Faith in Strangers

Faith In Strangers is an album that straddles analogue club music and vocal pop songs, drawing influence from artists such as Ron Hardy, Dome, Actress, Cocteau Twins, and Arthur Russell. The album includes vocal contributions from Alison Skidmore on six tracks and was mastered and cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy.

Faith In Strangers was written and produced between January 2013 and June 2014, with editing and sequencing completed in late July of that year. The album makes use of a variety of instruments, field recordings, found sounds, and vocal treatments, resulting in a largely analogue variant of hi-tech production styles that range from dissonant to sublime.

The album opens with the track "Time Away" featuring Euphonium played by Kim Holly Thorpe and closes with "Missing", a contribution by Alison Skidmore. In between, the album explores a range of sounds, from the sparse and infected "Violence" to the broken, downcast pop of "On Oath" and the motorik, driving melancholy of "Science and Industry".

"No Surrender" offers a sparkling analogue jam followed by a tough, smudged rhythmic assault, while "How It Was" reflects sweaty Warehouse signatures and "Damage" finds a balance between RZA's classic 'Ghost Dog' and Terror Danjah's brutal style.

The title track, "Faith in Strangers", stands out as one of the most beautiful and open tracks on the album, with a vocal hook and chiming melody that ties the album together. The overall sound of the album provides a sense of warmth and nostalgia, creating a cohesive listening experience that showcases Stott's innovation and tradition through darkness and light.