by Rob Theakston
Reissued after being scarce and in demand for several years, it's interesting to use this as a barometer to gauge Chartier's artistic evolution and explorations into microsound/lowercase/call it what you want territory. The one thing instantaneously noticeable is how much of the music is actually on the level -- you can hear the sounds and surfaces without having to turn it all the way up to 11. The compositions appear at first to be more structured than his later works, and while not essential to understanding the totality of his methods, they do appreciate with age and show just how far ahead Chartier's sonic explorations are from the rest of the laptop pack.