Recording
Please Pick Up
2013
Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers + Various Artists

IO Sound (Canada) (IO007)
CD + digital / edition of 500

LINE 1: The Pink Hit of Space
a collection of reworks of Pinkcourtesyphone works from Foley Folly Folio and Elegant & Detached.

  1. “sans” ( “sans many things” Evelina Domnitch + Dmitry Gelfand rework) 
  2. “An Awaiting Room”  (Frank Bretschneider rework) 
  3. “Singularity Version” (Yves De Mey rework) 
  4. “PinkCourtesyPjusk” (Pjusk rework)
  5. “a dark room full of plastic plants” (succulents rework by Simon Scott) 
  6. “here is something… that is nothing”  (Yann Novak + Robert Crouch rework) 

LINE 2: Phototrash
a incredibly loose dark reinterpretation of Amanda Lear’s “I am a photograph” and the sleazy track “Move to Trash” featuring the vocal stylings of fellow Aries Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps, The Gun Club, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and so much more!).

  1. “iamaphotograph” – Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers
  2. “iamaphotograph” (Creepy Autograph mix) – Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers
  3. “blow up” (iamaphotograph cut by CoH) – Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers
  4. “unhomeli phono” (S* + ghost of Tomas Phillips rework)  – Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers
  5. “move to trash” – Pinkcourtesyphone + Kid Congo Powers

Reviews
2013

Frank Bretschneider, CoH, Simon Scott, Yann Novak, Yves De Mey and more render the narcotised headspaces of Richard Chartier’s excellent Pinkcourtesyphone project. Some of the tracks, namely the original ‘Iamaphotograph’ with Kid Congo Powers, and the icy dread of CoH’s ‘Blow Up’ re-cut, are previously released whereas the rest is brand new and exclusive. We’re particularly impressed with the ultra-spacious sound design and rolling, sub-heavy techno of Frank Bretschneider’s ‘An Awaiting Room’ rework, and the Mika Vainio-esque dimensions of Yves De Mey’s ‘Singularity Version’, but those seeking the darker seduction of the originals need to check for the weightless negative spaces of Evelina Domnich + Dimitry Gelfand’s ‘Sans’ rework or Yann Novak and Robert Crouch’s ghostly diffusion of ‘Here Is Something… That Is Nothing’ for proper void musics, or the widescreen bloom of Simon Scott’s Succulents remix for ‘A Dark Room Full Of Plastic Plants’ for a lusher resolution.
—boomkat.com

+

The second half of the album is material performed with Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps, Gun Club) on vocals, which gives a very different feel to these songs.  Powers’ sinister, sleazy delivery on the cover of Amanda Lear’s “imaphotograph” has the right amount of creepy to tart it up, and with its rudimentary thud/white noise rhythmic backing resembles a stripped down mash up of Throbbing Gristle’s “United” and “Persuasion.”  “Move to Trash” is even creepier, with its lurching pace and Powers’ vocals tossing out one double entendre after the next.  Between these two songs, I was definitely catching a more modernist, avant garde Soft Cell vibe, with all of the underlying filth and perversion presented in their resplendent glory.  “iamaphotograph” appears in a few remixed versions, with each bringing out different musical elements:  Creepy Autograph’s mix brings up nasal sawtooth oscillators and a bit of arpeggiated synth, while CoH chooses to cut up and fragment the voices extensively.  Like most remixes, they expand on different parts of the original work, but never surpass it.

I am a long time fan of Chartier’s more serious, academic tinged work, but the development and expansion of Pinkcourtesyphone is a different beast entirely.  The inclusion of more conventional bits, such as overt rhythmic passages and the use of vocals go a long way and help solidify the singular identity of the project.  I do not figure Chartier will leave his more serious artist career behind, nor would I want him to, so PCP makes for the perfect side project that continues to develop its own distinct identity.
—brainwashed.com

+

Plenty of dark, minimal, throbbing industrialist space-drone, but a few of the remixers add more rhythmic elements. Frank Bretschneider adds a slowly growing 4/4 thump to his rework of “An Awaiting Room”, turning it into hissy Porter Ricks-y minimal techno. Sandwell District/Opal Tapes/Line affiliate Yves De Mey turns in a seriously deep, seriously stunning rework of “Singularity Version”, with rumbling bass tones, curdling static, and precise sheets of rhythmic static panning through the speakers. Pjusk’ “Pinkcourtesypjusk” is a nice, crisp, crackly little piece of steady, minimalist IDM. Simon Scott’s remix of “A Dark Room Full Of Plastic Plants” is shimmering drone, which slowly gets colder and more distant. In the album’s second half, Chartier collaborates quite unexpectedly with King Congo Powers, who adds spoken vocals to “Iamaphotograph”, which rides a slow automaton 4/4 beat and camera clicks. Creepy Autograph (AKA Jimmy Edgar) remixes this into a tense, buzzy orb, with Kid Congo’s vocals sounding ever more distorted and sinister. Onetime Coil associate CoH cuts “Iamaphotograph” further into an excellent sliced, fragmented rhythmic glitch-beat track, with stark piano upping the fright factor. S* and Tomas Phillips minimalize the track even further, mostly just keeping the camera flash noises and stretching out a dubby, clicky sinewave pulse beat. The album ends with “Move To Trash”, featuring Kid Congo’s distorted, disembodied voice intoning over another hypnotic, gazing minimal beat with shaker-like sounds. Spaced out, electrified sounds, perfectly complemented by the gorgeous space-themed artwork, which features a gatefold with a 3D cutout that holds the disc.
—theanswerisinthebeat.net