Echo Collective release new post-classical album, Mirror Image
Echo Collective
Echo Collective, the Brussels-based orchestral ensemble founded by Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant, have impressively built an name for themselves within the post-classical music scene in a relatively short space of time. Working with critically-acclaimed producers and composers such as A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Erasure, they have become highly sought-after for their instrumental and arranging skills. Their distinctive approach to incorporating genres ranging from alternative rock to synth-pop, and even black metal, has further enhanced their reputation. Continuing their explorations of sounds and styles, Echo Collective have now released a gloriously esoteric collection of original songs. Experimental orchestral album Mirror Image embodies the deep musical connection between Neil and Margaret and follows their 2020 release, The Sea Within.
This album brings together acoustic research in immersive environments: 4DSound at MONOM in Berlin, DNB Soundscape at the CC Hasselt in Belgium, and Wave Field Synthesis with AOI Dance Company in Chatham, UK. Using the power of these new tools, Echo Collective recorded Mirror Image in several acoustical places that were both familiar and inspiring: an historic library in Ravenna, Italy, a church in the countryside, La Savonnerie in Brussels, Dada Studio, also in Brussels, and their own home.
The album consists of five songs, each reflecting the distinct ambience of its recording location. The resulting sonic landscape is a unique mixture of classical instrumental and electronica. The opening track, ‘Dante’, immediately illustrates the direction of the album’s impending musical journey. An ever-present string instrument permeates the entire melody with a curious sense of urgency, a powerful and magnetic call from the wild. Alongside the song, the group have released a multi-award winning video, one which celebrates liberation – letting oneself go without holding back. There’s a primal nature to it: raw and honest. The visuals of the video are intense but, at the same time, calming. A single dancer performs in the countryside, dancing as the song builds to a climax. The intensity of her emotions is palpable, and conveys a sense of freedom and spontaneity that enhances the track’s underlying appeal.
‘Manhattan’ is reminiscent of a film score. The melancholic instrumentation is simultaneously soothing and haunting, like something from a different reality. The next two tracks, ‘Home’ and ‘Wonder’, share similar characteristics: both strange and yet familiar, like a passing stranger you could swear you have seen before. A déjà vu in musical form. By contrast, ‘Standing Wave’ relinquishes the familiar to unleash sonic strangeness. Its entrancing amalgamation of sounds soars above previously held conventions, taking us to an ancient alien planet, somewhere far from the reaches of our realm. The track stands as an ode to the unknown – an odyssey into the unseen. It explores the depths of the unrevealed and what lies beyond the border of our imagination.
On Mirror Image, Echo Collective showcase their experimental ambient sound at its best. It’s a beautiful, distinctive piece of work, and its penchant for the surreal sets it apart from the majority of neo-classical work out there.