Na das wurde aber auch endlich Zeit. Ein zusammenfassender †berblick über die wichtigsten Stationen der letzten Jahre von einem der momentan wohl interessantesten Klangforscher. Richard Chartier, Labelmate von 12k’s Taylor Deupree, bringt mit seiner bersicht die Sache auf den Punkt. Und das meine ich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes. Klarheit, Weite, Struktur, Intensitst, esthetik, Ordnung – hier bleibt nichts dem Zufall Ÿberlassen und jeder noch so schwer zu erfassende Ton hat seinen vorherbestimmten Platz und es werden keine halben Sachen gemacht – Konzeptmusik eben. Und da einem guten Konzept immer ausreichend Gedanken vorausgehen (sollten), wie man das ganze fein sŠuberlich abrundet, wurde auch bedacht die Werkschau mit bisher unveršffentlichtem Material zu komplettieren. “composition_location” fur die Turiner Ausstellung “The Moderns”, “felt”, das bisweilen nur als MP3 sein Dasein fristete (nun also in grossartigen 44.1 kHz), “sketch for winter (version2)” was eine neue Version einer privaten und strengstens limitierten Edition darstellt, und zum guten Abschluss “series (exhibit)” welches als Soundinstallation in der Biennial Exhibit im Whitney Museum of American Art in New York 2002 zu hren war. Wie gesagt: Wenn schon, denn schon! Essentiell! *****
—DE:Bug, Germany
+
Richard Chartier’s latest offering entitled Overview comes in a limited edition of 500 copies released on his own label 3 Particles. Just like his previous release entitled Other materials,Overview is an album featuring previously released – and unreleased material. Overview includes tracks that were previousy released on labels such as New York-based 12K, the German label Trente Oiseaux, Meme from Japan and 3Partices. The album heads of with a track that is hardly audible. This composition is build upon a fine-tuned sinewave, which is extreme highpitched, due to which the human ear can hardly detect it. This is an aspect that keeps returning in the work of Richard Chartier. The second composition is a long-stretched drone, which starts to fluctuate after a while. The deep bass fequencies might destroy some speakers. The tiny additional sounds and clciks take care of the variation. After these two songs, which are quite the opposite in frequency, it is already clear that Richard Chartier likes to work with pure sounds and minor details. The elements he uses seem to be timeless and beyond space. His is very minimal in his approach, using only a few elements in each tracks. These elements have been placed with utmost care within the composition. Every sound is right in its place and appears at the right moment, giving the music a delicate and refined character. Compared to previous albums scuh as Other materials and Two locations, Overview is a selection of tracks that are even more minimal. A beautiful and intelligent album.
—Phosphur Magazine, Germany
+
Of course you know Richard Chartier, either from his works for Trente Oiseaux, his own LINE label, his installations or his design work. A busy bee and this has been going on for some time. So, Richard compiled a CD called Overview, which collects his best pieces (or excerpts thereof) and some hard to get CDR releases, as unreleased pieces. As a series of lost works, this is actually quite a nice compilation. Chartier is a minimalist. Using very soft but static drones, which operate on a very soft level, or even below the threshold of hearing in “Internal Analogy”. Sometimes things are on a subsconcious loud level, such as in “010101” with it’s high pierced tones. Chartier designs his pieces in minimal vein, with few sounds per piece, but that always seem to fit together. It’s music that requires a lot of attention before it unfolds it’s beauty. If you are new to the work of Chartier, Overview is a good place to start.
—Vital Weekly, Netherlands
+
Two simultaneous brand new releases by the ever-stylish world of microsound electronic visual artist of Richard Chartier. His work has tread so finely on the edge of atmosphere for years and this is a rare opportunity to delve into his past work in two limited editions (500 each). On his self-produced Overview a collection of works recorded between 1999 and 2003 the sheer Afterimage is a 10 and half minute pure lullaby, reminding me of the stillness of a foggy New England morning.All is eerily quiet, except for the distant horn with a extremely subdued white noise effect. Effective it is, and quite chilling as 2001’s Felt touches more on some primitive ambience. Thick, dense, yet completely transparent, these tracks have an anonymous air about them. Chartier also released Other Materials (3Particles) last year which documented previously unreleased (1999-2001) – so the guy has been busy in the studio. As “How Things Change” opens you might be listening to a muted ping pong match in space at extreme slow motion or perhaps you are encased in a thick stone cocoon about 1000 yards from a racing track and have decided to open mic the experience. This one breathes and opens like a fine wine after the first two minutes, but you will be unclear as to your own personal global positioning if you listen too closely. The packaging for these recordings is minimal print pieces in and of themselves, resembling fine catalogues rather than the same old same old jewel case. “Series (Exhibition Version)” is nearly silent. There is a bare hint of raised static, and that’s almost it. Recorded in 2000 it is obvious that Chartier is growing and building from tracks like this, with newer work that tends to give something slightly more physical. Pieces like this one have a place – but maybe minimalism has gone too far? Now, mind you, other artists like Francisco Lopez and Bernard Gunter are creating invisible aurals – but maybe we are growing post-silence in 2003. I do not necessarily want to be the active participant in the experience of listening nor raise the volume to levels that play trial and error with my cheapie stereo. As I said, his works are emerging and growing and evolving and delivering more in this era of higher fidelity. You still have to bend an ear, but when you do, things melt and flow as on the newly recorded “Sketch For Winter (Version2)” which beguiles by way of sonic drone that drifts and materializes. This is the wind chime everyone wants, but fears.
