Stratus

Mat Anthony and Martin Jenkins first met at the infamous Milo Studios in Shoreditch during the mid 90s. Sharing a passion for music right across the spectrum via Mat's DJing and Martin's incurable desire for tinkering with machines over the next few years they released a variety of EPs together on Fragments. The debut Stratus single Uplink was a joint release with Fragments and Pussyfoot in 2000. They've remixed Serge Gainsbourg's L'Hotel Particulier along with re-works of the music of Calexico, Lambchop, Skye, Howie Beck, Japanese minimalists Honolulu and Soft Machine's Kevin Ayers.Their debut album Fear of Magnetism was a labour of love, combining classic pop sensibilities and fragile electronica with touches of psychedelia, alt. country and a smear of garage rock. They have a love for the vintage productions of Brian Wilson and David Axelrod but although they have an affection for the past they aren't living there... Pop isn't a dirty word to Stratus but in their mini symphonies they take the alternative route, always searching for something elusive and sometimes finding it - like hooking up with Canadian troubadour Howie Beck and the legendary Asha Puthli.They are also release stuff as Optimus (with Pete Herbert), putting out tracks on Hi-phen, Eskimo's Suicide imprint and remixing the likes of Minimal Compact, Arbeid Adelt, Kylie, Playgroup and Brennan Green.