The North Water [Original Score]

by Tim Hecker

Overview

Tim Hecker's first original score was written for a five-part miniseries that centers around an Arctic whaling expedition, adapted from a 2016 novel by Ian McGuire. The show's producers couldn't have made a better decision when they hired Hecker to score the series, because his style fits perfectly with its premise. The music was recorded in multiple sessions with different musicians, and it draws from Hecker's usual palette of treated acoustic instruments and processed electronic drones. Eerie melodies surface among hazy clouds of distorted synths and bent notes, and it all flows like the rough push and pull of an unforgiving tide. Hecker does a brilliant job at replicating the uneasy tilt of a ship on rocky seas. There are parts where percussion throbs slightly out of time or the melodies seem a bit erratic, and it's all executed with precision so that it sounds a bit jarring, but not sloppy. On tracks like "Our First Whale," "The Warmth of Drax," and the gentle, guitar-based "A Breather," Hecker manages to create strange swerving and swooping noises that imitate whale calls, and it's hard to imagine the score succeeding without them. The atmosphere isn't just frigid and bleak either, as pieces like "It's a Mistake to Think Too Much" contain tender, sparkling melodies that signal beacons of hope in this long, perilous journey. "Twinkle in the Wasteland" is a particularly stunning combo of deep, diving cello arcs and distant, glimmering notes. The entire score is rich and inventive, and it manages to be one of Hecker's more accessible albums without altering or toning down his style in any way. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	02/04/2022
Label:	Invada / Lakeshore Records
UPC:	5051083173971
Rank:	249805

Tracks

1. Seasick
2. First on Deck
3. Delirious Hunt
4. Seasick II
5. Left on the Ice
6. Our First Whale
7. Ice Row
8. It's a Mistake to Think Too Much
9. The Warmth of Drax
10. Winter's Coming
11. Loot
12. A Breather
13. Seasick III
14. Twinkle in the Wasteland
15. Starting Over Again

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tim Hecker   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Electronics,Synthesizer
Joe Grass   Guitar
Stefan Schneider   Percussion
Liam O'Neill   Percussion
Thomas Beard   Cello
Pietro Amato   Piano

Technical Credits

Pietro Amato   Score Producer,Engineer
Paul Corley   Mixing
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh   Engineer
Austin Tufts   Engineer
James Trevascus   Mastering
Rena Kozak   Engineer
Nathan Salon   Mixing
Andrew Haigh   Cover Photo