Of all the big names in contemporary electronic music, few can make swells of noise sound so tuneful and emotionally engaging as Tim Hecker. The Canadian composer has long-since established his signature sound of gusty processed guitars, melodious static and soaring drones, and this new single-length release for Room40 finds him taking his craft to a new level of refinement. 'Apondalifa' begins with surging strands of guitar, clipped and layered over waves of stratospheric hiss, slowly taking a melodic shape as the piece develops; looped chord fragments become more apparent after a couple of minutes, and for certain stretches you'll hear a good deal more of Hecker's guitar playing than he normally permits. Drawing towards the four minute mark, bright synth tones cut through the melee, leading to a midway crescendo - from here onwards the clouds of electronic fizz dissolve away to expose mantra-like guitar figures, repeating and re-layering before themselves gently ebbing into nothing. A top-quality, most welcome return from this exceptional electronic musician - it's only a shame there's not more of it.
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Of all the big names in contemporary electronic music, few can make swells of noise sound so tuneful and emotionally engaging as Tim Hecker. The Canadian composer has long-since established his signature sound of gusty processed guitars, melodious static and soaring drones, and this new single-length release for Room40 finds him taking his craft to a new level of refinement. 'Apondalifa' begins with surging strands of guitar, clipped and layered over waves of stratospheric hiss, slowly taking a melodic shape as the piece develops; looped chord fragments become more apparent after a couple of minutes, and for certain stretches you'll hear a good deal more of Hecker's guitar playing than he normally permits. Drawing towards the four minute mark, bright synth tones cut through the melee, leading to a midway crescendo - from here onwards the clouds of electronic fizz dissolve away to expose mantra-like guitar figures, repeating and re-layering before themselves gently ebbing into nothing. A top-quality, most welcome return from this exceptional electronic musician - it's only a shame there's not more of it.
Of all the big names in contemporary electronic music, few can make swells of noise sound so tuneful and emotionally engaging as Tim Hecker. The Canadian composer has long-since established his signature sound of gusty processed guitars, melodious static and soaring drones, and this new single-length release for Room40 finds him taking his craft to a new level of refinement. 'Apondalifa' begins with surging strands of guitar, clipped and layered over waves of stratospheric hiss, slowly taking a melodic shape as the piece develops; looped chord fragments become more apparent after a couple of minutes, and for certain stretches you'll hear a good deal more of Hecker's guitar playing than he normally permits. Drawing towards the four minute mark, bright synth tones cut through the melee, leading to a midway crescendo - from here onwards the clouds of electronic fizz dissolve away to expose mantra-like guitar figures, repeating and re-layering before themselves gently ebbing into nothing. A top-quality, most welcome return from this exceptional electronic musician - it's only a shame there's not more of it.
Of all the big names in contemporary electronic music, few can make swells of noise sound so tuneful and emotionally engaging as Tim Hecker. The Canadian composer has long-since established his signature sound of gusty processed guitars, melodious static and soaring drones, and this new single-length release for Room40 finds him taking his craft to a new level of refinement. 'Apondalifa' begins with surging strands of guitar, clipped and layered over waves of stratospheric hiss, slowly taking a melodic shape as the piece develops; looped chord fragments become more apparent after a couple of minutes, and for certain stretches you'll hear a good deal more of Hecker's guitar playing than he normally permits. Drawing towards the four minute mark, bright synth tones cut through the melee, leading to a midway crescendo - from here onwards the clouds of electronic fizz dissolve away to expose mantra-like guitar figures, repeating and re-layering before themselves gently ebbing into nothing. A top-quality, most welcome return from this exceptional electronic musician - it's only a shame there's not more of it.