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¥772 hecq. steeltongued. 2cd. april2k9

tracklist cd1:

tracklist cd2:

packaging: deluxe 6-panel digipak. design by christopher hewitt

after finishing the well received 'night falls', ben lukas boysen's ambition for the next album was to be a desideratum's compliance: the improvement of hecq's sound, and moving forward into something boysen
defines as an 'emotional destillate'. the tracks 'typhon' and 'steeltongued', written in 2007 and 2008, provide the blueprint for this cd. working as a sound designer for various companies, he presented earlier versions of the tracks and was met with success. these tracks show a non-confined structure but also including a sort of leitmotif and so these titles are perfectly suited for this ambition. in addition they work as a basis for collaborations and remixes.the hypnos trilogy (tracks 10 to 12) is hecq's dedication to the state of stasis. in his own words, 'distant fires' describes a gaze which travels into a distance uncertain; 'lost for words' leads the listener into a state of cogitation - while 'hypnos' allegorizes a slowly constitutive wall of suspense that trickles away in the end... a masterpiece of dark symphonic ambiance, intended for continuous, repeated intense listening.

in hecq's opinion the importance of the tracks on cd1 lies in the skilful omission of the insignificant. although complex abstract rhythmic textures predominate during tracks 2 to 9 no 'scrolls' blocks the essence. after the majestic 'spires awake', the listener will be trapped in an extensive blend of idm, breakbeats, and even breakcore, complemented with the infusion of nebulo's mighty dark soundscapes and nongenetic's modified voice.it was well proposed by boysen to choose the cd's title track to be remixed by a wide variety of artists. he sees 'steeltongued' as representative of hecq's work, so he was most curious about the
results - the more contrast, the better, as he explains. so he formally prevented any suggestions or briefings, and thus cd2 can be virtually seen as an album on its own. ranging from melodic sequenced beats
(xabec), clicks'n'cuts emerging into a noise outburst (spyweirdos), syncopated intelligent breaks (skam label's team doyobi), to intricate sub-bassed electronica (si begg, ex-funkstörung's michael fakesch) and
alienated dubstep (disscoxx), this addendum displays the versatile facets of the possibilities hecq's work imply. once again b. boysen is setting the pace. have a deep listen!

and do not miss hecq's live presentation on may 1st at maria am ostbahnhof, berlin feat. end.user, cardopusher, the teknoist and more!

vital weekly
benny boysen was a quite young composer when he had his first album released back in 2003. it was the album titled "dried youth". since then his popularity has been growing with every new album he has released. through out his explorations as hecq, benny boysen has demonstrated his skills both as a creator of complex rhythm textures and as a creator of atmospheric soundscapes. first of all he has composed ambient-based idm-works but in 2008 he released his first album exclusively ambient-album dedicated to the world of electronic ambience, the astonishing "night falls". that mr. boysen is a gifted composer is revealed on his musical curriculum vitae, proving that hecq has been used as sound designer for companies such as toyota, nike and sony just to name a few. despite his appeal to the mainstream and wider world of consumption, hecq still manage to stay on a uncompromising line of composing. the music on this latest effort from the german composer remains experimental and curious in its approach to electronic music. in fact present album contains some of the most abrasive works of hecq. the main part of the album takes a step away from the gentle and listen-friendly approach of hecq towards more chaotic textures of rhythmic complexity. hence to the aforementioned skills, benny boysen does well on that account, but the most alluring character of "steeltongued" is the span of electronic expression from the demanding first part of the album to the beautiful and deep trilogy "hypnos i - iii". the three intersections of hypnos gives a wink towards the previous ambient-exlusive album of hecq, "darkness falls", but also to the style of u.s.-based deep ambient-label hypnos. the bonus disc with twelve
different interpretations of the title track, only adds to the fact that this is another fine effort from benny boysen alias hecq. (nm)

a review in russian language can be found on the machinist's webpage:
http://www.machinistmusic.net/reviews/hecq2cd2009.html

gothtronic
http://www.gothtronic.com/?page=23&reviews=6015
after the succesful night falls ambient album ben lukas boysen had to decide to again reset his beacons. it took a while before he found out how to further improve the sound of hecq. with the creation of the tracks ‘typhon’ and ‘steeltongued’ boysen however refound a base on which to build further. the result is an album one could best divide into three sections. after the spherical and majestic sounding intro ‘spires awake’ the listener gets invited to 8 tracks which each feature a impressive rich sound spectrum consisting of rhythmic complex textures and abundant use of electronic styles like idm, breakbeats and even breakcore. this is followed by the ‘hypnos’ triptych that consists of carefully constructed ambient which guarantees an intense listening experience. on a second disc boysen has had the ‘steeltongued’ track remixed by a wide array of electronic artists where subgenres like ambient, click ‘n cuts, noise, dubstep and idm are used by a.o. xabec, spyweirdos, raoul sinier, mothboy, blackfilm and disscoxx. the end result is a special double album that stresses the diversity and versatility of hecq’s outstanding electronic music. (teknoir)

