Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin - Instrumental Tourist
An icy collaborative effort from experimental heavyweights Hecker and Lopatin
An icy collaborative effort from two experimental heavyweights, Instrumental Tourist melds Tim Hecker’s distinctive digital decay with Daniel Lopatin’s (Oneohtrix Point Never) transcendent synths. The aptly titled opener ‘Uptown Psychedelia’ sets the cruise control, blending Terry Riley-esque key progressions with crumbling laptop electronics not far removed from Hecker’s Ravedeath, 1972.
It’s a strange merger of something earthily and eerily familiar being defragged in a dystopian headspace – as heard with the torn up jazz keys on ‘GRM II’ or the soothing spectral instances on the record’s highlight, ‘Ritual for Consumption’. It’s a retrogressive delight, but it truly hits the mark when the performers allow each other a bit of breathing space.