artist: RICHARD GARET
title: Four Malleable
catalog number: and/34
release year: 2009
format: CD x 2
status: available
title: Four Malleable
catalog number: and/34
release year: 2009
format: CD x 2
status: available
"My work over the last several years has focused on the investigation of aural
phenomena, environment, spatial listening, structure, natural and evolving
processes, function, possibilities, and materiality. My interests have led me to
explore acoustics, psychoacoustics, binaural beats, and diverse methods of
recording sound, and the application of systems and strategies, which have
served as the fundamental departure towards achieving my work."
(Richard Garet)
Four Malleable is comprised of what are among Richard's best compositions
from four different years: Imaginative Elements (2004), From Modified Tapes
(2005), Sceneries (2006), and Nocturne (2009). Four previously unreleased
works that place the mind's eye inside malleable forms and blurred locations,
which at times can be very reminiscent of the well known scene in
Michelangelo Antonioni's "Deserto Rosso" where actress Monica Vitti watches
as her friends slowly fade into the hazy distance without anyone actually
moving. While this connection was not intentional on the part of Richard, it is
quite pertinent to a/O since he is to have a track featured as part of the
upcoming CD project entitled "Michelangelo Antonioni - Trilogy & Epilogue"
which casts its conceptual lens on Antonioni's 'tetralogy' of films which
includes "Deserto Rosso". It was because of hearing the works later featured
on this CD (among others) that he was invited to participate in the project.
Richard has had previous work published by Non Visual Objects, Winds
Measure Recordings, Unframed, White_Line Editions and Leerraum. More info
about Richard and his various activities can be found here:
www.richardgaret.com
This is a limited edition of 300 copies.
phenomena, environment, spatial listening, structure, natural and evolving
processes, function, possibilities, and materiality. My interests have led me to
explore acoustics, psychoacoustics, binaural beats, and diverse methods of
recording sound, and the application of systems and strategies, which have
served as the fundamental departure towards achieving my work."
(Richard Garet)
Four Malleable is comprised of what are among Richard's best compositions
from four different years: Imaginative Elements (2004), From Modified Tapes
(2005), Sceneries (2006), and Nocturne (2009). Four previously unreleased
works that place the mind's eye inside malleable forms and blurred locations,
which at times can be very reminiscent of the well known scene in
Michelangelo Antonioni's "Deserto Rosso" where actress Monica Vitti watches
as her friends slowly fade into the hazy distance without anyone actually
moving. While this connection was not intentional on the part of Richard, it is
quite pertinent to a/O since he is to have a track featured as part of the
upcoming CD project entitled "Michelangelo Antonioni - Trilogy & Epilogue"
which casts its conceptual lens on Antonioni's 'tetralogy' of films which
includes "Deserto Rosso". It was because of hearing the works later featured
on this CD (among others) that he was invited to participate in the project.
Richard has had previous work published by Non Visual Objects, Winds
Measure Recordings, Unframed, White_Line Editions and Leerraum. More info
about Richard and his various activities can be found here:
www.richardgaret.com
This is a limited edition of 300 copies.
REVIEWS
AQUARIUS RECORDS (DECEMBER 2009)
Richard Garet is a multimedia artist who has been quite active in and
around New York for many years now. Our only exposure to his work
was by way of an excellent if under-appreciated collaboration with
perennial AQ-favorite Brendan Murray entitled Of Distance, which
came out earlier in 2009. Unfortunately, we missed out on a couple of
Garet's earlier recordings on NonVisualRecordings and Winds
Measure, but when and/OAR announced an album from Mr. Garet, we
were quite intrigued. Given the strength of this recording, he's
definitely making us reconsider going back and digging up those
earlier records. This double disc set is a fantastic collection of
hushed drone music, cracked silences, stacked tape hiss, controlled
feedback, and stoic masses of gray noise.
