Decisives Forms comprises the murmur of distant turbulence, remote starburts, the closer click of a switch at the interface between barely perceptible hum and a sterile silence. Around midway through its 43 minutes, a weightier swell and then a layered chug are heard when the switch permits.
—The Wire, UK
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Already renowned for his exploration of extreme low requencies, Decisive Forms sees LINE label boss Richard Chartier work with a series of sounds that barely exist at all. Even when the volume is turned up high, the hiss of the speakers drowns out the recording (as does the hum of the hard drive as i write this). It’s hard to say exactly how this makes for the decisive forms of the title, although it’s an oddly bewitching piece of music. The main unifying element is an almost inaudible powerline-type drone that lurks at the lowest end of the frequency range. Only arriving several minutes into the record, it gives the creepy impression of having been dormant for some time. It slowly builds in intensity over the course of the CD’s 42 minutes so that its presence becomes evident, but in the sense that a person’s presence can exist solely in the sound of footsteps on the floor above. its form remains elusive. Extreme high pitch tones lurk in the shadows, wraith-like and almost as indetectable as the drone itself. odd as it may seem, I increasingly find these ultra-minimal exercises to be as expressive and lucid as anythign else currently operating. Mysterious and involving.
—Grooves Magazine, US
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I bet Richard Chartier was the kid who used the white crayon… on white paper; his newest microscopic endeavor sometimes slips into states of apparent nonexistentialism… One 43-minute piece, decisive forms is not something you so much set down to listen to, as something you’re actively (though (quietly) challenged to become involved with. If you’ve the tenacity (and a quality soundsystem in a peaceful space) you most likely will become involved. Low (in volume, and tone) rumbles seep into existence and drift further into and out of hearing range; sometimes laced with arrythmic pops these droning waves recede as much as they flow. If you “cheat” (like I did, turning it waaay up), every so often your woofers will really get the dust shaken off them as unexpected surges do occur. After some twenty minutes, one begins to hear something more layered, rippling… or is it a mirage for the ears? Periodic sub-bass gusts blurt out with tenuous accompaniment hanging like scraps of atom-thin gauze until a mechanized thrumming asserts its powers. Those more mechanical essences drift toward a fade, as heartbeat-like pips expire into oblivion. Listening to the microcosmic 8.5 abstractions of decisive forms is comparable to examining a white crayon/white paper masterpiece… it may intially seem as if there’s “not much” there, but upon close observation, much artistry is revealed; it’s up to you to discover it and decide what it is.
—Ambientrance, US
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Well, it seems that electronic music is entering a new stage with this work by Richard Chartier. One track of 43 minutes he gives us, and I think this piece can be considered the best Chartier has given us so far. It combines all the qualities that he is known for, but adds new directions. The richness of this work, in all its aspects , is simply overwhelming. The structure, the sounds, their layering, everything has been done with utmost care and concentration. It is defenitely no use trying to describe the piece. It is too rich for that. Instead let me tell you that it sucks you in from the beginning and doesn’t let go untill the end. A totally mesmerizing experience and totally rewarding as well. I was thinking about the way to describe the piece in a few words, but all I can come up with is that it is something like a symphony, divided into several parts with their own atmosphere and ambience, but strongly connected by material and structure. Is this symphonic minimalism? Ah, who cares about terms anyway. This is truly one of the best CD’s of this year.
—Vital Weekly, The Netherlands
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Chartier is a formalist, and his latest work, Decisive Forms, is a pinnacle in the continued refining of his aesthetic. His teaming up with Bernhard Gunter’s label is perfect.. as the label is known for having a devoted following. Chartier, who also works in abstract painting, has created his most “painterly” work to date with Decisive Forms.
—URB Magazine, US
