from the album 'Interreferences' on Room40 (Australia)

formed & recorded 2018-2020 by Richard Chartier 
mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space 

cover: Untitled, 2018 by Linn Meyers (courtesy of the artist) based on a lithograph printed & published by the Tamarind Institute, NM 
design by Richard Chartier

Interreferences

Interreference.4

shouting at nuance

Shouting at Nuance

problematic interior 3

Desensualized

desensualized

no one wants to admit that i am afraid (for W.B.) (emotionally overextended version)

interreferences II

interreference.2

interreference.8

stase hivernale

on a continuous form

on a continuous form 1

on a continuous form 4

on a continuous form 2

on a continuous form 3

Specification.Twelve

new single from the upcoming Pinkcourtesyphone album 'Arise in Sinking Feelings' (out on Room40, Australia on April 12, 2024)

first new pinkcourtesyphone material in 2 years.

https://room40.bandcamp.com/album/arise-in-sinking-feelings

Arise in Sinking Feelings

Pinkcourtesyphone 'pre-sumptuous / post-sumptuous'

On Leaving

variance.a

variance.1

variance.2

variance.3

variance.4

from the album 'On Leaving' on Touch, UK (TO124)

dedicated to Steve Roden (1964-2023)

For over a quarter of a century, sound artist and composer Richard Chartier has interrogated an ever deepening thread of minimalist sound that meshes questions of stasis, pulse and timbre. The results of this work is some of the most quietly intense compositions of this century. His is a music of subtle variation, unwavering concentration, and also patience. This five part work created between 2020 and 2022 is dedicated to his friend and fellow sound artist Steve Roden.

"I first became friends with Steve Roden (and later his wife, Sari) back in 1998 when my first album 'direct.incidental.consequential' was released. He was one of the first group of artists to whom I sent the album. Almost instantly he had been there on the other side of the phone (or email) and ever since.

His way of listening and attention to details (no matter how small) was inspirational — the clarity and complexity of his understated and only seemingly simple compositions, engaging. Underneath it all, 'the less’ truly opened your ears to 'the more.' Steve saw and heard everything between the noise, no matter how faint.

Some of the last times I was able to see Steve were right before the pandemic. The effects of his advancing Alzheimers were present, still somewhat subtle, but increasing. I am still regretful that we were unable to spend more time together prior to his succumbing to his condition’s cruel effects. Another regret is not engaging in the collaboration we had both talked about for YEARS. 'We should really start on that sometime soon' Steve and I would say with each passing year.

I worked on the compositions included on this album as Steve gradually slipped away from communication. He was not in my life like he had been before. During this time it became apparent that these pieces were for Steve. A reflection of his ability to find beauty in the most minute details. Even when finally reviewing the final masters after his passing, I tried to think about how Steve would listen.

What would Steve hear in the details? His effect on this album is strong... the accumulation of influence and inspiration. This album feels organic and warm and was developed during a time when his absence in my life increased. That warmth is reflective of the nature of who Steve was himself, his friendship, and his visual & sound work.

on listening... on loss... on leaving...

As Steve and I mutually suggested... for quiet amplification or headphone listening.

Variance.1

Recurrence.Expansion

LINE_157

A decade is a long pause… how the world has changed since…

Longtime friends and collaborators, iconic ambient composer William Basinski and sound artist/composer Richard Chartier return to LINE with 'Aurora Terminalis', their first new work together since 2015’s ‘Divertissement’ LP (Important Records, US).

From an unexpected sudden burst of sound jaggedly spiraling outward, the tumult fades and shockwaves slide into lulling haze of a melody. Background nuance—nearly imperceptible—and foreground romanticism ripple near each others’ edges. Then, rhythmic and liquid, an erratic drifting over a clouded void... an 'un-still' life... a slow tracing.

'Aurora Terminalis'… a fading gauzy signal for a finality.

Basinski and Chartier have previously released two collaborative works on LINE; Aurora Liminalis (2013) and Untitled 1-3 (2008, an expanded reissue of 'Untitled' originally on Spekk, Japan, 2004), as well as the archival Bandcamp exclusive 'Something from the Pink House' a live improvisation recorded in 2004.

William Basinski's archival album 'The Clocktower at the Beach (1979)' was released on LINE in 2023.

-

composed & recorded by Basinski & Chartier 2024

William Basinski: Voyetra 8 + loops
Richard Chartier: electronics, field recordings, processing, mixing

Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space

cover image: detail of 'Glass Eye', 2024 by James Elaine (acrylic and house paints, razor cuts on canvas, 62 in x 92 in)

© 2025 LINE

William Basinski published by Musex International (BMI)
Richard Chartier published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd

Aurora Terminalis

Aurora Terminalis (excerpt 1)

Aurora Terminalis (excerpt 2)

 an improvisational live performance by Kim Cascone, Richard Chartier, and Taylor Deupree recorded at micro_mutek 2, Montreal, 04/2001. (surprisingly, i was actually the rhythmic unit on part of this)

Cascone + Chartier + Deupree / LIVE Micro Mutek 2001

Untitled 1-3

Untitled 3 (reprise)

Further Materials

tempt (live:Transmediale:Berlin:2002)

LINE_095 

I think about the work of Mika Vainio almost every day since his sudden and untimely passing on April 12, 2017. 

