A beautiful expression of discipline and freedom by design, with darkness and unseen beauty of chaos, capturing us at visceral moments while deconstructing and reconstructing our mental awareness of the process.
Hecq‘s aptly titled Conversions—a homage to his peers, influences and friends—is a beautiful expression of discipline and freedom by design, with darkness and unseen beauty of chaos, capturing us at visceral moments while deconstructing and reconstructing our mental awareness of the process. A huge sailing mothership in dark space with mysteriously reassuring sirens engulfs our dark existence within emotionally reclaimed space. A play on both emotions and thoughtful re-engineered sound dynamics move us back to origins we thought abandoned. Hecq perfectly revisits the exciting and emotional sounds of good old drum’n bass, hardcore, breakbeat, noise, dubby atmospheres, techno spirits and even dubstep rhythms in a refreshing re-calling to all these profound expressions of hardcore genres from the reservoir of the past. There are moments that take us straight to the center where all the real fun is going on and where we are left hanging engaged in a lucid dream right on the edges. Capturing the essence in each of the original tracks, Hecq displays a level that shows us that no matter where we find ourselves, that the element of classical hardcore strength remains within us and its almost mature choice for people who aren’t afraid of the darkness. Hecq revisits and ignites that beautiful rage, even if sometimes elusively.
Conversions jumps comfortably between the above-mentioned elements—“Hawa” starts with a good old drum’n bass platform that sets a certain excitement for the album. “Verox” takes on a charging pose with dubstep footprints that lead us to epic sunrise moment where we stop to meditate before diving right back into the sequence. “10:30” engulfs dub-atmospherics and regulates the balance. “Godspeed” counts as the resurrection in the heart of this album, reconstructing the original track with its essential hardcore techno spirit. “Scheming” is like the deep digestion of all that is happening, internal peace with emotional ambient strength with no one but Lusine ICL sharing that message with us. “When the sky fell down” continues on with winds of ambient noise of a silent city before a yet another grey storm and the beauty of existence. “Thirteen Acres” is an action-filled suspense progression with continuous build up. “666 mph” is fun with exciting full beats slowly moving us into a bad-ass groove and smooth stick-to-your-guns spirit. “Final Sleep” rearranged beautifully to hauntingly soothing winds that carry us through. “Zum Greifin” is a perfect ending taking all that is and touching our neo-classical heart that strings the connection with beautiful existence, it is an emotional expression of all what the album is.
Hecq developed these (con)versions on a cosmic suspension giving the listener a substantial rearrangement to the dynamics with a consistently emotive drive. Not quite the driver, Hecq is one of the engineers that maintains musical structure, securing the space for the passengers to consume. Subtle changes with a wide range of lengthy dynamics, instrumentals and beautiful sampling, repetitive build-ups and texture plays a major role in shaping this album. An encompassing aural odyssey.
Conversions is available on Ad Noiseam.
