Interested in notions of surprise and abrupt change in sound, Florian Hecker was introduced to philosopher Quentin Meillassoux’s concept of hyperchaos and then set out to create new music exploring the idea. Tonight, Hecker performs Speculative Solution for the first time in the U.S.—a series of “micro-chronics,” or auditory sequences that range from extreme stasis to the most dynamic intensities.

Here is Hecker’s predicament: it may be impossible to create a rational presentation of hyperchaos because hyperchaos may not be experienceable. While any composition has a finite duration, “hyperchaos is a theory of time, a theory to show that time is not becoming,” as Meillassoux puts it, which we understand as a sort of continuity or reference to the infinite nature of the universe. And, achieving real disorder is impossible anyway, “because disorder is just another form of order than the one you expect,” where fast-moving sound is a cliché of randomness and merely another form of organization.

Hecker’s work offers audiences both theoretical underpinning and drop-dead digital disorientation.

Florian Hecker (b.1975, Augsburg, Germany) has presented his work internationally and extensively, including as part of The Morning Line, a new experimental project by Matthew Ritchie, Aranda/Lasch and Arup AGU, commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary. He has exhibited at Biacs3, Seville, Spain; Manifesta 7, South Tyrol, Italy, 2008; WDR, Cologne, Germany, 2007; Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria, 2007; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris, France, 2006; Casa Da Musica, Porto, Portugal, 2005; Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, 2003; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, 2002; Royal Festival Hall, London, UK, 2002; and La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 2001. Publications include ars viva 07/08—Sound, Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI, Frankfurt, 2007. In addition, he has an extensive discography including Haswell and Hecker, Blackest Ever Black, CD, Warner Classics, 2007, recorded during their research with the UPIC system at the Centre de Création Musicale Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX) in Paris. He also works closely with visual artists, including Angela Bulloch, Carsten Höller, Florian Pumhösl and Cerith Wyn Evans. He has performed frequently with Aphex Twin. Hecker lives in Vienna, Austria and Kissing, Germany.

Hecker performed at Lampo in October 2006, when he presented a new six-channel work—a hybrid of his artificial neural network piece and other material that later became Acid in the Style of David Tudor (eMego 2009). In November 2002 Hecker and Yasunao Tone premiered Palimpsest at Lampo, in the duo’s first U.S. appearance. Hecker also presented his solo work Stocha Acid Vlook.

Presented in partnership with the Graham Foundation