i'm told she was originally a percussionist, before she took up sampling.percussion. any recorded nonelectrics from her? could someone recommend some of her recorded work and "talk me through it," so i can understand what it is that you hear.

DNA- "last live at CBGB's" (i believe it's still in print on atavistic or avant) showcases her pounding out the primal beats. I'd just like to take this moment to proclaim Ikue Mori the most overrated, inessential, faux-highbrow performer in modern music. The woman uses drum machines (and now "laptop"- but WHAT PROGRAM? I'm SO SICK OF people just listing "laptop" as their instrument. The laptop doesn't matter- it's what programs are used!) to make horribly uninteresting music, then cooks up pages of FAUX-highbrow jargon and bullshit schematics to "explain" her music. "The matrix array of variables allows for infinite improvisation in a non-static context" and blahblahblah BULLSHIT. If Mori had any guts, she's say "Uhh, I have a laptop with a bunch of samples and I tweak and program them into rhythms and stuff" instead of this bullshit highbrow posturing. You want someone who makes amazing music with "laptop"? Check out Cex. Fuck Mori.