March 29, 2024

ECHOBELLY, an interview with the British band of ‘90s

’We’re pleased to confirm we will be playing the Star Shaped Festival this coming September across three UK venues.The festival will take place at the following venues:

 Glasgow O2 ABC – Saturday 15 September -Manchester O2 Ritz – Saturday 22 September and Brixton Academy – Saturday 29 September

We will be topping the bill at the Glasgow and Manchester shows and we’ll be joined by a host of other bands, including Ocean Colour Scene, Black Grape ,The Supernaturals.’’

This was on line for all the fans …from  http://www.echobelly.com/

On The Star Shaped Festival  occasion and the others live shows of the band , we have an interview with the legendary band ECHOBELLY … with Sonya and Glenn.

INTERVIEW WITH ECHOBELLY… Sonya  and Glenn

 

Athens Calling: Hi from Athens ,I must say to you , that we are happy to speak with ECHOBELLY BAND . You must know that your music touches our heart and give it us a happy mood. Surfing the internet  pages I saw  that you are in the lineup in the  Camden Rocks  and Star Shaped  Festivals. Really I felt happy, because I know that some friends of mine they had told me, that they would be there to hear you. Have you something to tell us about these festivals.

ECHOBELLY :We were asked to take part in these festivals via our booking agent.  It is the first time we are playing at them.  CAMDEN ROCKS  is a one day event where all the venues in the Camden area of London open their doors to a full day of music so people can go to wherever they want and choose which bands they wish to see.

STAR SHAPED specialises in Artists from the BRITPOP period and is gathering momentum every year.

 

Athens Calling: Echobelly is one band with two Years active from 1992 until 2004 and 2009 – present and the original members, Sonya and Glenn still alive until 2018 Tell us please, about this cooperation.

ECHOBELLY (SONYA) – Glenn and I have been writing and performing together as ECHOBELLY and as a side project CALM OF ZERO, for many years.  We have had various and changing members in ECHOBELLY but it is always been Glenn and my songwriting that has been the starting point for each album.

Athens Calling: In fact, how we can characterize your music. I mean about the music genre.

ECHOBELLY (GLENN) – It’s always difficult to characterize what you do. With our latest album Anarchy And Alchemy I would say there’s a definite ‘Americana’ feel to some of the songs. There are also some ‘jazzy’ elements to it (probably due to heavy listening to Miles Davis Kind Of Blue) and there are some World Music and Indian elements to it.

There are also some electronic flavors to the album, something that we always have dabbled in but never really gone for fully, perhaps for the next album!

 

Athens Calling: And about the lyrics , what is the reason that you write the lyrics for  your songs

ECHOBELLY (SONYA)  – I have always seen myself first and foremost as a lyricist rather than as a singer.  It is a magical experience for me to put words to Glenn’s wonderful musical creations.  I get a tremendous buzz and sense of wonder from creating a visual play of words, almost like a mini film in my head from which the lyrics pour out.

 

Athens Calling: ‘’Anarchy and Alchemy ‘’ is the sixth studio album by ECHOBELLY and the first studio album since ‘‘Gravity Pulls’’ from 2004 … a long years ago . Tell us please about your new album ,at first about the title and then about the songs .

ECHOBELLY (SONYA)  – The title was inspired by the current chaos that the planet is experiencing.  We seem to be escalating and speeding up in many ways  – ANARCHY  – (technology, the digital age, human contact, accessibility to information) and yet there is something that is everlasting and part of the human character –  ALCHEMY – that absorbs,  digests, redefines and makes mutable  those changes.

The song ANARCHY AND ALCHEMY is about the above.  I wrote the words using a quick fire psychological technique where I wrote one word and quickly put down the next word that came to mind in association from the word before it.  So the verses are written as single words and not sentences.  So if someone asked you to quckly say what comes into your mind after the word STATE, what would you choose?  I chose RIOT and for RIOT, I chose RAW etc……

HEY, HEY, HEY was a film  in my mind that I saw after listening to the music that Glenn gave me.  It was of some men about to face their enemy and knowing that they would probably die, but they would go out in a blaze of glory  and SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE and fight till the end.  I don’t know what era these warriors were from, but I tuned into their fighting spirit.

REIGN ON is an imagined version of the many lives I might have lived and the characters I might have been and what connects them all is the Soul’s journey

DEAD AGAIN is about the moment after death when you look back at the life you just lived.  It is written with dark humor and I hope, a little wit.

Athens Calling: Witch one of the 10 songs is your best and why.

ECHOBELLY (SONYA) – That’s like asking you which is your favourite child  haha!!

Athens Calling: Really expect your music, which musicians or bands do you admire and why.

ECHOBELLY (GLENN) – That constantly changes. Before we recorded Anarchy And Alchemy, I was listening a lot to Led Zeppelin,  Americana, World Music, Indian Classical Music, Jazz and EDM, especially Orbital.  At the moment I have discovered Jeff Beck. He is someone that I never really paid much attention to (to my great shame!) but I suppose that I wasn’t in that head space. The guy is probably the best guitar player of all times, he is incredibly inventive and he’s got a lovely feel. He is also playing with his fingers, not using a pick, and it’s something that I’ve started to practice myself. It gives you a totally different spectrum of sounds but it’s a fucker to master!

Athens Calling: And about your fondest musical memories. In your house. In your neighborhood  or in your town?

 ECHOBELLY (GLENN) – When we first started out as Echobelly we one day had a visit from Morrissey. He came and knocked on the door to the flat that I shared with Sonya. He said he was a fan of the band and we had a chat and a cup of tea together. Our cat at the time was very fond of him and the name of the cat was Morrissey! The cat really liked him and Morrissey ( the person) asked what was the name of the cat. We were to embarrassed to say that his name was actually Morrissey so we made something up on the spot. He (Morrissey the person) came to see us play a few times and invited us to support him on his upcoming US tour but unfortunately the tour was cancelled the night before we were supposed to fly out to the US, so it never happened!

Athens Calling: Do you know something about Greece and tell us please  about your concerts plans … any plans in Greece .

ECHOBELLY (SONYA) – We played in Athens and Thesaloniki a long time ago and had a wonderful time.  Really amazing and supportive audience.  We would love to come back to play again.  It is up to the Greek promoters to organise something for us!

Athens Calling: o.k. thank you in deed and I wish you the best.

ECHOBELLY (SONYA) –  (GLENN) – It’s our pleasure.  Thank you very much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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