Hecker

DJ/Producer Florian Hecker's releases under his own name contain some of the most subtle, nebulous computer music to issue from the extended group of artists associated with the Vienna-based Mego label. Similar to colleagues such as Peter Rehberg, Christian Fennesz, and Farmers Manual, Hecker utilizes the computer as a means to new compositional strategies, leaving behind standard musical structures and seeking out unusual timbral and textural effects through primarily, sometimes exclusively, digital means. Born in Augsburg, Germany in 1975, Hecker's C.V. includes live performances with many of the aforementioned artists, as well as with Tony Conrad, Gerhard Potuznik, Ramon Bauer, and Jim O'Rourke. Hecker's first solo release appeared in 1998 via Mego; the IT ISO161975 CD was a vague scuffle of digital processing, and among the labels' most obscure and inferential releases to date. Hecker followed that release up in 1999 with a release for the Or label's CD-R series, Made to Order. (Or also released Farmers Manual's Explorers_We in 1998.) Titled [OT] xackpy breakpoint, the Or release rehashed elements of the Mego CD while adding a bit of movement and energy. In addition to his solo releases, Hecker is also a member of cd_slopper, a collaborative project with Oswald Berthold of Farmers Manual. Sun Pandämonium from 2003 received the award of distinction at the Prix Ars Electronica — the "International Competition for CyberArts" — that year. In 2006, Recordings for Rephlex appeared on none other than the Rephlex label. The passing years saw Hecker in a tireless state of recording and performing, often working with sound installations in galleries, museums, and spaces outside of typical music performance venues. His work branched out to include elements of noise, techno and musique concrète. Some standout releases in a lengthy discography include multiple collaborations with like-minded sound artist Russell Haswell, including 2007's Blackest Ever Black, recordings for Warp, and a remix of kosmiche masters Popol Vuh in 2008. Hecker worked with conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans on an experimental opera entitled No Day No Night, which was shown as part of the 2009 Venice Biennale. Hecker's collaboration with Iranian philosopher Reza Negarestani resulted in a string of releases, including 2012's Chimerization and the dense, skittering electronics of 2014's Articulação.