I can't even begin to tell you all how beautiful this album is.

Max Richter - 24 Postcards In Full Colour - 2008



Following eighteen months after Edinburgh-based pianist / composer Max Richter’s last album comes the release of the gorgeous, intriguingly framed ’24 Postcards In Full Colour’. Richter’s fourth album is a dazzling conceptual exercise of great beauty and emotional resonance. Certainly his most concise, ’24 Postcards…’may also be Max’s most coherent and compelling work to date. Beautifully played, richly textured and detailed, the album foregrounds Max’s sheer class as a composer and producer.

An attempt an exploration of the ringtone as a vehicle for music performance , ‘24 Postcards…’ is an experimental work made up of 24 classically-composed ringtones, set to be premièred in various gallery spaces. The première is intended to be in the form of a series of installations where pre-registered audience members switch on their phones to receive SMS messages, each message alert playing back one or more of the tracks, so making up the performance. In tandem with this release, will be a micro-website hosting 24 photographic images, one accompanying each track. As Max explains: “Thinking about how we listen to music today, I wondered why it is that ringtones have so far been treated as unfit for creative music… Who says ringtones have to be bad?.. It’s like saying LPs or CDs are bad – its just a medium….”

“Because the piece is a collection of tones, where I have no control of the order, I made a structure that holds together by use of shared material – like a cloud of pieces, or a handful of confetti, or a constellation of fragments – to be navigated as you like…” Max views the writing process in similar terms - shuffling basic elements into new constellations. The palette Max limited himself to consists of string quintet; solo piano; 16 track 2 inch tape; transistors; found shortwave radio; vinyl clicks, dust, scratches and rumble; and acoustic guitars. The players on the album are Louisa Fuller (violin),Robert Mc Fall (violin), Natalia Bonner (violin), John Metcalfe (Viola), Ian Burdge (Cello), Chris Worsey (Cello), Sua Lee (Cello), Preston Reed (Guitar), and Richter himself on piano.

Almost everything Richter does is great (Jeck and Basinski also rate right up there). Didn't know this had come out, thanks.

Awesome.

I've been meaning to pick up some Basinski albums. Is The disintigration loops (or tapes whatever) good?

I've been playing this quite a bit.

A bit soundtracky in parts, tho.

How's it compare to his other stuff?

it's quite similar to his previous works. these are like fragments of tunes. if you enjoy this, definitely check them out.

i cant really be bothered with him anymore

Basinski is (was?) on different level compared to this guy

Thanks D. This will be good for the coming autumn.

Agreed, I only mentioned them together as I think they kind of come of from the same school of thought as far as modern composition goes.

I'm certainly liking this alright, but it's not as good as I expected it to be somehow.

Has anyone checked out Richter's soundtrack/score for Henry May Long? I am giving it a first listen now and so far am much more pleased with this than what he did for Waltz with Bashir, but am still not blown away. I'm beginning to think when it comes to sdtrks and scores he's a bit like Glass (whose only two scores I really enjoy are The Illusionist and oddly the Truman Show), in that they don't hold up as well as their regular stuff (horribly worded).