The Striatum, the ethically indiscriminate piece of the human neuro-puzzle that keeps us moving and striving in life, is a fitting way to describe the solo project of guitarist to the former Canadian prog-metal “mad scientist” outfit What's He Building in There? , Mason Tikl. Based out of Kitchener, ON, Canada – the film composer grew this project out of psychological necessity. A way to express, decompress, and learn from his own madness in ways intended to infect, inform, and enlighten whomever is ready to listen. Generalized as progressive metal, Striatum effectively implements and infuses disturbingly heavy riffs with orchestral arrangements typically heard only in film scores. If that wasn't enough, Striatum likes to throw an EDM-shaped wrench into the mix to shake up the mind and body before, after, or while lightly caressing the eardrum with a ballad to tell you everything might be ok. While Striatum is not currently performing live as a full band, Mason is, on a daily basis, developing and expanding this project to find new ways to comfort the listener while they uncomfortably sit, on edge, waiting for what's coming next.
A sense of purpose in an otherwise meaningless existence.
That all the notes, sharps, and flats of the known musical universe will one day play in perfect harmony all at once? When that can be achieved, my dream tells me that a new note, that we have not yet heard, will arise from the ashes. This note is the heaviest note unknown to man. It is said that this note will drive a squirrel mad and a human sane. Let's hope we are never unfortunate enough to experience this disruption of our precious, stale, static reality.
It's shape. For the sake of humanity, I would transform it from a sphere into a dodecahedron.
Death and, by proxy, life. Interactions with others. Crippling thoughts of existentialism. The fear of being mortal. Lunch.