Labels: Thrill Jockey
Review by: MH
I am probably the last person who should be reviewing anything electronica-like but this one has been sitting in the digital list for a couple of months and I stuck it on my ipod before starting a 28-hour journey to Australia the other day so I thought I might as well give it a go. I also quite liked the name Stygian Stride. This is 6 minimalist and atmospheric tracks of synthesizer-based electronica from one bloke based in New York. He has been involved in other projects like Rhyton and Psychic Ills although I know nothing about either of them. It reminds me of what would be played in a chill-out room rather than the main room of a club as it is laidback, for the most part, and atmospheric. Not that I have been in a chill-out room since about 1994 but that is my thinking based on my limited experience of this type of music. I can’t get much more specific than that unfortunately. I got dragged to clubs a few times in the 90s by a few mates and this takes me back to those days. In return, they were lucky enough to join me at various gigs by Bob Tilton, Fabric and Baby Harp Seal – much to their eternal and absolute delight. They still moan about it now. Most of the tracks here flow slowly into a pattern and then stick with that repetitively in almost hypnotic fashion through to the end of each track. I have very little in the way of references for you but I kind of like it.