Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country

Have been a Hecker fan since the beginning, but this album never grabbed me as much as some of the others. Sort of flew under the radar. I just played it and was really impressed, and wondered how I had slept on it as I had. Then I realized- I had just listened to the whole thing at 33rpm instead of 45rpm. Well- I recommend trying it out! Because it sounds great slowed down.

Bought my copy second hand in EX condition, sounds warm and rich, dead quiet, absolutely perfect...

Vinyl quality is beyond garbage of mine. Pops and clicks throughout, you'd think this album was 45 years old and scrapped up against the concrete how bad my version sounds, which is a shame because this album is great. Right out of the sleeve day one sounded terrible. It's a shame the record store I bought this from is a few states over as had I listened to it there I certainly would have demanded a refund.

Released exactly a year ago, An Imaginary Country by Tim Hecker continues to satisfy my aural cravings. From persistent nonchalant two note passages dispersing in reverb, to pulsating bass undertones accented with frequency thick chromatic chords, and concrete layers of sonic treatment placed in all strategic places, designed to hold this fragile structure erect, the architectural plans behind this album are as solid as that of a monumental building, rising skywards past all of the clouds, remaining one of the attractions, long after its creator is gone. An Imaginary Country is the sixth full length album by this Canadian based musician and sound artist. His discography stretches back a decade (back in 2000, Hecker was recording under the alias Jetone), with numerous releases on Kranky, Room40, Mille Plateaux, Alien8, Staalplaat, Fat Cat, and Force Inc. Hecker is focused on "exploring the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody, fostering an approach to songcraft which is both physical and emotive." Performing at many international festivals (including Sónar and Mutek), creating sound installations and commissions for contemporary dance pieces, Hecker has sculpted a staple sound of provocative ambient, too intelligent to fall in the background. In a shadowy corner of the construction of this imaginary region, a distorted guitar attempts to break free of its chain-hold, only to be restrained with silenced and muffled with noise. The walls of this dwelling are thick and fuzzy, sometimes letting multiple tracks blend into each other seamlessly, until you arrive in a different place. "Borderland" rips through the constraints, like the shattered memory of a long loved melody, released in a solitary cell to bounce between the walls in a perpetual echo, crying on the final path of its demise. On "Utropics" a distant singing of haunting voices mesmerizes the mind until it is cut with another onslaught of wailing guitars and drifting mid-range saturations of "Paragon Point". From the label's press release we gather a few interesting notes: The title comes from a quote, "The imaginary country... one that cannot be found on a map," uttered by Debussy in regards to the sad state of musical affairs at the time, arguing that music was in dire need for alternate worlds of possibility. In some ways this is a utopian work, in the sense of the term meaning that of 'no-place'. All the tracks are landmarks in a dream cartography. Released on Chicago based Kranky, An Imaginary Country has already been hailed to critical acclaim, including a spot on Headphone Commute's Best of 2009 : Music For Bending Light And Stopping Time. Be sure to check out his previous release, Harmony In Ultraviolet (Kranky, 2006), as well as his collaboration with Aidan Baker, Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8, 2008). His 20-minute EP, Norberg (Room40, 2007) is also a worthy addition to anyone's collection. Recommended if you like Fennesz, Belong, Stars of The Lid, Loscil and Lawrence English.

At first it's hard, specially for the non technical to identify why this is truelly an evolution soundwise to his previous works, but when it "clicks" you find yourself in a very special spot. An Imaginary Country is a lovely and essential experience for all the open hearted sensitive minds in this world. Another remarkable accomplishment by one of the best if not the best in the genre. Bravo!

Sober and deliberate, Hecker's expansive, diffusive textures achieve a gorgeously dense "wall of sound" effect that devotees of Klaus Schulze will appreciate.

Hecker's drones produce a sense of perpetual harmonic instability within a musical environment that is both gargantuan and weightless. Highly evocative and impressive in its depth; a funeral pyre for an ancient sound.

Followers of Marsen Jules, William Basinski and Robert Henke take note.