Sigmatropic is the chosen monikor of musician/producer Akis Boyatzis, a man with quite a musical history in his native Greece. The first Sigmatropic long player ‘16 Haiku and Other Stories’ featured a diverse and rather impressive line up of 18 guests including Cat Power, Robert Wyatt and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo.

This new album ‘Dark Outside’ also features a number of guest vocalists but on a slightly less ambitious scale to it’s predecessor. Robert Fisher of Grant Willard Conspiracy lends his baritone to two tracks, while Howe Gelb, Carla Torgerson of the Walkabouts and Jim Sclavunos of the Bad Seeds and Grinderman each lead up one track a piece. New addition to the core band Anna Karakalou shares vocals with Boyatkis on the remaining tracks, her breathy sensual delivery complimenting his droll, intense, semi-spoken manner. The overall mood blends breezy Mediterranean touches with atmospheric scope to create a timeless sound not unlike the Blue Nile or late period Talk Talk. The album supplies a complete world for the listener to discover as it slowly and languidly unfurls across it’s near hour long duration. A welcome release from an unlikely quarter, it’s refined, sophisticated nature will appeal to the more discerning listener.