nanovivid

As I’ve alluded to previously, I have a bit of a weakness for droning, repetitive music. I’m not sure how it happens, but I sometimes have an almost physical reaction to it that feels as if I’m being wrapped in a comforting blanket. No other artist that I’ve discovered can do this to me quite like Tim Hecker.

I discovered Hecker’s music quite by accident. I think I stumbled across Harmony In Ultraviolet while checking out From Here We Go Sublime by The Field on Amazon. Harmony was listed in the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” section, and for some reason, it caught my eye. I clicked on over and was presented with this brilliant review (seriously, go read it). That right there was reason enough (well, along with checking out the samples) for me to stick the album on my wishlist.

Fast forward to January. I had gotten From Here We Go Sublime the previous fall and was thoroughly enjoying it. For those of you who don’t know, The Field makes amazingly ear-wormy minimal techno. His songs don’t bother with verses, choruses, breakdowns, or builds because they don’t need to. Instead of having a couple hooks in the song, he chooses exactly the right hooks and then loops them. Even though it’s completely repetitive, there are all kinds of tiny alterations and changes happening throughout each song, keeping it from becoming boring. I listened to the album quite a lot and The Field is currently at #17 on my Last.fm profile.

Then I finally bought Harmony In Ultraviolet and, well, here’s what happened to my music listening (courtesy of LastGraph):

Harmony is a massive album. I think the term “ambient” gets close, but it’s also very droning, sometimes very dark, and often noisy and full of static. The first time I played it, I simply sat in shock of the incredible, almost overwhelming beauty. Whether it’s the time-worn loops of Chimeras, the calming fuzz of Spring Heeled Jack Flies Tonight, or the massive synths of by Radio Spiricom, the music is not quite like anything I’ve ever heard before. I think it was also custom-tailored for my drone-loving brain.

I’ve also purchased the (oddly punctuated) Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again, which is a fantastic album in its own right. Where Harmony can be imposing and almost overwhelming, Haunt Me is warm and calm.

Tim Hecker’s music is in some ways the polar opposite of The Field’s. There are almost no beats and the hooks, such as they are, are drawn out over minutes. However, they both make use of minimalism in their own ways, and I’m powerless to resist either.

♫ Tim Hecker - Boreal Kiss (Part 1)

Tags: drone, minimal, Music, obsession, the field, tim hecker