—Igloo Magazine, US
+
Overview, released on his own 3Particles label, is a collection of previously released tracks and rarities, appearing on labels like Line, Meme and Trente Oiseaux, among others. Some of these pieces were commissions for exhibitions, others are edited parts of larger wholes, and here in particular is where this collection has its single, yet it seems central failing. With much of Chartier’s work, which is all about immersive, minimal environments, thematic approaches and careful listening, this collection is something of a failed attempt at approaching synecdoche, of making the parts representative of the whole. In some ways, it’s like having a novelist select chapters from his books and then publishing them together in a single volume. Reading these chapters outside of their contexts makes for interesting, if disjointed, reading, yet we’re clearly not seeing the big picture. Chartier’s work is best received in the context of completed works, and this “best of” format, although offering an impressive, flowing, and representative cross-section of his work to date, doesn’t quite manage represent his work in the best possible light, and his work certainly deserves some proper attention. Those who haven’t heard his work before might like to start here, though I would certainly recommend any of his proper releases, especially those on Line, as ideal starting points.
—incursion.org
+
When I was a little kid, when I walked into a house, I noticed that I could tell if a TV was on, even if the volume was muted. I didn’t know why. The TV just felt like it was on. Now I know why. Now I know that the sound of a TV on mute is an ultra high frequency sound. Very high and very low frequency sounds are what make up that most nonexistent of genres, microsound. And when people get together to talk about microsound, which they don’t, the name most often on their lips is Richard Chartier. This disc is an overview of Richard Chartier’s recent audio releases, with the oldest tracks dating back to 1999. The tracks here are more gristly, clean, glowing drones from his perfect tone collection. This isn’t music you listen to; it’s music that you physically feel. The bass is the comforting smoothness, and the treble is the piercing clarity. This disc is all about clarity. It’s about design. I’d like to say that there is some connection between Chartier’s music and punk? for most people, playing this CD is grating and disorienting. A friend of mine said that he could make a similar album to this one by setting his tape deck to record and plugging and unplugging a cord into the record input. But then he also enjoys mocking me by tuning his radio to static and saying he’s listening to the 24-hour Merzbow station. The point is, Chartier’s audio design isn’t for everybody. Did you know that as human ears age, they lose the ability to pick up high pitches? True story. A lot of Chartier’s music is therefore inaudible to people over 60. How punk is that? The answer: 63% punk. Get into this. This is not the kind of music that Madonna will appropriate for her next commercial foray. You can’t listen to this music when you’re old, so listen to it now. If you’ve never heard of microsound before, get into this. Play this disc in your CD player, leave it on random repeat for a week, at a low volume, until you don’t notice it anymore, until you forget about choruses and verses and bridges, until you forget about melodies organized into patterns. Either do that, or just listen to a tape of yourself plugging and unplugging a patch cord. Chartier’s music will be more entrancing, but both methods will work. When the week is over, you’ll be able to interpret audio as ASCII text, and Chartier’s music will look like this ? ??..^* . . ?. ???. + ?? ?????. = . .,./ / * ( ) ( _) _________)(
—Stylus Magazine, US
+
Fact: you never knew there was an American who could make smart guy electronic stuff, did you? Fact: you thought all that Americans with laptops were good for was making trance and Rapture remixes. Fact: you didn’t even know that there was something calledsound art? (another fact is that you still don?t even think a urinal could have ever been considered art). Well, here’s one more fact. Here’s an American guy who makes the most minimal compositions out of practically no sound at all, and he’s a pretty successful sound artist over in Europe (where they gulp it down like table wine). And Overview is truthfully the coolest name ever used to describe a best of compilation. 9 out of 10.
—VICE Magazine, US
