Canadian Tim Hecker has been a respected force on the electronica scene since his debut Haunt Me Haunt Me, Do It Again, came out in 2001 (in addition to his work as Jetone). Since then, he has consistently released experimental ambient music that broadens standard compositional barriers while still remaining accessible, and such is the case with Harmony in Ultraviolet, Hecker's fourth full-length. Though most of the tracks on the album are separate entities -- including each part of "Harmony in Blue" -- they work together to form an idea that's greater than its individual elements: a sense of exploration and sadness and understanding of the infiniteness and uncertainty and expanse of the world. Themes are introduced -- a looped arpeggio, a distorted guitar riff, lone keyboard notes -- but nothing is ever fully developed, nothing ever completely exposes itself. Instead, there's a suggestion that's built-up and expounded upon but never quite resolved, long notes that pull themselves in and out of focus are favored over melodies, leaving a kind of agitation in the listener like the dark restlessness of an industrial city. Three notes make a chord but somehow Hecker's don't, they're so different in texture and scope; in fact, they seem almost peacefully at odds with one another, aware of the others' existences but content to ignore them. It's the music of a gray urban skyline, of the kind of loneliness that comes from being around too many other people, of rusted fences and cold empty windows and distance, music that swells and crescendos, sets itself up for the denouement but never arrives at the climax; it's endlessly patient yet eager to move on. Wet bass notes and emaciated electric guitars, awash with distortion, crush together with programmed noise and drones, sounds erupt and are then dismissed, fifty minutes of questions and intimations, of resignation and acceptance, but not -- definitely not -- of answers. We'll have to find those ourselves.
2. Tim Hecker - Dungeoneering (from "Harmony in Ultraviolet")A rotating, cyclical machine sound, full of life but cold as death. This is the sound that power pylons make on cold winter nights, as they sing to each other songs about high-frequency oscillation and its effects upon snowflakes. Industrial yard lights spire up into the frozen sky, shimmering a quiet hymn to the groaning aurora borea...
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Here we go, the end of the album reviews! Now that it's April I feel embarrassingly late posting this, but I'm glad I got it all done.I'll upload my top 10 favouring songs of 2006 in separate tracks, each with an mp3 embed!1. Tim Hecker - Harmony in UltravioletWhat more about this album can I say than I already have? Well, a lot actually - and that's a testament to how incredible this album rea...
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Here we go, the end of the album reviews! Now that it's April I feel embarrassingly late posting this, but I'm glad I got it all done.I'll upload my top 10 favouring songs of 2006 in separate tracks, each with an mp3 embed!1. Tim Hecker - Harmony in UltravioletWhat more about this album can I say than I already have? Well, a lot actually - and that's a testament to how incredible this album rea...
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I would like to gush about one of my favourite genres of new music, and one of my favourite artists that operates around the genre. The "genre" in question is deconstructionist electronic, and the artist is Tim Hecker, who I would have no problem in calling the best and most important musician in Canada.This genre is actually pretty small but I feel very influential - the two other big daddies ...
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2. Tim Hecker - Dungeoneering (from "Harmony in Ultraviolet")A rotating, cyclical machine sound, full of life but cold as death. This is the sound that power pylons make on cold winter nights, as they sing to each other songs about high-frequency oscillation and its effects upon snowflakes. Industrial yard lights spire up into the frozen sky, shimmering a quiet hymn to the groaning aurora borea...
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Hokay. I know some other social services like LJ have an API that allows third-party apps to interact with their respective sites. Like... standalone post management clients for LJ. That sort of thing.Is there something similar for MOG? Preferably for OSX?
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 "Harmony in Ultraviolet")
