Thursday, April 03, 2003

Tim Hecker - Radio Amor



TIM HECKER
Radio Amor
[Mille Plateaux, 2003]

Maybe there is something to Montreal after all. Certainly the city has produced a good deal of Canada's most influential music in the past decade, and if you haven't made the trip for MUTEK, you just aren't into the avantguard my friend. Tim Hecker is currently one of the most commercially successful of Montreal producers, with releases appearing on many of Europe's top electronica labels. While under the alias Jetone he has produced some gorgeous post-techno, his name itself seems to be reserved for more ambient endeavours.

Ambient music should not suggest Muzak or New Age. Fundamentally it is a space for contemplation of subjectivities and identity, and consequently can engage the listener in a totalizing manner. If you're the ADHD type, I would advise smoking some good herb to induce concentration, as Radio Amor invokes a certain nostalgia and ephemerality which languidly develops over the listening session. Hecker processes his sources to an exceptional degree, with beautiful clicks pops and tones providing an almost organic soundscape. For a musical reference think Shuttle358, Oval, and a dose of Fennesz. Yet Hecker's somewhat iconoclast nature preserves a space for a truly unique voice in contemporary electronica.

MP3: Tim Hecker - (They Call Me) Jimmy

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