His work as one half of Pan Sonic and his solo work under his own name and as Ø and Philus were and are incredibly influential to me. It was partly one of the reasons I began working with sound again in 1997 after stopping for almost 4 years, central to the evolution of my own listening. 

His sounds and arrangements were always elusive, otherworldly, unreal, strange, unsettling, often abrasive, and at the same time expressed a sheer unrelenting beauty. They seem to represent a push and pull between states, warmth and cold, silence and fury, future and past, life and death. 

I was fortunate enough to perform with and for him (in the audience) and despite his being a man of very select words, to share conversations with him. The prospect of a new release by Mika always thrilled me. I am still saddened to think that there will not be more of his work to be heard each year. 

These two pieces pay homage to Mika and the subtle and unquiet gifts he gave all listeners.
credits
releases April 20, 2018 

1. Central (for M.Vainio) 44:40 
2. Unquiet (for M.Vainio) 07:10 

formed and recorded April 2017-March 2018. 
track 2 intended to be played as loud as possible.

Centra (for M.Vainio)

Unquiet (for M.Vainio)

from DUO
by France Jobin + Richard Chartier
on mAtter, Japan
release date: Dec 16, 2018

DUO is the first collaborative project from minimal composer France Jobin and Richard Chartier.

DUO creates an “intemporelle“ and pervading atmosphere, where sounds intermingle within an intricate and delicate system delineated by spatial and temporal boundaries.

composed by  France Jobin and Richard Chartier.
mastered by Stephen Mathieu 
thank you to Yukitomo Hamasaki and Shuhei Miyagi
design by Richard Chartier

https://www.matter.jp/work/#/duo-france-jobin-richard-chartier/

DUO 1

LINE_SEG06

Sonic smudger Pinkcourtesyphone and harpist extraordinaire Gwyneth Wentink first met at an elegant garden party chez William Basinski, where they became instant accomplices. 2016's 'Elision' EP (901editions, Italy) soon followed, full of rich chords, lush hues, and enticing flickerings.
 
Now the pair invites you to get carried away in a cascade of murmurs with ‘when she had no mirror…she watched her shadow.’
 
... a powerful conception that plumbs the very depths of human emotion. Here is a picture of a woman's passion painted with strokes of shocking brilliance... vital music written and performed with bold imagination... daringly executed for the who can sustain the most stimulating of listening sensations.

when she had no mirror​.​.​. she watched her shadow

when she had no mirror... she watched her shadow (excerpt)

A piece that I had been working on for a year. It never quite found a place within other works on an album, as it seemed unusual for me. 

Elements were incorporated into the DUO live performances. 

But not as an entity on its own. so here it is... 

isolated, dark, but hopeful. 
for these trying and anxious times. 

stay safe.


3particles25

Absention

‘Harbor Darkness (for C&C)’ is dedicated to the delightful and inspiring Cosey Fanni Tutti & Chris Carter for their friendship and fearlessness. It arose from the “sessions” for the upcoming 2020 full length Pinkcourtesyphone album ‘Leaving Everything To Be Desired’ 

exclusively available for digital down load via bandcamp:
https://richardchartier.bandcamp.com/album/harbor-darkness

Harbor Darkness

Harbor Darkness (for C&C) by PINKCOURTESYPHONE

no one wants to admit that i am afraid (for W.B.) [emotionally overextended version] 
Pinkcourtesyphone

there comes a time on any dance floor when the lights go low, the music turns pretty, and everyone gets that cheek-to-cheek look in their eyes. 

this deflated valentine from Pinkcourtesyphone is not for that time. 
is your heart awake... yet? 


originally created during the "sessions" for the album September 2020 Pinkcourtesyphone 'Leaving Everything To Be Desired' (room40, Australia) [https://richardchartier.bandcamp.com/album/leaving-everything-to-be-desired] 

... further manipulations, pokings, and frostings continued through January 2021.
released February 5, 2021 as a bandcamp exclusive download

photography: James Elaine 
thank you: L.English, W.Basinski, J.Elaine, M.Harding 

published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd 
3particles28

no one wants to admit that i am afraid [emotionally overextended version] by Pinkcourtesyphone

Richard Chartier (b.1971) is a Los Angeles based artist, considered one of the key figures in minimalist sound art. Chartier’s works explore the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception, and the act of listening itself. Chartier’'s sound works/installations have been presented in galleries and museums internationally and he has performed his work live across Europe, Japan, Australia, and North America at digital art/electronic music festivals and exhibits. In 2000 he formed the recording label LINE and has since curated its continuing documentation of compositional and installation work by international sound artists/composers exploring the aesthetics of contemporary and digital minimalism.

He is also Pinkcourtesyphone.

Richard Chartier

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