Richard Chartier - A Field For Mixing

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Soundclips

4...according to our Brian on Thu 25 Mar, 2010.

Well, the sound clips for this will be about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Two tracks of searing "sounds that exist at the edges of perception" - i'm not sure if what i'm hearing is the distant hum of a jet engine whilst standing round scratching my bum in a plane station foyer or someone vacuuming the office next door; what actually matters though is that this excercise in stolen sound is well relaxing. Dedicated to 50's Barnsley darts champion Steve Roden, this 50 minute piece is ambience at its most organic. I feel like i've hidden in a broom cupboard at heathrow and i've discovered the hidden stash of rubber gloves & toilet duck. The second briefer piece is dedicated to Bill "Willhelm" Basinski, a fellow tape loop groper & ambient fidgetter extraordinaire. This is much more intoxicating, like the sound of God sighing from a crevice in the side of Mount Fuji. Cool!

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Richard Chartier’s monochromatic aesthetic has come to define an audio culture surrounding minimalism. His craftsmanship, working predominately with sounds that exist at the edges of perception is a powerful, albeit subtle statement about notions of space and sound density.

With ‘A Field For Mixing’, Chartier brings the physicality of space directly into his compositional practise. Recording a variety of small and large spaces in countries from Australia through Japan and the USA, Chartier utilises the unique properties of these spaces to create a newly defined acoustic space – one that resonates with his characteristic treatments.

Dedicated to Steve Roden, the near 50 minute piece is an wholly engaging journey. It contracts and expands with a curious sense of depth that at times is utterly absorbing – drawing the listener deeper and deeper into the acoustic layers as one aspect is added and another withdrawn.

The second piece A Desk For Mixing (dedicated to William Basinski) is equally measured. Based on his site-specific installation work “Mixing Desk’ presented at the Montalvo Art Centre in 2006, this stereo rendering expands the themes on the installation into a gentle swelling ocean of post-ambiences and high frequency statics. Elegant and immersive.

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