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. In the summer of 2010, Kackley began writing 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.