Following 2023’s “Unfixed” EP and his first full-length release since his 2019 debut album “Utility”, “Stochastic Drift” builds on Barker’s singular process to capture life’s chaos and reflect on just how much has changed. If his previous records showcased the artist “using ambient materials to remake techno” (Pitchfork), Stochastic Drift pushes Barker’s approach even further into harmonic chaos and dreamy freeform float.

“Utility”, the fullest expression of the beatless techno experimentation Barker excavated on his cult classic “Debiasing” EP, arrived to critical fanfare from The Quietus, DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, and Mixmag (who named it their Album Of The Year). The years since the release of “Utility” have been marked by intense unpredictability: Barker’s own shifting attitudes towards production, moments of professional transition and, not least, a global pandemic, necessitated somewhat of a reinvention.

“Stochastic Drift” sees Barker creating tracks with a fresh deftness and appreciation for the unexpected. “I’d been working with an approach that was quite deliberate and goal-oriented before, but I realised this wasn’t so helpful in the context of uncertainty. Being suddenly unemployed and stuck at home for an indefinite amount of time, with one disruption after another, it was like the target kept moving and I didn’t know what to aim at.” Barker reflects. “I noticed this unpredictability starting to creep into what I was making, and tracks were ending up a long way from the intentions they started with. So the challenge for this record was to try to embrace that process, to let go of expectations.” The serotonin-spiking lead single “Reframing”, titled after psychological technique for reinterpreting a situation in a positive way, unfolds like a brittle reimagining of Sasha’s eternal prog trance standard “Xpander” until it begins to drift through uncharted territory.

Barker “Stochastic Drift” is available as limited edition clear and black Vinyl at boomkat.com