Mort aux Vaches

AMG Review of Mort aux Vaches

Fran�ois Couture
All Music Guide

Tim Hecker fans, beware: his contribution to Staaplaat's Mort aux Vaches series is significantly quieter than his previous opuses. That being said, it is also one of his sleekest releases. His live set for the Dutch national radio VPRO consists of a continuous 41-minute piece. Early on, he strikes a delightful balance between tone and texture, pairing quiet electrical /p>

oise with a delicate string chord (lifted from some Mahler, perhaps?). That figure will become the leitmotif of the piece: individual tones or chords barely surfacing from a quiet storm of /p>

oise. Grace and seduction soak the piece, along with a sense of well-being in a society where interference has become the main ground rule. Voices are occasionally heard, their discourse no more than a murmur, their tone just another surfacing note. The piece evolves very slowly during the first 20 minutes, delicately shifting between textural layers. At the 20-minute mark the piece collapses inward and falls nearly silent. The second half is characterized by a quiet /p>

oise foundation spiced up by musical events -- a proto-melody here, a pretty music box-like development there, a quick surge in volume to introduce a new element that will gradually disappear the moment you detect its presence. The whole piece carries the listener like a daydream, careful not to jolt him/her out of his/her reverie, yet skillful enough to feed the dream through its whole duration. As is the case with all Mort aux Vaches releases, this album is in a limited edition of 1,000 copies.