by Tim Hecker
Tim Hecker Love Streams (PBS feature record)
On his eighth long player Love Streams Canadian composer Tim Hecker explores the frontier of sound art and classical composition. Through a synthesis of electronic experimentation and traditional instrumentation – including the voices of the Icelandic Choir Ensemble – Hecker weaves rich audio collages laced with elaborate detail. Despite the earnest exploratory nature of his work, Hecker clearly has a sense of humour and maintains a playfulness on Love Streams, apparently inspired by ideas of “transcendental voice in the age of auto-tune” and the 15th century scores of composer Josquin des Prez. Love Streams balances dream-like melodies with drone soundscapes and harsh noise to deliver an immersive and colourful experience that is equal parts accessible and confrontational.
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Bombino Azel (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
Four thousand years of living in a hostile environment taught the Tuareg that the will to survive with dignity intact is stronger than any external threat. Bombino puts that sentiment to music, writes its anthem, and gives it a life of its own. He is known as being emblematic of the next generation of Tuareg, a new voice of the Sahara and Sahel, fusing traditional Berber rhythms with the energy of rock and roll and songs about peace. After thirty years of drought, rebellion, and tyranny, Bombino extols his audience to remember who they are, but also realize who they can be.
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