Tim Hecker

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Canadian electronic musician, producer, and composer

title: "Tim Hecker" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1974-births", "living-people", "musicians-from-montreal", "musicians-from-vancouver", "canadian-ambient-musicians", "canadian-film-score-composers", "canadian-male-film-score-composers", "noise-musicians", "alien8-recordings-artists", "kranky-(record-label)-artists", "mille-plateaux-(record-label)-artists", "paper-bag-records-artists", "juno-award-for-electronic-album-of-the-year-winners"] description: "Canadian electronic musician, producer, and composer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hecker" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Canadian electronic musician, producer, and composer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameTim Hecker
imageTim Hecker - A-Visions 4 (4690826583).jpg
landscapeyes
captionHecker at a live performance
aliasJetone
birth_date
birth_placeVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
originMontreal, Quebec, Canada
genre{{flatlist
occupationComposer
instrumentElectronics
years_active1996–present
label{{flatlist
associated_actsBen Frost, Daniel Lopatin, Stan Douglas, Charles Stankievech, Jóhann Jóhannsson
website
::

| honorific_prefix = | name = Tim Hecker | image = Tim Hecker - A-Visions 4 (4690826583).jpg | landscape = yes | alt = | caption = Hecker at a live performance | birth_name = | alias = Jetone | birth_date = | birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | origin = Montreal, Quebec, Canada | genre = {{flatlist|

Tim Hecker (born July 17, 1974) is a Canadian electronic musician, producer, composer, and sound artist. His work, spanning albums such as Harmony in Ultraviolet (2006), Ravedeath, 1972 (2011) and Virgins (2013), has been widely critically acclaimed. He has released eleven albums and a number of EPs in addition to a number of film scores and collaborations with artists such as Arca, Ben Frost, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Daniel Lopatin, and Aidan Baker.

Biography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Tim_hecker_4.jpg" caption="Mutek]] Montréal in 2012."] ::

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Hecker is the son of two art teachers. During his high school years, he played in rock bands with friends, before acquiring a sampler and working on solo material. He moved to Montreal, Quebec in 1998 to study at Concordia University and explore his artistic interests further. He initially performed as a techno producer under the name Jetone, debuting in 1996. By 2001 he became disenchanted with the musical direction of the Jetone project. In 2001, Hecker released the album Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again, under his own name through the label Alien8. He followed with Radio Amor (2003) and Mirages (2004).

In 2006, he moved to Kranky where he released his fourth album Harmony in Ultraviolet. He subsequently incorporated the use of pipe organ sounds which were digitally processed and distorted. The album was called the 9th best ambient album of all time by Pitchfork. For the album Ravedeath, 1972 (2011), Hecker traveled to Iceland where together with Ben Frost, he recorded parts in a church. The album was awarded the Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year. In November 2010, Alien8 re-released Hecker's debut album on vinyl. His live performances contain improvisations by processing organ sounds that are manipulated, with great fluctuations in volume.

In 2012, Hecker collaborated with Daniel Lopatin (who also records as Oneohtrix Point Never) on an improvisatory project which became Instrumental Tourist. Following 2013's Virgins, Hecker returned to Reykjavík, Iceland for sessions in 2014 and 2015, to create what would become Love Streams. Collaborators include Ben Frost, Johann Johannsson, Kara-Lis Coverdale and Grimur Helgason, whilst the 15th century choral works by Josquin des Prez birthed the foundations of the album. In February 2016, it was announced that Hecker had signed with 4AD while Love Streams was released in April of that year.

In addition to touring with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós, and recording with the likes of Fly Pan Am, Hecker has also collaborated with the likes of Arca and Aidan Baker. He has also contributed remixes to other artists, including Ellen Allien, John Cale, Isis, and Interpol.

Art

Hecker occasionally makes sound installations and has collaborated with visual artists such as Stan Douglas and Charles Stankievech.

Hecker, along with other musicians Ben Frost, Steve Goodman (Kode9), Piotr Jakubowicz, Marcel Weber (MFO), and Manuel Sepulveda (Optigram), provided music for Unsound Festival's sensory installation, Ephemera.

Hecker composed the score for Damien Jalet's performance piece, Planet [wanderer].

Film

Hecker composed the score for 2016's The Free World, selected to be shown in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. He composed the score for BBC Two drama series The North Water directed by Andrew Haigh and based on Ian McGuire's novel of the same name.

Hecker also composed the score for the Austrian drama and horror film Luzifer, which won the Best Actor Award for Franz Rogowski at Fantastic Fest in 2021 and Best Actress Award for Susanne Jensen and Best Actor Award for Franz Rogowski at the 2021 Sitges Film Festival.

