In a similar way, I was introduced to the decayed work of Tim Hecker (who also records under the name Jetone), via his first CD Haunt Me, Haunt Me, Do It Again. The level of sonic detail in that release was so vast and deep it took at least a dozen listens to fully appreciate, not to mention get my slow brain around. Hecker's work is in a similar glitchy vein as albums by Vladislav Delay, but without the attention to dubby textures in favor of a more traditionally minimalist and ambient aesthetic. While his first release showed a penchant for icy textures and Steve Reich minimalist touches, his follow-up, Radio Amor is a different--though sonically descendent--beast entirely. Radio Amor is inspired by tropical climes, as evidenced by the grainy photographs of the artwork--people playing in the surf, fishermen, nautical maps. The sounds here are digital abstractions, but warm and inviting.

While the vast majority of artists operating in the "glitch" mode are more than satisfied making fairly abstract works that emphasize means over ends, I find Hecker's work to have transcended that method of musical creation, furnishing a fresher, more grounded work. By using the techniques of modern digital manipulation, Hecker has created something of a concept album, with (it seems to me) the radio dial of a foreign land as its basis. The sounds of Radio Amor are ever-changing; a lengthy tableau of mixed signals fading in and out of consciousness. It is as if we are ourselves on a vast ocean, floating along with the changing radio signals--picking up repeated piano phrases, droned static, a passing armada's transmissions, the quick interference of a flock of birds. It is truly difficult for me to give words to the types of sounds Hecker manipulates deftly, but the source material is so altered and chopped to pieces it makes Fennesz seem like the Beach Boys (and perhaps that's what Fennesz would want, anyway). But instead of going the "simple" route and creating a sonic noise workout, as many of the digital aesthetes do, Hecker chooses to create quiet soundscapes of bright noise drones with hushed tones that approach traditional ambient in places. As an example, "The Star Compass" begins with angelic static, as strange as that sounds, and gradually decays leaving only a filtered tonal melody behind. This track seamlessly blends into "Azure Azure" which is a dronescape that would do Stars of the Lid proud--vast and rumbling. "Trade Winds, White Heat" is a post-techno melody with echoed synth tones reminiscent of a ship fading into the distance; a worthy and haunting finish to a great record.

Radio Amor is a hour of some of the most intoxicating and natural sounding digitalism you're likely to hear in today's glitched-out world. The track titles are written in an extremely telling way--occasionally a word in a title is struck through; sometimes replaced with another word. This has some parallel in the music within; original intentions are often edited, but the detritus of the original composition often remains. This is an album that begs multiple listens to fully grasp the sonic ingenuity and fascinating level of detail within. Hecker is a gifted composer, rising above genre means to create a music that fully absorbs the method to produce a sterling example of what pure modern computer music can be. Radio Amor is a triumph; one that will appeal to ambient and experimental music fans alike. Undoubtedly, Hecker's work will be considered a classic of a difficult to pin down genre.

From Mille Plateaux records.