SOGAR
STYLUS (CA)
SOGAR:
ARTIST OF THE MONTH, MARCH 2003
by Michael Heumann
Sogar
is Jürgen Heckel, an experimental electronic artist who
was born in 1970 in Nürnberg, Germany and currently resides
in Paris. Heckel began his musical career as a guitarist for
various experimental musical groups in Germany and France—you
know, the noise, feedback kinds of groups that we all know and
love. It didn't take long before Heckel became more interested
in the sounds produced from this style of music than from the
music itself. He became fascinated in the many sounds that burp
and creep from the wires, cables, mixing boards, and other residue
of electrical appliances. Why, he must have asked, is electrical
noise produced from a guitar considered music and electrical
noise produced from a loose electrical connection not? Why can't
the latter be noise?
The latter question is at the heart of Sogar's music, a music
that is rapidly becoming essential listening for electronic
music fans. Heckel's three full-length works—2001's Basal
(on 12k), 2002's Stengel (on List), and 2003's Apikal Blend
(again on 12k)—all take as their base matter the noises
of electricity. These noises are then culled, separated, reprocessed,
and reimagined by Heckel's adept mind into a magical array of
shifting patterns and surreal soundscapes.
Basal , his first release, is the quietest of his works, and
follows (to some extent) the 12k musical fusion of aberrant
noise and esoteric harmonies familiar to those who have heard
this great label's other releases (by the likes of 0/R, Motion,
Taylor Deupree, and Shuttle358). The snaps and sparks of electricity
are manipulated, in this work, into rather elegiac shapes. What
I hear on this disk is the work of an artist who is trying,
like a Zen gardener, to prune and order a chaotic sea of sound
into something beautiful and interesting.
Stengel , the second release and the first for the new French
label List, is a work of apprehension, paranoia, fear, decay,
distrust, and confusion. It's wonderful. The work is saturated
with odd sound combinations that are ground into each other,
churned around, and then repeated again and again—all while
a piercing, wailing hiss screams silently in the background.
Finally, Apikal Blend , the latest and best Sogar work, is a
haunting melody of textures, rhythms, and energy that is as
accessible as anything on the 12k label and is the equal of
such essential works as Fennesz's Endless Summer and Random
Inc.'s Jerusalem: Tales from Outside the Framework of Orthodoxy
. The structure is the same as earlier disks: Heckel pulls out
the discarded aberrant noises of everyday life and culls them
into an aesthetic whole. However, unlike Basal and Stengel ,Apikal
Blend manages to transform that electrical storm into a eerily
enticing, entirely appealing collection of tunes that add some
pop and groove to the cascade of hisses and sputters.
What's next for Sogar? Anything, really. Apikal Blend was released
on 12k in January, and I'm sure he's busy creating a follow-up
(if, indeed, it isn't already finished—Heckel does not
seems to lack for inspiration). Will the follow-up be as good?
Who can say? However, I wouldn't bet against him. He's an incredibly
talented artist, one who has managed, in three works, to define
a very direct, very intelligent aesthetic, an aesthetic that
is founded on the simple notion that music is defined not by
the artist but by the listener. To listen to noise and to hear
music is the gift of a good listener: someone willing to pay
attention, to listen to things no one else can hear, and to
point out these sounds to others, so others can enjoy and appreciate
what you've discovered. Here's hoping that Jürgen Heckel
remains a good listener for years to come.
Quick Facts:
Location: Paris, France
Style: Experimental electronic music
Instruments: Computer, guitar, cables, aberrant noise,
mixing boards
Labels appeared on: 12k, List
Starting Point: Basal
Essential: Apikal Blend