headphone commute
http://reviews.headphonecommute.com/2009/05/30/hecq-steeltongued-hymen/
hecq… have you heard? if you haven’t, it’s time to jump on board. and by the way, you’re missing out! after all, this is hecq’s sixth full length release (fifth on hymen records). dare i say it the following way : with steeltongued, hecq surpasses the leaders in electronic experimentation, autechre, leaving them in the dust to scratch their heads in awe of this twenty-seven year old berlin based musician. like a villain of traumatized sonic disintegration, ben lukas boysen unwinds the tight coils of sound into distinct entities of material forms and packs them away into carefully allotted spacial frequency shelves. i did not bring up autechre for mere name dropping. i clearly remember the very first time i heard the decomposition of sound in the booth & brown’s track vose in on lp5, (warp, 1998).  i will never forget. not one release in the last decade has stopped my breath with the penetrating thought of “what the hell was that?“. in the last years, steps have been taken to evolve the sound and build upon the solid foundation, with only autechre occasionally in the lead, piercing the darkness of uncharted territory. they are always allowed. because, frankly, they are autechre, right? the one falling in their footsteps is always behind. apprentice to a skilled magician. then… boom! … hecq. i don’t know how lappersdorf (germany) based hymen records had discovered boysen [that surely deserves an interview question], but when they did, they have struck gold. quickly demonstrating his abilities with scatterheart (hymen, 2004) and bad karma (hymen, 2005), boysen has landed a coveted spot on a limited hymen boxset, travel sickness (hymen, 2006), with a mini-ep along with the releases by lusine icl, solar x, lowfish, venetian snares, psi spy, snog, the manhattan gimp project and mad ep. mmmm. my copy still smells like cedar… delicious. boysen’s fourth album, 0000 (hymen, 2007) made my best of 2007 list, and in 2008… well… i have lost the words with night falls (see my previous review). so what to expect with steeltongued? twisted rhythms swirling around your brain like an inhaled sip of wine and a gulped breath of smoke. divine soundscapes crawling beneath the barbed wire of the restraining acoustic prison, begging to rather be shot in the back then remain draining their minimalism onto the cold surface of tears and blood. i will survive, bounces the reverse reverbed voice of nongenetic, late for my funeral, rather be buried alive… then destruction and mayhem… then silence… frost… and the hypnos trilogy of tracks. well, that’s just gorgeous… this double disk release features twelve remixes of steeltongued from an eclectic group of friends and collaborators, including spyweirdos, si begg, black film, and team doyobi among the many. words are too limited and gentle to describe the range of emotions evoked by steeltongued. the album is a trip and an unforgettable experience. that one memento that will stay with you for years to come. that one beautiful moment of “what the hell was that?“

a review in greek language can be found on postwave.gr webpage:
http://www.postwave.gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1387&itemid=19

cuemix
http://www.cuemix-magazine.com/cuemix/inhalt.php?image=1167
after his groundbreaking album called “night falls” ben lukas boysen aka heq returns with a new milestone called “steeltongued”. a double album representing a dark symphony in twelve chapters and twelve remix versions on the second disc of the title track done by twelve different artists. ben is a genius sound designer who owns the nonesuch talent to tell stories with his sounds. he doesn’t need words to explain his world; his unique and mighty cinematic tracks disperse never felt before moods and unseen pictures in your brain. “steeltongued” is the next stage in heq’s career, an honest album that doesn’t need to be explained. this music can be felt with each nerve of your body – dreamy, dark, symphonic, rhythmic and deep. the music owns energy and aplomb. it’s like being alone in the darkest place on this world and someone tells you to close your eyes and take his hand to follow him into the dark. a wonderful album that owns an indescribable atmosphere – i am really running out of words for this nonesuch masterpiece. the remix versions of the title track are unique and wonderful interpretations of artists who seem to feel the same like i did. trust heq and follow him into a new world! an essential album that will change your notion of sound, music and storytelling. 100% approvable – and beauty of the month.

