Acoustic-rock duo ECHO TOWN have released their fourth studio album: ‘Kin’. A fusion of molten rock wig-outs, frenzied acoustica, riled-up reggae, and bastardised blues; ‘Kin’ is one hissing cauldron brimful of budding ideas, conscientious lyricism and impressive instrumentation.
Making their name across Europe as a band with a fired-up live show that rings out into the night air like a 21 gun salute, ‘Kin’ sees the tenacious jamming duo deliver their immense live sound to disc with aplomb.
With the kernels of ‘Kin’ very much forming in the live domain, the brothers made a conscious decision from the get-go to attack this album as they would a sold-out show. In taking the most ear-worm worthy motifs and immoveable jams to emerge from their free-flowing performances, the pair began to stitch together the material that would form the backbone of the record. With a live and loose feel firmly on the agenda and in letting thunderous sticksman Robert Harrison essentially ‘do whatever he wanted’, the percussion on ‘Kin’ soon became something of literal heartbeat for the record.
‘Kin’ was recorded with producer and sound engineer extraordinaire John Cornfield (Muse, The Stone Roses, Ben Howard). With Cornfield taking charge of the mixing and mastering, the record was then given the final production makeover by Echo Town themselves.
Speaking about bringing ‘Kin’ together, Ric says: ‘A good half of the album is made up of tunes we have been jamming at gigs for years that have never progressed beyond being jams, but now they have lyrics and some additional structure. We have a lot more up tempo tunes on this record that reflect our live show more accurately. Wrapped up in these refined jams are conscious lyrics addressing themes such as overcoming personal struggles, caring for the planet, recognising our place and what is truly important in life as well as having fun’
A record that is meant to be heard in the natural environment of its intention, Echo Town will be taking ‘Kin’ out on the road for a series of UK shows this Autumn. Catch the band at the following dates:
TOUR DATES
Oct 4 – Exeter, Bierkeller
Oct 5 – Perranporth – Wateringhole
Oct 6 – Hope Cove – Hope Cove Bar
Oct 11 – Plymouth – The Junction
Oct 12 – Bideford – Palladium
Oct 13 – Manchester – Castle Hotel
Oct 18 – Bangor – Blue Sky Cafe
Oct 19 – Chester – Telford’s Warehouse
Oct 26 – Bristol – Crofters Rights
Oct 27 – London – Thousand Island
Nov 1 – Southampton – Joiners
Nov 2 – Brighton – The Brunswick
Nov 3 – Guildford – Suburbs at Holroyd Arms
Formed in the North of England in 2013, Echo Town are brothers Ric and Rob Harrison. After jamming for many years the time was ready to take things serious, so they set up in the South West and immersed themselves in music and their dream lifestyle. Hitting on a heady brew that mixes their love of surf culture and nature with contemporary freedom songs, the band have become instantly recognisable for their multi-instrumental performances and eclectic sound; it’s perhaps no surprise then, that BBC Introducing picked them out for sessions very early on. Touring restlessly across the UK live circuit, the band have been making the steady climb to stardom with their powerful headline shows, festival billings at the likes of Oceanfest, Glastonbury, Boomtown, Boardmasters, Loose Music Fest, Montreux Jazz Festival and by taking up crowd winning support slots with the likes of class-acts Xavier Rudd, Chali 2na, Morcheeba, My Baby, Ferocious Dog, Wille & the Bandits and Sound of the Sirens. Something of a benchmark year for the band, in 2016 on the back of their ‘Be Strong Troop On’ album, the brothers impressively notched up over 100 shows as they dedicatedly proved their commitment to their cause.
Website http://www.echotown.co.uk
Videos http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzfNlbKTvHjlCsm62al-AkTENB_yXG2Xl
