It’s been a hot minute since San Francisco’s Echodrone released their critically-acclaimed Past, Preset and Future LP. January of 2018 saw an Echodrone that was tightly focused, radio-friendly, and they made new converts with the album. But Echodrone was never really a “singles band”. With shoegaze as the cornerstone, they built on expansive post-rock sweep to tell larger stories than are usually contained in four-minute musical nuggets. Rooted in a background that tells long-form sonic stories, Echodrone specializes in pulling you into their starship, and taking you on a journey through light and dark, color and texture.
It’s been over a decade since Eugene Suh and company dropped their debut self-titled EP, and their durability is only more impressive given the changed landscape of the independent music industry since 2007. The core of Brandon Dudley (bass) and Eugene Suh (guitar/vocals/synth) remains intact, but some of the other players have revolved in and out of the Echodrone universe. This is the first release without Mike Funk on drums, and this time out, Jackie Kasbohm takes over vocal duties from Past, Preset‘s Rachel Lopez. But even with these changes, Echodrone remains Echodrone. Like a fog sweeping over the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s a sound that’s both ambitious and familiar, and a joy to get lost in.
We asked Eugene Suh about this return to long-form songwriting on Everything Starts to be a Reminder. “Compositionally, the songs stemmed from a desire to write orchestral-type suites, similar to Jim O’Rourke’s The Visitor. As my daughter has grown older, I’ve become aware of the passage of time and life… that time and life progresses in stages that slowly morph, with moments of beauty along the way. We often only know we’re in a new stage of life when we look back on where we’ve come from and how we’ve grown. And that’s the general idea behind the album, a piece of music composed in orchestral suites that morph over time. the listener experiences moments of beauty along the way and often doesn’t realize they’re in a new stage of music until they’re deeply entrenched in the next phase of the piece and they look back and see where they’ve come from, much like life itself. It’s split up into the seasons of the year to follow this theme…and the meaning of the title Everything Starts to be a Reminder is that everything reminds us of this concept – time always goes forward and life is always changing.”
The idea behind the album’s blueprint came after another band’s show: Mike Funk and Brandon Dudley saw Godspeed You Black Emperor, and GSYBE has never not left a lasting imprint on anyone who surrenders their attention to it. But that only gives the blueprint; the music, the expanse all are entirely Echodrone.
Structurally, the recording process they take is now familiar: everything recorded remotely, with files passed back and forth over the internet. You’d think that becomes a more challenging idea with songs that ebb and flow, and evolve over time, but Echodrone has been at this for a while, and they’ve fine-tuned their process. You can’t be in this band and not bring your best, not be ready for change and evolution.
Everything Starts to be a Reminder is released on September 10, via Dome A Records, and we’re proud to bring the streaming premiere. Press play, and enjoy the next chapter in the Echodrone sonic saga. But be prepared to buckle in and take the journey. This isn’t snack food, this is a four-course meal.
Preorders are live now for the September 10 release. Grab your copy of Everything Starts to be a Reminder today, and follow Echodrone via their website, as their Twitter and Facebook profiles.
Brandon Dudley – bass, electronics
Eugene Suh – guitars, vocals, synths, electronics
Jackie Kasbohm – vocals
Bryan Ball – drums
Music by Echodrone
Lyrics by Jackie Kasbohm and Eugene Suh
Tracked by Echodrone, except drums tracked by Colin Christian at Wires and Noise
Mixed by Colin Christian at Wires and Noise
Produced by Echodrone with Colin Christian
Mastered by Justin Weis at TrakWorx
Artwork by Flesh and Bone Design – www.fleshandbonedesign.com
Post comments (0)