Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
There’s a dank haze that emanates from James McKeown’s latest outing as Hawksmoor. After a couple immense and Komische/Berlin School-heavy records with the great Soul Jazz Records -plus an amazing collaboration with Ivan The Tolerable- Hawksmoor has returned to the crypt of Library of the Occult for Yclept Thorn. This is no ordinary electronic folk […]
Read More Hawksmoor : Yclept ThornJames McKeown, the musical wizard behind Hawksmoor, travels in historied musical backroads. The sounds he creates and puts together on records like Methods Of Dreaming, On Prescription, Telepathic Heights, and Oneironautics feel like lost treasures of the past. Bringing to mind everyone from Pink Floyd to Kraftwerk to Cluster to Alan Parsons. He works in […]
Read More Hawksmoor : An Aesthetic – Experiments in TapeIt’s been a few years since I’ve sat down to do a mid-year album review for Complex Distractions. Not sure why I’ve let that go by the way side. Granted, it’s a lot of work for me. Making lists the old fashioned way, by pen and paper; ranking albums in accordance to my adoration and […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2023(Mid-Year Edition)James McKeown’s electronic music project Hawksmoor goes deep. McKeown’s sound is dense, heady, and pulls from the best that the early German electronic scene had to offer. Combining the warmth of analog via Moogs, Modular synthesis, guitar, and bass with a rhythmic backbone that feels more implied through mood, Hawksmoor makes the kind of music […]
Read More Hawksmoor : Telepathic HeightsThese lists, as much as I enjoy putting them together, have become harder and harder to do. I never was much into ranking albums. I can talk about how much I love a record till I’m blue in the face, but putting them in some numerical order from loved to most loved is just a […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of 2022 Part IV(10-1)It’s been quite the year for music, hasn’t it? There hasn’t been a shortage of great albums to hit my ears, which only makes the year-end that much harder. The favorite lists are a labor of love, at least to me. It’s a time to go back and revisit what I’ve heard and then narrow […]
Read More Long Story Short : Burial Grid, Rupert Lally, Hawksmoor, Camp Of WolvesMusician James McKeown, better known in the heady electronic music world as Hawksmoor, has put out some of the most forward thinking and far out heavy synth albums in the last couple years. Albums like Methods Of Dreaming, On Prescription, as well as his collaboration with The Heartwood Institute Concrete Island have demonstrated McKeown’s knack […]
Read More Hawksmoor : Head CoachHello all. It’s been a minute since I’ve posted one of these ‘Long Story Short’ posts where I cover an album in a paragraph or two. Gotta be honest, there’s just so much coming my way it’s hard to keep up. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I’d say that’s a good thing […]
Read More Long Story Short : Dark Sines, Ivan The Tolerable, Concrete Island, MyrnaJames McKeown has a knack for visceral sound worlds when releasing music as Hawksmoor. Albums like Methods Of Dreaming, On Prescription, and Concrete Island which he released in collaboration with The Heartwood Institute(all released via Spun Out Of Control) are sonic delicacies for the ears. Analog synths combined with electric bass and just an overwhelming […]
Read More Hawksmoor Returns With Darkly Lit ‘Saturnalia’ Out 2/4; Listen To Title TrackI’ve done the calculations, I’ve handwritten lists, I’ve got ink on my hands, and I’ve done the proper contemplating over coffees and beers. It felt as if there weren’t as many “big names” dropping LPs in 2021. Or maybe I just don’t really care about “big names” anymore. I like what I like, and it […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents Top 30 Albums Of 2021 : 30-21