Daikan

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Perhaps the true pioneer of the isolationist drone, Thomas Köner has been keeping a higher profile these past few years as one half of Porter Ricks, an excellent if typically-sounding Basic Channel/Chain Reaction rhythmic duo. But in the early nineties, he was hailed as one of the few new ambient musicians to truly expand on the ambient template of Brian Eno. With his remorselessly sedentary sound - the sound of glaciers barely creeping forward - he created masterpieces of gigantic aural loneliness. In his history of ambient music, 'Ocean of Sound', critic David Toop hailed Köner's work as "threshold recordings", music whose sources just can't be located, can't be pinned down.

The actual sources of these sounds, as presented on groundbreaking albums like 'Teimo' and 'Permafrost' (from 1992 and 1993), were gongs, contact microphones and studio processing. It is not evident what he is sourcing on 'Daikon'; it may very well be closely-miked, slowed-down gongs, or simply judiciously handled electronic devices. Either way, the single, fifty-five minute piece, originally commissioned as an installation piece in 1999, is a triumphant return to form, a beautifully desolate sound sculpture. This recording was made at the European Media Art Festival in Osnabrüch, Germany and was also awarded the "New Media Prize" in Montreal. Köner's own website describes 'Daikon' as "an ever evolving soundscape which is performed in a darkened space". Listening to the CD document in the darkness of your own home is highly recommended.