The four extended pieces date from 2004-2009, and all exhibit a
restrained aesthetic balancing an environmental stillness from
various field recordings with the grandeur of minimalist strategies in
composition. In many ways, it makes a lot of sense that Garet would
be drawn to work with Brendan Murray, as both generate work that
oozes with a hypnotic, wholly monochromatic sound design that could
act as the soundtrack to a sandstorm as viewed from the otherside of
the Sahara Desert or to missile tests that are supposed to be hidden
from public view. Something ominous is at hand in Garet's work, and
the mystery as to what exactly 'it' is works to his advantage. Amidst
these accumulations of layered textures and slow gravitational orbits
of sonic detritus, Garet alludes to the swells of oceanic currents, the
nocturnal buzzing of amassed insects, and reverberant echoes
bellow from the depths of some underground bunker. All of which
falls somewhere near Joe Colley, Tarab, John Duncan, and
Coelacanth. So yeah, we dig it.
Richard Garet is a multimedia artist who has been quite active in and
around New York for many years now. Our only exposure to his work
was by way of an excellent if under-appreciated collaboration with
perennial AQ-favorite Brendan Murray entitled Of Distance, which
came out earlier in 2009. Unfortunately, we missed out on a couple of
Garet's earlier recordings on NonVisualRecordings and Winds
Measure, but when and/OAR announced an album from Mr. Garet, we
were quite intrigued. Given the strength of this recording, he's
definitely making us reconsider going back and digging up those
earlier records. This double disc set is a fantastic collection of
hushed drone music, cracked silences, stacked tape hiss, controlled
feedback, and stoic masses of gray noise.
The four extended pieces date from 2004-2009, and all exhibit a
restrained aesthetic balancing an environmental stillness from
various field recordings with the grandeur of minimalist strategies in
composition. In many ways, it makes a lot of sense that Garet would
be drawn to work with Brendan Murray, as both generate work that
oozes with a hypnotic, wholly monochromatic sound design that could
act as the soundtrack to a sandstorm as viewed from the otherside of
the Sahara Desert or to missile tests that are supposed to be hidden
from public view. Something ominous is at hand in Garet's work, and
the mystery as to what exactly 'it' is works to his advantage. Amidst
these accumulations of layered textures and slow gravitational orbits
of sonic detritus, Garet alludes to the swells of oceanic currents, the
nocturnal buzzing of amassed insects, and reverberant echoes
bellow from the depths of some underground bunker. All of which
falls somewhere near Joe Colley, Tarab, John Duncan, and
Coelacanth. So yeah, we dig it.
DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY (DECEMBER 2009)
"Four Malleable" is four compositions containing four different sound
sources, recorded in four different years, each ranging around the
half-hour mark. All four tracks delve into the microsounds and
drones that have been championed by fellow travelers with whom he
shares some musical kinsmanship; Francisco Lopez, Brendan
Murray, and the Onkyo crew. As Garet points a microscope at these
small and delicate (possibly even decaying) sounds, it highlights the
vibrant life of the nano world in which we barely encounter. He
handles each tone with such precision and gentleness, guiding the
frequencies deep into your ear canal to resonate your cranial cavity.
A master at his craft and very impressive indeed! Job well done
Senor Garet! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! (Chuck Bettis)
"Four Malleable" is four compositions containing four different sound
sources, recorded in four different years, each ranging around the
half-hour mark. All four tracks delve into the microsounds and
drones that have been championed by fellow travelers with whom he
shares some musical kinsmanship; Francisco Lopez, Brendan
Murray, and the Onkyo crew. As Garet points a microscope at these
small and delicate (possibly even decaying) sounds, it highlights the
vibrant life of the nano world in which we barely encounter. He
handles each tone with such precision and gentleness, guiding the
frequencies deep into your ear canal to resonate your cranial cavity.
A master at his craft and very impressive indeed! Job well done
Senor Garet! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! (Chuck Bettis)
JUST OUTSIDE (DECEMBER 2009)
Four pieces, each about 1/2 hour long, from 2004-2009. Garet is an
expert in the art of the "grainy drone", taking sound sources that may
be natural or industrial, usually with some amount of variegated
texture, some particulate aspect, extending and layering them into
sheets of sound many plies thick, the material always capable of
being listened to on several levels, the re-listener likely to pick up
aspects he missed the first few go-rounds. They often shift, as does
the first track here, "Nocturne", from relatively consonant and soft to
more abrasive and granular, though rarely if ever very harsh. The
tracks are presented in reverse chronological order and, though I
enjoyed them all to some degree, I really liked the older two the best;
not sure what that says! Those earlier ones have a bit more grit and
grime in the works, providing more of a textural variation between
the sine hums and the detritus. The last track, "Imaginative
Elements", also contains a kind of sparseness that's something of a
tonic in relation to the earlier (later) ones. All would be nice to hear
within a video environment, btw, which is how I've experienced his
work on occasion.
