Manchester based producer Andy Stott enlisted vocalist and former piano instructor Alison Skidmore on his most recent album, Faith In Strangers, to build a haunting sonic soundscape. Midway through the record, “How It Was” opens ominously with a slow build of pulsing sound that creeps up the spine and conjures the mood one might experience inside of an abandoned building or an empty house of worship. As the production steeps Stott picks up the pace, bringing in a driving kick and a choking, distorted wobble atop muffled white noise. Skidmore’s breath comes short and hard at times, sounding as if she is scatting air itself, and then shifts into a melodious hum that serves as a kind of soulful vocal punctuation. “How It Was” is a fragmented and fastidiously crafted piece of IDM capable of evoking nostalgia without uttering a word. Stream Faith In Strangers below.