Over the past few years orchestral instrumental music from outside the
classical establishment has become huge, and Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant of
the Belgian Echo Collective have witnessed the evolution and extraordinary rise
of this movement right up close. They've worked with some of the most important
players, including Stars Of The Lid, Dustin O’Halloran and Adam
Wiltze’s A Winged Victory For The Sullen and O’Halloran’s solo
projects, as well as
Jóhann Jóhannsson. And though the Echo Collective members themselves very much
do come from within the classical music establishment, they don't care which
side of the fence they are seen to be on.
It was this which grabbed the attention of German music hub !K7's new sub-label 7K! – who have signed them for a two album deal: first to release the Amnesiac reinterpretation, then for a record of Echo Collective's own compositions. Not only that but they have been signed for publishing by Mutesong, which led to a hook-up with Mute mainstays Erasure, re-arranging and re-recording their latest album World Be Gone with classical instrumentation backing Andy Bell's vocals. This ability to flow easily from black metal to Radiohead, from Erasure to Stars Of The Lid shows exactly what kind of musicians Echo Collective are.