Incidence

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.