Tim Hecker shares "Keyed Out," announces 2019 US shows

Ambient musician Tim Hecker is releasing his new album Konoyo on September 28 via Kranky, and following lead single “This Life,” he has now released the nearly-10-minute “Keyed Out.” Tim often makes ambient music that’s harsh rather than meditative, and this song is a great example of that. It’s got an uneasy feeling to it, with clashing, chaotic noises that threaten to turn into an unorganized mess, but Tim always brings it back down to earth before that can happen. Here’s what he says about it:

The track was written over several sessions and finished in a small temple on the outskirts of Tokyo, during one of our initial trips to record with Motonori. I wanted to resist the temptation to overload the music with layers and layers of hyper-edited texture, as if that would help the piece become more whole. The song is a lonely deteriorating synth line, refracted and isolated, played alongside a small court music ensemble on what was a crisp birdsong-filled November morning.

Tim Hecker also announced 2019 US shows supporting the album with The Konoyo Ensemble. The shows “will feature traditional Japanese Gagaku musicians on the shō, ryuteki and hichiriki in synergy with his own explorations of noise, dissonance, and melody, creating a hybrid of electronic abstraction and otherworldly minimalism, alternately heavy and gentle.”

Tim plays NYC on February 18 and 19 at National Sawdust (tickets), immediately followed by LA shows on February 22 & 23 at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (tickets). All dates are listed below.

Tim Hecker — 2018/2019 Tour Dates
October 2 – Tokyo, WWWX
October 6 – London, Barbican Centre
October 4 – Lisbon, Culturgest
October 7 – Krakow, Unsound Festival
October 9 – Berlin, Funkhaus
February 18 – New York, National Sawdust (Early Show)
February 19 – New York, National Sawdust
February 22 – Los Angeles, Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
February 23 – Los Angeles, Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery