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  Richard Chartier 
  Archival 1991
  (Crouton) 

   review by Brian Olewnick
  2004-03-09
Richard Chartier: Archival 1991 (Crouton)

The title gives a hint, but this release is actually a new composition, pieced together from bits of recordings Chartier had done on analog and digital synthesizers in 1991 and drastically reworked in 2003. Stretching over 46 minutes, Archival 1991� is essentially a drone, one tilting toward an industrial source rather than a traditionally musical one, and it�s a beaut. There appear to be three general groupings of sounds employed and, though there�s some degree of elaboration and expansion, they continue throughout the length of the work: a high-pitched, whistling tone with an evocation of soft, metallic bristles, a medium range series that have muted, bell-like characteristics and a low, throbbing moan that merges and recedes with its own slightly irregular rhythm. There�s a very nice sense of a process having simply been set in motion and left to be buffeted by whatever breezes happen to pass, a very satisfyingly unforced quality. It�s somewhat akin to the sort of joy drone fanciers might experience leaning up against a large engine housing, listening to the mysterious (but purposeful) thrummings within, hopelessly trying to sort out all the complex matrices that your consciousness creates. Archival 1991 does evolve a bit, the medium range tones expanding and fanning out about half way through, the bass rumblings getting a little more insistent toward the very end. But essentially, it�s just there, perhaps a little harsh, even somewhat alien but never less than absorbing. One is free to conjure up all manner of scenarios involving what might be happening in this world or just to let it wash over.





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