#stochastic drift

[new-battalions]

good album.

[grrlmusic]

Barker - Stochastic Drift

[knightofleo]

Barker | Positive Disintegration

[iamlisteningto]

Barker’s Stochastic Drift

[grrlmusic]

Barker - Stochastic Drift

[grrlmusic]

Barker - Force Of Habit

[dustedmagazine]

Barker — Stochastic Drift (Smalltown Supersound)

Photo by Easton West

For a while, “stochastic terrorism” became a catchphrase used to explain the influence of an illiterate cumquat on his more sinister (or, pedantically, dexterous) followers. In the original Greek, “stochastic” refers to random determined patterns, which can be mathematically analyzed but not precisely predicted. Sam Barker is not the first musician to use chance, serendipity or fortuitous mistake as guiding principles and while, to be honest, there isn’t much on his new album that sounds accidental, there is an organic elegance in the way he ups anchor and lets his music flow. Within his template of minimal techno, Barker adds billowing ambient passages and intricate drum programming that unfold with the depth of dub and the logic of jazz. Listening with headphones, you note the intentionality of the sound design. With crisp separation, Barker clearly defines and layers each element. The drum tracks and synth pads orbit like planets in a common galaxy exerting tidal influences on one another. The balance is such that even the slightest deviation from the pattern ripples satisfyingly within and between the pieces and prepares the ear for thrills of the title track that closes the set.

It is only on “Difference and Repetition” that Barker opens the machine to show the clogs and dials at work. A miniature of fractal construction in which tempi play off one another, ratcheting up tension only to flick into new configurations. In the background, snatches of melody swell against the beats and retreat from the verge of coherence. The effect is of an aural kaleidoscope in which each fragmentation is end not means. On “The Remembering Self”, Barker explores entropy in long dissipating phrases that float by with the barest hints of propulsion buried in the mix. The tones are rich and fold gently in transition, gradually accreting substance. “Positive Disintegration” follows a similar path with the rhythms foregrounded gathering enough heat to spark into a brief frenzy of buzzing hyperactivity. As Stochastic Drift progresses, Barker introduces an ordered compositional aspect to his work. On “Fluid Mechanics” an electric piano vamp develops over a cymbal driven beat. An inkling of jazz fusion, a tinge of the blues in the uncomplicated tempo and insistent riff. Then the denouement,  a whirlwind of full kit jazz solo over programmed polyrhythms, elastic bass tones and swooning ambient pads like Max Roach and Squarepusher jamming in the Black Ark. Here Barker brings together everything that preceded to a logical conclusion of pure propulsion. Stirring stuff.

Andrew Forell

[diz-cover]

Barker Stochastic Drift 2025