One of the little joys of West Coast Sound's Los Angeles existence is pulling into the Mutato Studios parking lot in West Hollywood, buzzing the buzzer, and walking into the saucer-shaped building to meet the operatives. Last year we profiled Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh's active commercial music house, and made some friends while we were at it.

You never know what you're going to get when you walk in, can't predict who you'll run into. Yesterday after we had lunch with our friend Robert Miltenberg, Mutato's executive producer, he gave us a copy of Mutato's new commercial reel, which features the insidious and pleasant little ditties that butters Mutato's proverbial bread; watching commercials for fun isn't usually our bag, but once you know that Mutato has made the music and you start listening to it, it's the songs that jump out.

So this time as we were leaving we ran into Mothersbaugh and fellow Devo-ite Bob Casale (Bob II), who were giving producers Diplo and Switch a tour of the facilities. They were just getting ready to walk into the oval storage room on the ground floor, which houses Devo and Mothersbaugh's amazing collection of instruments. Here's what Diplo tweeted after leaving: “Just hung out with devo… Maddest collection of stuff I ever seen.” Indeed, it's a virtual museum of analog electronics.

What were Diplo and Switch doing there? Word is there may be some sort of collaboration in the future, which is a brain-melting prospect. Devo continues to work on its forthcoming album, on which it's teaming with a number of different producers. If you can't wait for that, though, you can grab an awesome piece of Devo art and a 12-inch of the band's Teddy Bears-produced track “Watch Us Work It.” The art is a Devo-designed 18″ x 18″ silkscreened version of the album cover, signed by members of the band. It's actually a great deal for $30, and comes out on September 8. You can order it here.

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