Classically schooled ensemble reinterprets Radiohead – approved by Nils Frahm
Brussels-based Echo Collective is an extended crew of classically trained musicians helmed by Neil Leiter and Margaret Hermant. While they've been active for some time and worked on countless projects, Plays Amnesiac – a re-imagining of Radiohead's 2001 album of the same name – marks their full-length debut. It's an undeniably impressive collection, with Thom Yorke and company's glitchy, heavily electronic original songs re-cast as neo-classical pieces rich in arresting clarinet and oboe lines, jazzy live drums, cut-glass violins and gentle orchestration. Occasionally projects like this can feel a bit gimmicky, but Plays Amnesiac simply oozes class from start to finish. There are no cheesy gimmicks here, just sublime, classical-jazz fusion cuts that dance from the speakers like the soundtrack of a film we've yet to see.
Nils Frahm fell for them too, and invited them to perform soon in the prestigious Philharmonie de Paris.
To top it all off, Berlin label K7! (see, amongst others: the artist curated series LateNightTales with the likes of Nils Frahm, The Cinematic Orchestra, BadBadNotGood, Jon Hopkins,…) has wooed them into releasing all this finery on an album. The moving result can be heard in its entirety on this nigh.
