Rick Strom

The west side of Los Angeles seems an odd birthplace for boundary pushing downtempo, but Rick Strom takes this rather droll landscape and works it into a sonic tapestry. Blending coastal tranquility and urban horror, Strom ends up with an almost unclassifiable sound. Beautiful and soothing one minute, disturbing and gut wrenchingly desperate the next, Strom's music fully expresses the isolation of the West Coast artist. Frequent collaborators Shanna Dawn and Twin Peaks vocalist Julee Cruise add a vocal soul to the proceedings, as Strom allows their haunting vocals to hover precariously over his thuddy beats and twisted, moaning and droning melodies. In the words of Raw42: "Rick Strom is the new face of American downtempo. Creating an inspired blend of pop dub with chilled lounge music, Strom's music shimmers in subtlety and elegance."