meanings that visual representations of this practise can have in different contexts.