But on the whole, the four works are fine and excellent samples of
both Garet's music and this neck of the sonic woods generally.
Recommended! (Brian Olewnick)
Four pieces, each about 1/2 hour long, from 2004-2009. Garet is an
expert in the art of the "grainy drone", taking sound sources that may
be natural or industrial, usually with some amount of variegated
texture, some particulate aspect, extending and layering them into
sheets of sound many plies thick, the material always capable of
being listened to on several levels, the re-listener likely to pick up
aspects he missed the first few go-rounds. They often shift, as does
the first track here, "Nocturne", from relatively consonant and soft to
more abrasive and granular, though rarely if ever very harsh. The
tracks are presented in reverse chronological order and, though I
enjoyed them all to some degree, I really liked the older two the best;
not sure what that says! Those earlier ones have a bit more grit and
grime in the works, providing more of a textural variation between
the sine hums and the detritus. The last track, "Imaginative
Elements", also contains a kind of sparseness that's something of a
tonic in relation to the earlier (later) ones. All would be nice to hear
within a video environment, btw, which is how I've experienced his
work on occasion.
But on the whole, the four works are fine and excellent samples of
both Garet's music and this neck of the sonic woods generally.
Recommended! (Brian Olewnick)
PARIS TRANSATLANTIC (FEBRUARY 2010)
A double CD featuring compositions dating between 2004 and 2009,
Four Malleable is an excellent introduction to Richard Garet's
strategies. One of the most noticeable traits of this artist's vision is
the constant transition between different states, as, with a degree of
analytical coldness, he designs platforms for sonic events to develop
gradually yet unpredictably, giving the listener a chance to connect
with a particular environment before becoming an active
psychoacoustic participant in its progressive alteration. Several of
these soundscapes tend towards instability only partially
camouflaged by Garet's accurate placement of detail. 2005's "From
Modified Tapes" explores settings that range from the accumulation of
murmured pressure and reverberant vibration (substantial to the point
of near-opacity) to the ever-puzzling seduction of remote metropolitan
echoes. The processing filter lets emerge just a few identifiable
factors – heavily equalized voices, in this case – from an unbearably
dense fog hiding whatever meaning might lie behind. The composer
declares to have been focussing on "materiality, malleability,
process, and on the aural digital permutations resulted from computer
synthesis". Yet the sharp nuances of certain frequencies, fused with
the absence of physical weight typifying some of these pieces, dispel
any doubt relative to concreteness, for in Garet's conception tactile
matter seems to be a mere instrument for attempting an improved
classification of our fundamental nature. (Massimo Ricci)
A double CD featuring compositions dating between 2004 and 2009,
Four Malleable is an excellent introduction to Richard Garet's
strategies. One of the most noticeable traits of this artist's vision is
the constant transition between different states, as, with a degree of
analytical coldness, he designs platforms for sonic events to develop
gradually yet unpredictably, giving the listener a chance to connect
with a particular environment before becoming an active
psychoacoustic participant in its progressive alteration. Several of
these soundscapes tend towards instability only partially
camouflaged by Garet's accurate placement of detail. 2005's "From
Modified Tapes" explores settings that range from the accumulation of
murmured pressure and reverberant vibration (substantial to the point
of near-opacity) to the ever-puzzling seduction of remote metropolitan
echoes. The processing filter lets emerge just a few identifiable
factors – heavily equalized voices, in this case – from an unbearably
dense fog hiding whatever meaning might lie behind. The composer
declares to have been focussing on "materiality, malleability,
process, and on the aural digital permutations resulted from computer
synthesis". Yet the sharp nuances of certain frequencies, fused with
the absence of physical weight typifying some of these pieces, dispel
any doubt relative to concreteness, for in Garet's conception tactile
matter seems to be a mere instrument for attempting an improved
classification of our fundamental nature. (Massimo Ricci)