Signal Series

Signal Series

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 1998
Stephen Gardner, onetime member of indie-pop group Lorelei, took electronica to new heights with his Chessie imprint by refining drum & bass. Inspired by the rhythms of trains, Signal Series is thoroughly unique: breakbeats mingle with guitars; tracks waver between ambient, dance, and postrock; and the train theme seems to somehow unify everything. It's a thoroughly listenable disc, and one of 1998's best. Sure, we've heard these sounds before, but never so intelligently assembled. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.com
To classify the sounds on Chessie's debut album, Signal Series, as simply drum & bass just doesn't do the disc justice. Stephen Gardner--Chessie mastermind and onetime member of indie rockers Lorelei--turns electric guitar, loops, and bass into something truly unique, a ride. Inspired by the rhythms of trains, Signal Series is 10 cuts of atmospheric samples, dub-influenced bass lines, and guitar on top of furious breakbeats that seemingly can't stop moving forward. "Clear Cut" is a locomotive going over a wooden bridge--danceable yet rickety; on "At Grade" the pace slows down, the bass gets deeper, and you can't help feeling that your machine is strained. On "Tourist Union #63" the beats fade out, and you're suddenly in a tunnel. As concepts go, the train theme is so subtle, you may not even notice it. But once you do, you can't help getting aboard. Easily one of 1998's best electronica discs. --Jason Verlinde

Signal Series,Chessie,Drop Beat,Ambient Pop,Dance Music,Electronica,Indie Pop,Pop,Rock/Pop

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