Richard Chartier - Direct, Incidental, Consequential. (Intransitive Recordings, 1998)

1 Digisc (5:39)
2 Section (13:38)
3 Compakt Lo (4:58)
4 Lens (4:00)
5 Signal (5:24)
6 Slow End (4:43)
7 Archival (6:25)
8 Test & Duration (6:07)
9 Tonetint (10:19)

Intransitive's second CD release is a trademark for the label: handmade digipacks, each with the own coloured paper and sticker with info. This label concept is developed by one R. Chartier, a designer who makes music too.
If I was a rude boy, which I am not, I could eaily describe this as 'Ikeda on acid': harsh bleeps, utter deep bass, but luckily more is happening. Chartier moves with several minutes into more passages then the average Ikeda (so it is less minimal), the average Guenter (so it is more audible), or the average Meelkop (so it may be less composed), or the average Rehberg (so it is less beat oriented noise). You may get the picture. Chartier takes inspiration from these people, but adds his own voice, one that is at times more industrial, and certainly throughout more varied in the sounds and compositions used here. A nice cross-over between anything on Trente
Oiseaux and Mego, so the hypy boys 'n girls know where to be.
Vital Weekly

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Richard Chartier - A Hesitant Fold (Meme, 1999)

*** sorry, no cover art ***

1 (01:02) (1:04)
2 Compliment (5:02)
3 Arranging Between Patterns (19:38)
4 Internal Analogy (4:31)
5 Variation (8:08)
6 (6) (10:25)
7 A Hesitant Fold (7:59)
8 Second End (3:39)

Chartier has had quite a few releases lately, all of them in the same 'microwavy' style. This one is no exception; 8 tracks of quiet pulses and waves, once again best listened to with your headphones on. It is remarkable how Chartier's music has its own very personal character. In
that sense he is defenitely on the same level as Ikeda or Noto. But in comparison with them, Chartier's music has got an intimacy, that is not easily associated with this kind of music. This is probably partly due to the low volume of the tracks, but also has something to do with the way his work sounds. The stereo panorama is extensively used for all those pulses and bleeps and there are no FX to distract from the original synthetic sounds. So it is the pure nature of this synthetic material, that creates the intimacy, because of its directness. The tracks have a slow and steady development, with some breaks here and there, but not any harsh ones. Chartier makes very clever use of the different qualities of pulses and waves, alternating or combining them in such a way, that their character is changing all the time. And that is exactly why this CD is so fascinating: he is able to make strong compositions with a very limited amount of
material. And I think that deserves a lot of credit.
Vital Weekly

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