Photo: Philippe Grenade
"It's essentially electro-pop with an icy veneer, rumbling, clap-laden beat and textured drone statis that alternates between piano and fuzz." - RCRD LBL (on "I Was a Bomb")
MP3: Silent Rider - "I Was a Bomb"
Silent Rider is the moniker employed by Reed Kackley,
a Brooklyn-based electronic producer. His style stitches together bits and
pieces of several genres, often utilizing melodramatic vocals, swelling synths,
somber piano tones, heavy basslines, and concise, hard-hitting drums. Kackley
relies on haunting past experiences, as well as literature and history, to
layer intense, thought provoking narratives over his instrumentals.
His first foray into music began at age five with weekly
piano lessons. Excitement was quickly followed by regret and frustration as he
realized that things like sight-reading and finger exercises took precedence
over composition. Often, he focused more on writing original pieces rather than
assigned ones, even going so far as to perform an original piece during a
recital at age ten. Nevertheless, Kackley trudged through eight years and
multiple frustrated teachers before giving up on music for the first of many
times.
Kackley dove back into music at age 15, playing piano/synth
in a terrible, failed from the start, emo-powerpop group with highschool
friends. After teaching himself guitar, and discovering screamo, he formed a
new group by the name Last Day Massacre; this time playing guitar and singing.
This would mark his first serious musical endeavor. Despite divinely inspired
songs like "Big Booty Bitches Dance Like Divas," the band never took
off and was only well-regarded in their ability to destroy equipment and jump
around in booty shorts and skirts.
Upon entering college, Kackley broke up the band and set
music aside once again to focus on drinking copious amounts of alcohol; nearly
getting expelled from school for doing so. He wrote material on and off during
the first couple years of college, but it wasn’t until his junior year that he
once again got serious about music. This time, he assembled a 7-song
electro/synth-pop EP. Shortly after, he met Michael Santiago who joined in to
play guitar live and assist on vocals. After playing a slew of parties and
sharing the stage with acts like As Tall As Lions and Astronautalis, Kackley
found himself bored with the music and broke the group up before the EP was
ever released. He dedicated his last year of college to his studies, with music
falling to the wayside once again.
In the summer of 2010, after taking a year-long hiatus from
music, Kackley began writing again in his childhood bedroom in Northern
Virginia. With numerous failed projects under his belt, he was determined to
undertake a musical endeavor he could be proud of and wouldn’t grow to resent
in a matter of months. It wasn’t long before he realized he had found this in
the material that would eventually become Silent Rider, his self-titled debut
album.
Initially, the album was envisioned as electronic based
R&B, with a strong dubstep influence. Shortly after the writing process
began, however, the sound morphed into a fusion of several genres, including
trip-hop, electronic pop and downtempo. Kackley finally felt at home;
assembling dark, melancholic progressions and tones, reminiscent of acts like
James Blake, Miike Snow, SBTRKT, Massive Attack and Radiohead. Lyrically, he
tapped into the darker aspects of his past, many of which spurned from his
religious upbringing, and drew on the knowledge he had amassed through personal
experiences, literature and his studies in college. Throughout the album,
Kackley discusses themes such as poverty, religious scruples, Sadomasochism,
crippling drug addiction, brainwashed youth, and legal prostitution.
A few months into the project, college-friend Michael
Santiago joined in, this time adding vocals, guitar, and technical assistance
to Silent Rider’s production. The two migrated to New York City in the summer
of 2011. That fall, with the album completed and in the infantile stages of
forming a live show, Santiago chose to leave the group. Following this, Kackley
took some time to figure out his next move. He eventually settled on releasing
the album on his own, and forging ahead as a solo artist. His first solo
releases were a pair of somber downtempo reworks of Radiohead’s “Nude” and
“Reckoner.” After brushing up on his vocals and guitar skills Kackley revamped
the live show, choosing to fill Santiago’s shoes himself. The album will
be performed live by a four-piece, including Kackley. He will begin performing
late summer coinciding with a September 18 release of the album.
Video: Silent Rider - "I Was a
Bomb" directed/produced by
Upcoming shows:
09.21 - Spike Hill · Brooklyn, NY
10.10 - Rockwood Music Hall · New York, NY
09.21 - Spike Hill · Brooklyn, NY
10.10 - Rockwood Music Hall · New York, NY
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