Sdban Ultra Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 3 Items

Echt! - an instrumental, futuristic four-piece inspired by the concepts absorbed in electronic music and musical production. Taking inspiration from artists including Jonwayne, DJ Rashad, Deantoni Parks, J Dilla, Dorian Concept and Aphex Twin, Echt! combine electro, hip-hop, trap, funk and futuristic jazz, resulting in a distinct and unique sound.

On the 24th September, Echt! are set to release their highly anticipated debut album 'inwane' via the groove-obsessed, Gent-based label Sdban Ultra. Releasing their debut EP 'douf' in 2019, the Brussels quartet has not stopped working, recently releasing three sublime live studio sessions titled the BREWmixes which received support from tastemakers including Lefto, Worldwide FM and Belgian national radio station Studio Brussel (StuBru).

Echt means 'vrai de vrai' - 'true' or 'real' in brusseleir (Brabantian dialect of Brussels). The name is a direct reference to the fact that their sound transmission is 'real', performed with conventional musical instruments as oppose to computer music which the production might suggest. It also relates to the fact that none of the members of the band are originally from Brussels - bassist Federico Pecoraro is from Italy, keyboardist Dorian Dumont is from France and drummer Martin Méreau and guitarist Florent Jeunieaux are both from the Mons region on Belgium.

"For our first album, we wanted to go into deeper beats. We were listening a lot to trap, gritty hip-hop & bass music, and we tried to emulate those kinds of beats on our instruments. The darkish mood of those music genres was fitting for us with this strangest year of 2020. But we also wanted to give a contrast with some brighter parts, where the human feeling is more present. This duality continued in the mixing process by pushing or destroying some sounds, adding electronic textures & effects, but also keeping some sounds really acoustic & organic. The result is for us a mature album: the feeling of electronic music emulated on instruments is confirmed but the human vibe stays central."

From the abstract patterns of 'Permanent' and melodic atmospherics of 'Dunes' to the futuristic funk of 'Charlier', Echt! look to emulate the producer's off-beats, the compressor's swell, the repeating samples or the DJ's transitions. Elsewhere, the trap-heavy sounds of '500gr.' and subby bass stylings of 'Champi' push things forward, before the scatter rhythms of 'Kiekebiche' and weighty rumblings of 'Drache' integrate the inhuman heritage of electronic music and 're-humanise' it.

This limited 7" has 'Morning In The Jungle' on The A side. The track is taken from Black Flower's new album 'Magma' and features Belgian singer-songwriter Meskerem Mees on vocals. The B side has an unreleased Black Flower track entitled 'Invisible River'. 'Morning in the Jungle' was born not in a jungle, but in a city near a jungle. Black Flower was on tour in Brasil in 2020 and drank deeply of the cup. There were concerts and there was contact: spiritual, musical, cultural. Late one particular evening in the Lapa neighborhood of Rio De Janeiro there was a hand reaching through a crowd, owned by a dancing woman, reaching for a cell phone or wallet, finding its mark, then handing off the prize to a waiting accomplice. The remarkable aspect was the strange, deranged, toothless smile of this otherwise very beautiful woman, looking for an instant in recognition: of theft, of addiction, of pleasure, of complete loss of hope. What happened after that is a fantasy, of these two characters, the thief and the victim finding each other in a psychedelic moment of epiphany. Alone. In a holy jungle, waking to a growing brightness finding its way through a canopy of leaves and wilderness. This first inclusion of lyrics in the music of Black Flower is a collaboration that has a most auspicious and excellent timing. Meskerem Mees is an up-and-coming talent, having just released her first album entitled 'Julius' (Mayway Records) to critical acclaim. Meskerem Mees won the 2021 Montreux Jazz Talent Award and is nominated for the prestigious Music Moves Europe Awards. Her sweet and melodious voice is a perfect counterpoint to the deep and dark music that is flowing now from the source: Black Flower's most recent release 'Magma' to be released via Sdban Ultra on January 28th.