Chessie (band)

Chessie is an American experimental music group consisting of Stephen Gardner and Ben Bailes.

Gardner started Chessie in 1994, while he was a member of the Washington, D.C. post-rock band Lorelei. His first full-length as Chessie, Signal Series, was issued in 1998 and was named Best Dance and DJ Album that year by Amazon.com.^[1] In 2000 Gardner was joined by Bailes and they have since worked as a duo.^[2] While Overnight received critical acclaim^[3] and a spot on a New York Times music critic's best-of-2001 list,^[4] a follow-up record did not materialize until 2008, when the group released Manifest on Plug Research. The repetitive nature of their music is inspired by trains and railroads.^[5][6][7][8]

Gardner was CEO of Amtrak from 2022 to 2025.^[9][10]

Musical style

Reviewing Signal Series, M. Tye Comer of CMJ New Music Monthly considered Chessie a product of the closing gap between post-rock and experimental electronica in the late 1990s. He noted that the album was a sound collage with raw loops and influences from dub music and drum and bass.^[11]

Discography

Albums

• Signal Series (Drop Beat Records, 1998)
• Meet (Drop Beat, 1999)
• Overnight (Plug Research, 2001)
• Manifest (Plug Research, 2008)

EPs and collaborations

• Approach Limited 7", 1996
• Lost, Not Found 10", 2000
• Alpha-Arvonia DVD&CD (with Colby Caldwell), 2004
• Suburban Shore (as Camping, with Henning Fritzenwalder), 2004
• Dual Mode EP, 2006