Previously known for his use of frequencies so delicate that even headphones don’t adequately render them, Richard Chartier has steadily been building his albums into denser propositions. But he hasn’t given up on the minimalist agenda. On the exemplary Incidence, Chartier continues to crack the monochromatic surfaces of his sounds with subtle compositional gestures that deftly turn his work away from the clinical and towards the paranoiac. The album starts with a focused hiss of white noise that succumbs to a low-end rumble, like idling heavy machinery rattling architectonic forms. A chorus of acute frequencies and a slow motion current of grey sound steadily build over the course of 15 to 20 minutes. The interaction of each layer of sustained sound makes Incidence compelling, and one of Chartier’s finest works.
—Wire, UK
+
Richard Chartier is undoubtedly one of the most respected artists in his genre of work and his output is never anything less than completely compelling. His recent run of more soundscape driven, ambient works has pleased these ears on many occasions (yes, I’m still listening toTracing on an almost daily basis!) and I’m glad to report that this release for Raster Noton follows a similar path. Incidence has no overriding concept… it merely exists as a stunning piece of textured sound that will draw you in and keep you listening all the way through. Definitely not as quiet as some of his other work, this is a powerful composition that uses deep, spacey sounds and intricate shifts to convey a sense of isoltion and loneliness as well as his trademark high frequencies and static hiss. Essentially it’s a beautiful, challenging and spacious work that comes highly recommended for fans of Raster, Richard or, to be honest, ambient music in general. Superb.
—Smallfish, UK
+
In many ways, the work of Richard Chartier is anathema to the aesthetic course embraced by Aquarius Records. It can’t be tangentially connected to the expanding definitions of metal, and only liminally parallels the feral dronecore of Birchville Cat Motel and the Double Leopards. It doesn’t lend itself to ridiculous ruminations on the artifice of memory and loss, or any hyperbolic rhetoric for that matter. It’s hard even to call this type of work beautiful as the rigor embedded into the process is attuned to an cold sterility rather than an aspirations for aesthetic transcendence. Thus, Chartier’s work simply is what it is: a pure manifestation of sound elegantly moving through time with a highly refined sensibility for the subtle transition. The simple perfection from the minimalist ethos is difficult to champion as the manifestations are hardly theatrical enough to warrant any of the marketing strategies listed above to make most people jump up and down; but here we are, announcing that Richard Chartier has crafted an exquisite album, one that may be his finest recordings to date. Incidence is a vacuum of external references, beginning and ending with the same hissing static. Chartier plunges the album into a series of interlocking subsonic frequencies. While these frequencies were never intended to achieve the heaviosity of SUNNO))) or Earth, Chartier’s understanding of psychoacoustic principles actualizes an impressively claustrophobic display of blackened tones. As Chartier introduces a simple half-step melody against these extended drone vibrations, his work opens a small referential window towards the grim isolationism of Thomas Koner or BJ Nilsen. Time manages to stand still on the best of Chartier’s work, and at over an hour in length, Incidence is over before you know it. Very, very well done.
—Aquarius Records, US
+
A good majority of Richard Chartier’s work is predicated on the notion of silence and space. However, he recently has made forays into more audible territory through collaborations with William Basinski and Taylor Deupree. Incidence follows suit from his more recent recordings of the past two years: 2005’s Tracing and 2006’s limited release Levels (Inverted). Presented at the Raster-Noton essential listening room at 2006’s Sonar festival, Incidence starts with a low pulsating tone and gradually expands into a drone that lasts for the remaining 50 plus minutes of the composition. He abandons his safe harbor and adopts a new sonic vocabulary that, like the majority of his work, is highly unique. It may not be Chartier’s most groundbreaking work but at least he’s constantly evolving and escaping pigeonholes, something so many artists in the electronic world fail to do.
—allmusic.com
+
Every Richard Chartier release is a thing to be savoured. Nigh-on imperceptibly quiet and exquisitely slow-moving, they might not seem like the most tantalizing of prospects on paper, but in practice Chartier’s releases make for some of the most involving excursions into the extremes of contemporary experimental electronics you’re likely to hear. Incidence is no exception to this rule. As the title suggests, Chartier isn’t a man of grand gestures, instead he has conjured an infinitely subtle, sixty-four minute piece in which only sounds at the very brink of the audible spectrum are put to use. Beginning with the low volume sparkle of some cicada-like static, the piece gradually morphs itself into low frequency territory, where Chartier induces some furniture-shaking infra-sound that you’ll feel next to you in the room long before it becomes fully audible. Incidence only assimilates a more conventional musical language towards its conclusion, by which point a grey, monolithic drone ebbs and flows over a bed of gentle crackle and fizz, only to end much as it began, with a wafer-thin line of static and hiss. Certainly, Chartier’s work demands acute and attentive listening, but Incidence is formidable experimental music from start to finish. Well worth your patience.
—left out in left field
+
“Where the hell is that hiss coming from!?” The hiss, it turns out, is part of the music – no doubt something I should have expected. Over the course of a few minutes, it rises from near-silence to an unignorable, room-filling cloud of static sound. “Chartier concentrates on tiniest changes between seemingly static sound masses”, says the press release. After a few more minutes, an eery whistle creeps into the mix. The bass moves in waves, pulsating slowly and without rhythm; shaking the eardrums with a constant element of surprise.
Incidence is neither organic nor electronic. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine its origin at all. The constant drone carries no emotion besides a peaceful, grey solemnity. As the piece moves towards its midsection, clicking fragments of noise flicker through the haze. Speakers buzz as if absorbing the electricity of a human body — the same sound that occurs when you touch the metal of an AUX IN jack with your fingers.
And, as quietly as it begins, Incidence draws to a close. Listening to this CD is not the intense experience that you might expect of a 64-minute drone, but neither is it boring. It’s neutral. Skillfully constructed, but largely unobtrusive, Incidence could be enjoyed whilst reading, writing or simply relaxing. Music to think to.
—cdtimes.co.uk
+
Velformet 64 minutters minimalistisk electronicaværk fra pladeselskabschef. Richard Chartier er bestyrer af det amerikanske pladeselskab LINE. LINE gør i minimalistisk elektronisk musik, der ikke er beat-orienteret, og den karakteristik passer også fint på denne udgivelse fra Chartiers hånd. Incidence er ude på tyske Raster-Noton, der som LINE og 12k har en fornem profil inden for eksperimenterende digital musik. Pladen indeholder blot et nummer, som til gengæld er 64 minutter langt og både kræver høretelefoner og ens fulde opmærksomhed. Incidence er i Chartiers egne ord formet over en periode på 11 måneder, og det lavmælte resultat er da også virkelig gennemført. Musikken udgøres blandt andet af ulmende dybe droner, der minder om lyden af en cello spillet i slowmotion, afdæmpet støj a la en tom radiofrekvens samt rytmer, der lyder hen ad fyrværkeri på afstand og små sten, der slås mod hinanden. Incidence udvikler sig langsomt, og dets relativt få virkemidler er anvendt effektivt. Det er et intenst og dystert værk, der efterlader én afslappet, men tænksom.
—gaffa.dk