Hecker composed the score for Infinity Pool, the 2023 film by Canadian director Brandon Cronenberg, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Personal life

Hecker pursued a professional career outside music, working as a policy analyst for the Canadian Government in the early 2000s. After leaving his employment in 2006 he enrolled at McGill University to study for a PhD, with a thesis on urban noise that was published in 2014. He has also worked there as a lecturer in sound culture in the Art History and Communications department.

Hecker is a Buddhist and a former Catholic. He started studying Buddhism and practiced meditation in his studio during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discography

Main article: Tim Hecker discography

References

References

  1. "Tim Hecker".
  2. "Tim Hecker".
  3. "Tim Hecker".
  4. Rhoades, Lindsey. (April 29, 2016). "Tim Hecker Albums From Worst To Best". SpinMedia.
  5. (2022-04-07). "Arca shares new single and music video, 'Cayó': Watch".
  6. Christopher R. Weingarten. (October 10, 2013). "Tim Hecker: Attack of the Drones".
  7. Hampson, Simon. (March 3, 2007). "Tim Hecker interview".
  8. "Tim Hecker: Sculpting Sound and Emotion Through Sonic Experimentation". [[Waldorf Music]].
  9. "Tim Hecker – Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again".
  10. "Tim Hecker – Harmony In Ultraviolet".
  11. (September 26, 2016). "The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time - Page 5".
  12. (February 15, 2011). "Tim Hecker Talks Ravedeath, 1972 {{!}} Exclaim!".
  13. "Yearly Summary".
  14. "Tim Hecker – Haunt Me, Haunt Me Do It Again (vinyl 2010).".
  15. "Tim Hecker – Haunt Me".
  16. "RA: Tim Hecker: Imaginary countries".
  17. [http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17327-instrumental-tourist/ "Instrumental Tourist review"] Mark Richardson, 'Tim Hecker/Daniel Lopatin Instrumental Tourist review', ''Pitchfork'', November 30, 2012
  18. (April 8, 2016). "Tim Hecker - Love Streams - Review".
  19. (January 27, 2016). "Tim Hecker Announces New Album Love Streams".
  20. de Franchis, Vittoria. (February 2, 2016). "Tim Hecker joins 4AD and announces new album 'Love Streams' {{!}} Inverted Audio".
  21. Todd, Bella. (April 5, 2016). "Tim Hecker: 'I make pagan music that dances on the ashes of a burnt church'".
  22. "Fantasma Parastasie, by Aidan Baker And Tim Hecker".
  23. (April 12, 2012). "Tim Hecker: "Suffocation Raga for John Cale"".
  24. (2016-03-10). "Interpol Enlist Tim Hecker, Panda Bear, the Field, More for Remix LP".
  25. "Ellen Allien Taps Tim Hecker, Bodycode for Remix Comp {{!}} Exclaim!".
  26. "En/Of".
  27. "Loveland".
  28. "Ephemera".
  29. "Planet [wanderer]".
  30. (December 14, 2015). "Tim Hecker Scoring Jason Lew's 'The Free World'". Film Music Reporter.
  31. "Sundance Institute".
  32. (2021-09-09). "Tim Hecker Releasing Score for Colin Farrell–Starring TV Show The North Water".
  33. (2021-09-10). "The North Water". See-Saw Films, Rhombus Media, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
  34. "Fantastic Fest 2021: Franz Rogowski awarded Best Actor".
  35. "Festival Scope".
  36. "Sitges Fantastic Film Festival: Double win for LUZIFER".
  37. "Infinity Pool - IMDb".
  38. Lang, Brent. (2021-06-23). "Alexander Skarsgård Starring in Brandon Cronenberg's Sci-Fi Thriller 'Infinity Pool'".
  39. "Program Guide {{!}} 2023 Sundance Film Festival".
  40. [http://pitchfork.com/features/guest-lists/6469-tim-hecker/ "Guestlist on Pitchfork"] 'Guest Lists: Tim Hecker', ''Pitchfork Media'', October 27, 2006
  41. Currin, Grayson Haver. (2023-04-25). "Tim Hecker Helped Popularize Ambient Music. He's (Sort of) Sorry.". The New York Times.
  42. [http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/04/bring-the-noise-2/ "McGill Daily"] John Watson 'Bring the noise', ''The McGill Daily'', April 5, 2011
  43. Hecker, Timothy. (2014). "The era of megaphonics: on the productivity of loud sound, 1880–1930". McGill University.
  44. [http://thequietus.com/articles/08304-tim-hecker-interview "Quietus Interview"] Ryan Alexander Diduck 'Darkness More Than Anything: Tim Hecker Interviewed', ''The Quietus'', March 21, 2012

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1974-birthsliving-peoplemusicians-from-montrealmusicians-from-vancouvercanadian-ambient-musicianscanadian-film-score-composerscanadian-male-film-score-composersnoise-musiciansalien8-recordings-artistskranky-(record-label)-artistsmille-plateaux-(record-label)-artistspaper-bag-records-artistsjuno-award-for-electronic-album-of-the-year-winners