TIM HECKER Vinilo y CD

Review: The latest psychological horror opus from Brandon Cronenberg proves that twisted auteur vision doesn't fall too far from the sickly tree. The son of the iconic David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly, A History Of Violence); his slowly forming filmography radiates with psychosexual malaise and deeply cynical themes, while the soundtrack for his latest meditation on the self-perceived untouchable status of the elite as well as a fetishistic analysis on classism, is as nauseating as its violently depraved subject matter. Droning synths, caustic flourishes of dread-inducing soundscapes and aquatic ambiance all coalesce into sonic nightmare fuel orchestrated immensely by the incomparable Tim Hecker.

Review: Noted as a "beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue" (we're looking at you, Spotify) Tim Hecker's No Highs is a righteous paean for what ambient music should be. And that certainly isn't mindful background music for turning you, the listener, into the best and most productive capitalist you can possibly be. Instead, Hecker's latest invites considered and focused listening; an alternative to the mediated, telescreeny musical SSRIs that impose on us today. A world turned upside down, the album presents highlights such as 'Lotus Light', 'Pulse Depression' ad 'Winter Cop', which suggest anarchic themes, while also fastening a sense of jaggedness and tumult, in a style of music that is so incorrectly expected to be neither of those things.

Review: RECCOMENDED
Disgraced ex-army surgeons, whaling journeys, Arctic wastelands, and meditations on morality and humankind's place in the grander scheme of Mother Earth. Anyone would think the mini-series Water needed a Tim Hecker soundtrack to truly convey it's expeditionary traits, or at least that's exactly what the producers thought when commissioning this latest example of an electronic music visionary being drafted to craft a score which, when you encounter it alone and without the visual aspect, feels removed from the scene on screen.

All of which only serves to accentuate the genius of it all. These noises, tones, tunes, and sounds aren't indicative of the era in which the plot unfolds, in fact they would have been impossible to create back then. But, through the atmospheres they conjure, the work transports you to a place where adventure and discovery are par for the course. Moody, evocative, at once fantastical and yearning, it's mesmerising stuff.

Review: "Anoyo", Tim Hecker's latest must-check album, was apparently designed as a companion piece to its predecessor, 2018's "Konoyo". Like that album, it was inspired by his desire to fuse his brand of experimental electronica and wayward ambient music with the sounds of "gagaku" - a form of Japanese classical music famed for being played at the Far East nation's Imperial Court. In practice, that means recordings of traditional Japanese instruments and drums chopped, sliced, looped, mangled and reversed, fused with Hecker's own spacey ambient electronics and hazy electronic textures. It's a unique recipe, but one that results in a string of sublime, otherworldly compositions that just get better with each successive listen.

Review: On his last album, 2016's "Love Streams", long-serving ambient experimentalist Tim Hecker joined forces with an Icelandic choir and orchestra. This time round, he has headed East, utilizing the services of Japanese musicians and percussionists. The resultant set, "Konoyo", tips a wink to Japan's deep history in both ambient and jazz, but is far darker and dystopian in tone. It's an intriguing approach, all told, and one that allows for tracks to organically evolve, slowly shifting between fluid, otherworldly dreaminess and unsettling, paranoid creepiness. It's this interplay - not just between darkness and light, but also the experimental and the traditional - that makes "Konoyo" such a riveting and enjoyable listen.

Review: 2003's Radio Amor has been one of our personal Tim Hecker favourites. For an artist who has released and collaborated on so much timeless ambient music, it is a bold statement. But, it is also a calculated one. The fact that it hasn't been reissued on vinyl since its original drop does have an effect, of course, but it's also one of Hecker's most pensive works, with its tunes lingering mid-air with a confidence that is rarely heard in ambient and drone these days. For instance, the sinister tension of "Spectral" reigns supreme over most other tracks of its ilk, but the majority of its quality rests in propensity to blend different emotions thanks to disparate sounds and an inhuman build up of energy. Highly recommended.

Review: While Tim Hecker has a well-earned reputation for extreme electronic experimentation, he's always been capable of delivering releases shot through with intense beauty. It's this side of Hecker's output that's explored on Love Streams, his first album for three years. Effortlessly melodious, fluid, and constantly evolving, it pairs fuzzy, drone-inspired textures, melancholic atmospherics and ear-pleasing ambient melodies, with flashes of steel drums, manipulated string arrangements, and the distinctive sound of an Icelandic choir. It's a sound palette that ensures a stream of memorable, eyes-closed moments, from the Tangerine Dream inspired "Voice Crack", to the loved-up bliss of the two-part "Violet Monumental".

Review: There is only one king when it comes to ambient and drone sculptures, and his name is Tim Hecker. The American producer is, and always has been, an outside thinker, through and through, breathing life and surrealism into his minimal sonic landscapes. By now, Hecker has released numerous albums and LP's on many different imprints, but in the last few years he's chosen to be sparing with what he puts out. This latest slab of wax from the man is actually a reissue, two tunes that have already been released on Australia's Room40, that is "Norberg" and "Apondalifa", respectively. The former is a deep and melancholic gust of crystalline ambient walls, while the latter filters in sparse and loose guitar strings into the airy sonics circling the air. Both are true masterpieces of the genre, and they're the perfect soundtracks to just chill out to. Recommended.

Review: Tim Hecker's music has a way of consistently confounding expectations thanks to his ever shifting nature, and Virgins is no exception. While 2011's Ravedeath 1972 felt weighed down by its sandblasted sound that brought to mind a ravaged landscape, and last year's Instrumental Tourist was filled with subtle Eastern influences, Virgins comes with a sound that feels somehow elegiac; opener "Prism" places cacophonous organs stretched to infinity, while "Radiance" is as close as Hecker will get to the sound of an angelic chorus. Other moments prove more introspective, such as "Live Room Out", and the sullen piano keys of "Black Refraction". It's an album with the same instantly timeless quality of Fennesz's Venice, and comes highly recommended.

Review: Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin are both well known for their intricate, neo-classical drones. The former has released one of the best experimental albums of the last five years, the enchanting Ravedeath, 1972 while the latter goes by the name of Oneohtrix Point Never, an alias which has resulted in the formidable Replica LP. Both artists are meticulous experimenters of sound, and although the LP opens with the relatively gentle "Uptown Psychedelia", a winding collection of synths being disrupted by chaotic explosions, it's quickly dismantled by more apocalyptic pieces such as "Instrusions" and "GRM Blue II", where the duo carefully place the tranquillity of soft pads next to the doom of lurid feedback noises. But it's the long and continuously evolving sounds of tracks like "Racist Drones" and "Grey Geisha" that shine through most brightly, and the title track "Instrumental Tourist" is a carefully detailed mutation of timbres and atmospherics. This is the mature side of noise and drone, shifting Hecker and Lopatin into deeper, more treacherous waters but still retaining a strong musical foothold, and is exactly the sort of thing we want to see from these two great talents.