ECHO, comprised of Joy Askew and Takuya Nakamura, is an 11 song collection of
drum 'n' bass and electro-landscape underneath pop standards, mostly from the
period of the 20th century when the pop vocabulary was defined by the likes
of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.
Despite the fact that the duo lives and works in New York, ECHO definitely
has a continental European combination of irreverence and self importance.
Though it's as slick as this month's Jaguar commercial, trumpet and synth
textures on tracks like 'Night and Day' and 'Everytime We Say Goodbye' have
roots in uptown '80's jazz pop (like the more jazzy extremes of Joe Jackson's
output in that decade, with whom Ms Askew has been known to work), and this
sensibility is evident on the few originals ECHO has to offer as well,
'Secret Self' being the standout of the four represented here.
ECHO is truly a contemporary creation. Most is clean and smooth enough to fit
in the 5-changer next to Sting and Brian Ferry, and shouldn't be a contant
interruption to polite conversation during a pre-dinner drink somewhere.
This CD walks the razor thin edge between fearlessness and disrespect, with
the former generally winning out thanks to the conviction of ECHO's delivery.
By design, ECHO could be filed in a number of places in the local Tower, but
it's ultimately closer to jazz than electronica. Even tracks like the
aforementioned 'Night and Day' never sonically veer off into the dark and
gritty territory that Cole Parter wasn't afraid to explore lyrically in his
writing. ECHO's experimentation exists in the backing tracks (most cuts
would be barely recognizable sans voix). The vocals, on the other hand,
unfold in a much more traditional manner, which succeeds in not alienating
the hip elevator crowd but may keep it from appealing to those who really dig
what Bjork can do with a number like 'I Remember You'.
Considered as a modern jazz album, it shows a group that isn't afraid to try
and mix things up without deconstructing the souls of the songs to begin with
(which is light years more interesting than all those still content to serve
up Eisenhower-era takes on 'I Got Rhythm' to the world) and ends up as an
extension behind the philosophy behind the Verve-remixed collections with a
modern vocal stylist at the helm. This combination should find the group
more fans than detractors in the jazz world, and they definitely should think
about getting a copy to the Jaguar people as soon as possible.
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