Echodrone formed in San Francisco in the mid-2000s but are currently located across the US. They were and founded by Brandon Dudley and Eugene Suh. The group have recorded 8 albums and 3 EPs over the years. Aside from drawing deeply from their respective emotional coffers, the group
found inspiration from across a wide variety of musical genres. Their motley crew of influences includes: 80s cultural icons Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Brian Eno; post-punkers A Certain Ratio, Young Marble Giants, and The Durutti Column; indie generalists PinkShinyUltrablast, The Death of Pop, and Kitchens of Distinction; and miscellaneous acts including Presents for Sally, Jim O’Rourke, Swans, and TTNG.
San Francisco band Echodrone has been primarily a two person operation until recently. Three new members came aboard to create this band’s great new album, Five(2015). Founding members Eugene
Suh (ES) and Brandon Dudley (BD) are joined by new members Mike Funk (MF), Jim Hrabak (JH), and Rachel Lopez (RL) to discuss how they came together and produced this excellent melange of shoegaze and dream pop. Sonic sunlight streams through the cracks in your consciousness and peels back the dark edges as their song suite unfurls. This is joyful and even triumphant music, not something that will drag you deep into the gloom. Their songs just roll through like a summer thunderstorm, striking the listener with brilliant bursts of light and color.
THE BIG TAKE OVER (An Interview with Saint Marie shoegaze faves, Echodrone)
Label: Isomer Records – none
Format: CD, EP
Country: US
Released: Jan 20, 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Shoegaze, Dream Pop
TRACKS
01. Here We Are 7:53
02. Just Us Two 4:22
03. Alone 7:23
04. Lost In Translation 9:01
LINE - UP
Brandon Dudley
Eugene Suh
Kahlil Karn
Mark Florey
Flac Size: 134 MB
02 - ECHODRONE - BON VOYAGE 2012
This is the San Francisco band’s third release and there is a maturity throughout it where every sound is fully justified, adding complexity without veering into overkill. The guitars are never over aggressive
and the vocals never too soft. It’s all the more impressive then, to learn it’s produced by drummer Mark Tarlton. Guitars reverb over the start of ‘Cold Snap’ like boundless braids and Gibbons’ harmonies with Eugene Suh give complementing warmth to the track, which talks of the world being “so cold without you”. In fact, it’s fitting that ‘Bon Voyage’ is slated for an autumn realise – it has that post-summer transitional whimsy about it from start to finish.
Echodrone – Bon Voyage
Label: Not On Label (Echodrone Self-released) – none
Format: CD, EP
Country: US
Released: Jun 26, 2012
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Indie Pop, Shoegaze, Dream Pop
TRACKS
01. Under An Impressive Sky 6:02
02. Hypnogogic 6:15
03. Cold Snap 5:23
04. Pure Nickel 5:06
05. Infinite Arms 4:42
06. Constant 7:40
LINE - UP
Eugene Suh - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Electronics
Brandon Dudley - Bass, Electronics
Mark Tarlton - Drums, Engineer, Producer
Meredith Gibbons - Vocals, Artwork
Flac Size: 220 MB
03 - ECHODRONE - FIVE 2015
Echodrone’s 2015 release, Five, heralds a sea change for the band in many ways. Musically, Five
arrives at a destination first set by founding members Eugene Suh and Brandon Dudley, mixing reverb-drenched guitars with glitchy electronics and dreampop vocals to create a coherent mélange of tracks aimed to satisfy aficionados of shoegaze and IDM alike. Five also represents the next phase of Echodrone, realized fully only with the influences and songwriting input of new members Mike Funk, Jim Hrabak and Rachel Lopez.
Throughout Five, Echodrone explores the sounds of transitions. From arranging evocative melodies into unique pop song arrangements to applying standard rock band formats into 21st century
workflows, Five takes everything Echodrone cares about musically and carries it into new territory. Five is an auditory journey that mirrors the life of five individuals coming together virtually to create the fifth album of Echodrone. It is the cathartic soundtrack that maps the human experience through their eyes, as the quintet transitions from old jobs to new jobs, old friendships to new friendships, and old loves to new ones. To the band, Five is the perfect blend of shoegaze and electronic elements. They hope it is for you as well.
DKFM (INTERVIEW)
INTERVIEW: Eugene Suh of Echodrone | By Elizabeth Klisiewicz.
Echodrone – Five
Label: Saint Marie Records – SMR067
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Feb 24, 2015
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Shoegaze, Alternative Rock, Dream Pop
TRACKS
01. Disparate Numbers 5:27
02. Falling From Planes 7:00
03. NoiseBed 5:17
04. Glacial Place 6:10
05. Interlude Collage 1:10
06. When Two Ends Meet 4:59
07. Motion Pictures 7:13
08. Less Than Imaginary 6:41
09. Chrome 6:53
10. Octopussy (Written-By – David Gedge) 7:12
LINE - UP
Brandon Dudley – bass, electronics
Eugene Suh – guitars, vocals, synths, electronics
Mike Funk - Drums, Programmed By [Rhythms]
Jim Hrabak - Electronics, Programmed By [Rhythms]
Rachel Lopez - Vocals
Music by Echodrone
Lyrics by Jackie Kasbohm and Eugene Suh
NOTES
Produced by Echodrone, May 2012 - August 2014.
Flac Size: 408 MB
04 - ECHODRONE - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 2018
Sonic sunlight streams through the cracks in your consciousness and peels back the dark edges as this song suite unfurls. This is joyful and even triumphant music, not something that will drag you deep into
the gloom. Formerly languid epics are now replaced by tightly-focused three-minute opuses, each trying to appeal to broader audiences through more instantaneous gratification. Having charted the band’s progress since the release of their self-titled LP a decade ago, it’s the next logical step for Echodrone. Sharpened tunefulness, propulsive rhythms and creative flourishes, this is the evolution of a carefully curated sound.
As the album’s self-titled track shows, the band embraces heavy guitar textures with warm reverb,
within a dreamy soundscape and distant vocals reminiscent of Canadian act Stars. Eugene Suh’s remain an integral part though, his serene nonchalance adding nicely to the mix. The quartet do well in meshing shoegaze and dream-pop with a warmly layered assortment of sounds.
Echodrone – Past, Preset And Future
Label: Isomer Records – ISO006
Format: Album
Country: US
Released: Apr 18, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Shoegaze, Indie Rock, Dream Pop
TRACKS
01. Threaded Barrel 3:33
02. Failure 3:33
03. The Past Or The Present 3:33
04. Open Your Mind 3:33
05. Dystopian Story 3:33
06. Save Me 3:33
07. Below, From Above 3:33
08. Rock Waltz 3:33
09. Land Of Nothingness 3:33
10. Home 3:33
11. Low 3:33
12. Abstract Thoughts 3:33
13. Snow Drift 3:33
LINE - UP
Brandon Dudley: bass
Rachel Lopez: vocals
Eugene Suh: guitars, vocals, synth
Mike Funk: drums, electronics
NOTES
Recorded Mar 2015 - May 2017
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