Review Summary: Sound Strider explores the vast sonic possibilities of electronic music and provides an enthralling journey through IDM, psybient and glitch.
Sound Strider is an electronic artist with a truly underground ethos and approach. Sole member Sam Waks explores the vast sonic possibilities of electronic music in his EP,
Intrepid Travels, and provides an enthralling journey through IDM, psybient and glitch.
Intrepid Travels is certainly not an easy release to describe, mostly due to the huge variety of sounds and influences that Waks embraces. Most of the time the music centres around polyrhythmic beats, hypnotic psychedelia and funky, ever-evolving techno, channelling artists such as Kilowatts, Amon Tobin, Shpongle and Aphex Twin.
Sound Strider aims to discover the philosophical and spiritual qualities of dance music, reconnecting modern man with his transcendental roots through the ancient ritual of drum and dance. On the
Intrepid Travels EP it appears as though he is close to reaching his goal, as the music on here is certainly hypnotic and otherworldly. Second track “Menlo Park” is a great example of these possibilities, and is perhaps the closest song on the EP to a straight-up psytrance/psybient track. It is danceable, but unexpectedly so, with a constantly shifting tone accented by the addition of new layers as the track progresses.
Spoken-word samples, such as those found in the works of Boards of Canada, can be found at fairly regular intervals and they provide a somewhat sinister undertone to the fascinating soundworlds Waks creates. Closing track “Betoniere” is a definite highlight that showcases this side of Sound Strider, with creepy vocal samples similar to those found in Aphex Twin’s “Windowlicker”. The song itself is a perfect way to end the EP, with a repetitive beat and a variety of outlandish digital samples that keep things interesting.
Intrepid Travels is a remarkable EP by an artist who is committed to exploring the possibilities of the digital age. It’s been done before, but Sound Strider handpicks only the finest fruit from the data forests in order to create a body of work that is as exciting as it is derivative.
