A Line, a succession of points, a fine line, a route; or many, like when talking about LINE as a label, house, family and source of inspiration founded by sound artist Richard Chartier 22 years ago. Sometimes conceptual, sometimes abstract, sometimes somewhere between the two, or just out of any category, the works published by this label condense a vast and exotic catalogue of sound art, initially created as a division of the mythical 12k, to later become independent in its own search, permeated by a marked but broad vision of sonic minimalism.

Among LINE’s catalogue, there are true jewels of experimental contemporary music and sound art, such as the legendary Series by Richard Chartier, the compilation Between Two Points, the tribute/non-tribute to John Cage by Lawrence English, and the special Forms of Paper by Steve Roden, considered one of the essential works of the so-called lowercase movement, characterized by music played at low sound levels and lacking in prominence pretensions, a sonic philosophy close to that many of the label’s releases.

Each release is characterized by always bringing true sonic rarities to the label’s universe, one of the most select and diverse catalogues of contemporary sound art, where the meeting of sonority and concept not only satisfies the listener’s ears: it extends them, shows something that is very difficult to find elsewhere.

This 64-minute mix is a selection of the history of LINE since 2000, focusing on an overlaying of shorter pieces and excerpts to give an idea of the variety of sounds, aesthetics, and compositions of the label. So many of the works on LINE are longer, extended experiences. This is merely a taster.

Tracklist:

miki yui - schlaf

asmus tietchens - parallele ebene 1

oliver thurley - subcutaneous 1b

haruo okada + fabio perletta - genkai 12-17+19 (excerpt)

norman w. long - return and recovery (excerpt)

monty adkins - empire (excerpt)

france jobin - scène 3 (excerpt)

miguel angel tolosa - salon 20-04

alva noto - interim (for dieter rams)

steve roden - airforms (excerpt)

robert curgenven + richard chartier - acquisition eviction

evelina domnitch + dmitry gelfand - mucilaginous omniverse II (excerpt)

masaya kato - m3 lrp-III (excerpt)

agf - breathing in lines (excerpt)

mark fell - storage 3

porya hatami - 8(kurdhish folk song)

emile bojesen - scrape 8

geneva skeen - ii (excerpt)

triac - here intro

hosoo - p.29

tomoko hojo + rahel kraft - probabilities and possibilities

frank bretschneider - circle_cycle

ensemble d’oscillateurs - faust: movement 6 (else marie pade)

william basinski + richard chartier - untitled 3 [reprise]