Tim Hecker – “Harmony in Ultraviolet” (2006)
Posted by (un)relaxeddad on February 28, 2007
“Harmony in Ultraviolet” was a record I seemed to have on repeat as I wandered around the weirdly space-station like corridors or Southport and Ormskirk Hospital whilst I waited for a close relation to die. Generally, this would be at around 11pm or 2am or so. No-one up but nurses traversing silently between wards and 
other relatives wrapped up in their anxious waits or quietly unfolding tragedies. It was a surprisingly peaceful time and “Harmony” is a surprisingly peaceful record for it’s genre (glitchy laptop/electronica). But it’s peaceful in the way that thunder or gunfire becomes peaceful when heard from the bottom of the ocean.
It’s not quite ambient – there’s too much going on just out of earshot and definite, though evolvingly iterative, melodies periodically emerge from the constantly unfurling reefs and shoals of sound. The sounds could be derived from densely layered guitars, church organ drones or pure white noise – the treatments dissolve them into taut washes that gradually build tension over three or four minutes then gently or suddenly dissolve into the next piece.
I could (unusually for a lot of music in this area) pick out individual tracks but the album works best consumed at one sitting. Closest thing I can think of is Eno’s “Day of Radiance” (which is a great listen in its own right, by the way).
You can find a couple of sample Mp3s at http://www.kranky.net/