the silent ballet
http://www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/reviews/tabid/54/ctl/details/mid/438/itemid/2467/default.aspx
the quality of work by artists that release too much material tends to suffer, and while that isn't really the case with berlin-based ben lukas boysen (hecq), it wouldn't be unfair to say that as fascinating or groundbreaking his work might be, it is also uneven.steeltongued is boysen's sixth album in the last seven years and much like his previous releases, it reveals itself to be the work of one of the most promising contemplative electronica artists today. after six albums, one would have thought that hecq would have moved beyond the "promising artist" categorization, but the many moments of genius found in steeltongued don't always add up. his previous effort, night falls, where spooky lynch-ian atmospheres alternated with stripped-to-the-bone, decomposing melodic pieces, was one of last year's best, and this album continues from where that one left off. in the first cd, which includes mostly original material, hecq doesn't deviate much from his signature sound, except for the fact that his sound is a bit rougher. the breathtaking dark ambient of "spires awake", where boysen turns the volume up, and then down at the least expected moment, immerses us in a world of doom from which there is no escape. while "i will survive", featuring rapper nongenetic, feels completely out of place and almost ruins the album, boysen's sound gradually evolves into a tortured form of breakcore (with "howler" the most characteristic example), bringing to mind the kind of music one would imagine venetian snares making if he suffered from catholic guilt. the first cd closes with the three-part "hypnos", where hecq returns to what he does best: creating atmospheres that are serene on the surface, but infest the listener's dreams with the most unsettling of images. steeltongued oozes talent, but what makes the first cd uneven is the fact that it lacks direction. it isn't uncommon for artists to write heterogeneous music, and that is certainly not what bothered me. the problem is that it often feels like a compilation of leftovers - and it is possible that that is exactly what it is, considering the quantity of work released by boysen in recent years. every artist has the right to experiment, and boysen does that a lot as well. as interesting as his experiments may be, he often falls flat on his face. his attempts at breakcore struggle to breathe and feel incomplete, and as i have already mentioned, the album would have been much better without the hip-hop "i will survive". it isn't necessarily bad, but it pulls you out of the album's flow in the most violent way. living in the digital age has made the order in which we listen to music pretty much irrelevant, but instrumental music requires a certain mindset in order to fully appreciate, and that's one thing hecq fails to accomplish in the first cd. there are still many moments of brilliance, but if i had to compare it to another album, that would be venetian snares' rossz csillag alatt szuletett, not because they belong to the same genre (they don't, despite the many similarities), but because they lack the focus that would make it all worth listening. the second cd includes remixes of the track "steeltongued", and since i did not have any of the above expectations for this cd, i couldn't help but enjoy the wonderful job many of the remixers do at deconstructing it and giving it their own personal touch. it is easily one of the best compilation albums i have heard recently, bringing together some of the most prolific minds of the dark ambient scene that varies significantly in sound, but has so much to offer. raoul sinier turns it into a nearly perfect, majestic piece where every note feels in the right place.blackfilm's contribution stands out for its metronomic industrial beat and could have fit beautifully in last year's self-titled album.tobias lilja provides a nemeth-like, slowly but sneakily developing masterpiece, while xabec's remix brings to mind future sound of london circa lifeforms, with some hints of banco de gaia. there are quite a few duds as well, but the quality of the second cd is very high. and despite its many faults, steeltongued is one of those albums that make experimental music so much more interesting than anything else. (john kontos)

hecq discography. 04.2009:
a dried youth. cd. kaleidoskop kal003. 2003
scatterheart. cd. hymen records ¥742. 2004
bad karma. cd. hymen records ¥748. 2005
0000. cd. hymen records ¥758. 2007
zetha. 12". onpa 003. 2007
night falls. cd. hymen records ¥767. 2008
golden pines. cd-r. binkcrsh bk039. 2008
steeltongued. 2cd. hymen records ¥772. 2009

ben lukas boysen sound design:

meetings and lectures: bd4d (london), offf (lisboa), flash on the beach (brighton)...

customers and agencies: 1st ave machine (u.s.a), wieden + kenedy (uk), scholz + friends (germany), markenfilm berlin (germany), peppermellon (argentina), digital kitchen (u.s.a.), dixonbaxi (uk), sehsucht (germany), troublemakers.tv (france)...

brands: leica, mtv, bbc, audi, nike, 55dsl, discovery channel, bentley, sony, toyota, xbox....

hecq webpages:
www.hecq.de
www.myspace.com/hecq
www.virb.com/hecq

remixers' webpages:
nongenetic www.myspace.com/nongenetic
nebulo www.myspace.com/nebulo
xabec www.xabec.com
tobias lilja www.tobiaslilja.com
spyweirdos www.spyweirdos.com
raoul sinier www.raoulsinier.com
si begg www.sibegg.com
ultre www.ultre.co.uk
mothboy www.myspace.com/simonmothboy
michael fakesch www.michaelfakesch.com
blackfilm www.blackfilm.ca
team doyobi www.teamdoyobi.com
disscoxx www.myspace.com/mariusreisser
el fog www.myspace.com/elfog